November 2019

Longevity Risk and Retirement Income Planning

By Patrick J. Collins, Huy D. Lam, Josh Stampfli The past 50 years have seen an abundance of research on retirement planning and longevity risk. Reviewed here is the academic side of the research and its varied viewpoints and nuances. The evolution of retirement risk models, retirement portfolio problems and solutions, and annuities are some of the many topics covered. Get the book here

Robert C. Merton and the Science of Finance

By Zvi Bodie Starting with his 1970 doctoral dissertation and continuing to today, Robert C. Merton has revolutionized the theory and practice of finance. In 1997 Merton shared a Nobel Prize in Economics “for a new method to determine the value of derivatives.” His contributions to the science of finance, however, go far beyond that. In this essay I describe Merton’s main contributions. They include the following: 1. The introduction of continuous-time stochastic models (the Ito calculus) to the theory...

A Two-Step Mixed Pension System: How to Reinvent Social Security with the Help of Notional Accounts and Term Annuities

By Inmaculada Domínguez-Fabián,Pierre Devolder, Francisco del Olmo García, Jose A Herce The change in economic and sociodemographic reality, characterized by a continuous increase in longevity, the consequences of the economic crisis, and the lack of adequate adjustments of social security retirement pension systems everywhere, entails risks for workers and the social security systems themselves. Many reforms of public pension systems have been carried out in recent years, based on modifying system parameters and structural changes. Some reforms aim at...

Evidence on Usage Behavior and Future Adoption Intention of Fintechs and Digital Finance Solutions

By Johannes M. Gerlach (Chair of Financial Services, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Heinrich-Heine-University) & Julia K. T. Lutz (Chair of Financial Services, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Heinrich-Heine University) Financial Technology Companies are gaining popularity and becoming more relevant within financial services industries worldwide. This growth can be encouraged by the EY FinTech Adoption Index, which indicates a global average FinTech Adoption of 33.0% in 2017. With regard to Financial Technology Companies and Digital Finance Solutions, this...

September 2019

Corporate Governance and Value Creation in Japan: Prescriptions for Boosting Roe

By Ryohei Yanagi This is the first book to furnish a root cause of the low valuation of Japanese listed companies by using, as qualitative evidence, unique global investor surveys, which are rarely available for Japanese companies. Also contained in this book as quantitative evidence is empirical research with regression analysis implying a positive correlation between corporate governance and value creation in Japan. The author explains the rationale underlying the suggestion of the Ito Review on return on equity...

Robo-Advisors: Investing Through Machines

By Facundo Abraham, Sergio L. Schmukler, José Tessada Investing through online automated platforms, known as robo-advisors, is increasingly popular. Robo-advisors expand access to wealth management services by making it easier and less costly to open investments accounts and receive financial advice, as well as plan and automate investment decisions. However, the rise of robo-advisors requires consumers to understand the limitations of these services and to get proper financial education. Policy makers need to grapple with the impact of robo-advisors...

August 2019

The Palgrave Handbook of Unconventional Risk Transfer

By Maurizio Pompella, Nicos A Scordis This handbook examines the latest techniques and strategies that are used to unlock the risk transfer capacity of global financial and capital markets. Taking the financial crisis and global recession into account, it frames and contextualises non-traditional risk transfer tools created over the last 20 years. Featuring contributions from distinguished academics and professionals from around the world, this book covers in detail issues in securitization, financial risk management and innovation, structured finance...

Wealth: The Ultra-High Net Worth Guide to Growing and Protecting Assets

By Richard P. Rojeck With few exceptions, books on personal finance focus on investing. And with few exceptions, these same books focus on the general public. This book takes a comprehensive approach to the subject, directed to the ultra-high net worth reader, filling this void. While there is no shortage of experts in legal, tax, investment, and other matters, in many ways, ultra-high net worth individuals are underserved, even as they are confronted with potentially increasing challenges...

Bridging Public Pension Funds and Infrastructure Investing

By Clive Lipshitz, Ingo Walter Underfunding of U.S. public pensions is a chronic policy issue that has become more severe over time. Public pension obligations were estimated at $5.96 trillion at the end of 2017 supported by assets of $4.33 trillion — a shortfall of $1.63 trillion and a ‘funded-ratio’ of 72.6%. We consider the sustainability of public pension systems in the face of changing demographics and frequently inadequate funding and investment returns, and make the connection to the...

Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty

By Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics and Director Poverty Action Lab Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo Two practical visionaries upend the most common assumptions about how economics works in this gripping and disruptive portrait of how poor people actually live. Why do the poor borrow to save? Why do they miss out on free life-saving immunizations, but pay for unnecessary drugs? In Poor Economics, Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo, two award-winning MIT professors, answer these questions based...