Is the Ownership Structure Model a Decisive Determinant of Co-Operatives' Financial Success? A Financial Assessment

In this paper, the financial/ownership structures of agribusiness co-operatives (co-ops) are analyzed in order to examine whether new co-op models perform better than the more traditional ones. The assessment procedure introduces a new financial decision-aid approach, which is based on data-analysis techniques in combination with a Preference Ranking Organization Method of Enrichment Evaluations (PROMETHEE II). The application of this multi-criteria decision-aid approach allows the rank ordering of the co-ops on the basis of the most prominent financial ratios. The financial ratios were selected using principal component analysis. This analytical procedure reduces the dimensionality of large numbers of interrelated financial performance measures. We assess the financial success of selected EU agribusiness co-ops for the period 1999-2007. Results show that there is no clear-cut evidence that co-op models used to attract outside equity perform better than the more traditional models. This suggests that ownership structure of co-ops is not a decisive factor for their financial success.Agribusiness cooperatives, financial success, multicriteria decision-aid analysis, Agribusiness,

Mutual funds performance appraisal using stochastic multicriteria acceptability analysis

Mutual fund investors are concerned with the selection of the best fund in terms of performance among the set of alternative funds. This paper proposes an innovative mutual funds performance evaluation measure in the context of multicriteria decision making. We implement a multicriteria methodology using stochastic multicriteria acceptability analysis, on Greek domestic equity funds for the period 2000–2009. Combining a unique dataset of risk-adjusted returns such as Carhart’s alpha with funds’ cost variables,we obtain a multicriteria performance evaluation and ranking of the mutual funds, by means of an additive value function model. The main conclusion is that among employed variables, the sophisticated Carhart’s alpha plays the most important role in determining fund rankings. On the other hand, funds’ rankings are affected only marginally by operational attributes. We believe that our results could have serious implications either in terms of a fund rating system or for constructing optimal combinations of portfolios

Mutual funds performance appraisal using stochastic multicriteria acceptability analysis

Mutual fund investors are concerned with the selection of the best fund in terms of performance among the set of alternative funds. This paper proposes an innovative mutual funds performance evaluation measure in the context of multicriteria decision making. We implement a multicriteria methodology using stochastic multicriteria acceptability analysis, on Greek domestic equity funds for the period 2000–2009. Combining a unique dataset of risk-adjusted returns such as Carhart’s alpha with funds’ cost variables,we obtain a multicriteria performance evaluation and ranking of the mutual funds, by means of an additive value function model. The main conclusion is that among employed variables, the sophisticated Carhart’s alpha plays the most important role in determining fund rankings. On the other hand, funds’ rankings are affected only marginally by operational attributes. We believe that our results could have serious implications either in terms of a fund rating system or for constructing optimal combinations of portfolios

Mutual funds performance appraisal using stochastic multicriteria acceptability analysis

Mutual fund investors are concerned with the selection of the best fund in terms of performance among the set of alternative funds. This paper proposes an innovative mutual funds performance evaluation measure in the context of multicriteria decision making. We implement a multicriteria methodology using stochastic multicriteria acceptability analysis, on Greek domestic equity funds for the period 2000–2009. Combining a unique dataset of risk-adjusted returns such as Carhart’s alpha with funds’ cost variables,we obtain a multicriteria performance evaluation and ranking of the mutual funds, by means of an additive value function model. The main conclusion is that among employed variables, the sophisticated Carhart’s alpha plays the most important role in determining fund rankings. On the other hand, funds’ rankings are affected only marginally by operational attributes. We believe that our results could have serious implications either in terms of a fund rating system or for constructing optimal combinations of portfolios

Portfolio optimization and index tracking for the shipping stock and freight markets using evolutionary algorithms

This paper reproduces the performance of an international market capitalization shipping stock index and two physical shipping indexes by investing only in US stock portfolios. The index-tracking problem is addressed using the differential evolution algorithm and the genetic algorithm. Portfolios are constructed by a subset of stocks picked from the shipping or the Dow Jones Composite Average indexes. To test the performance of the heuristics, three different trading scenarios are examined: annually, quarterly and monthly rebalancing, accounting for transaction costs where necessary. Competing portfolios are also assessed through predictive ability tests. Overall, the proposed investment strategies carry less risk compared to the tracked benchmark indexes while providing investors the opportunity to efficiently replic ate the performance of both the stock and physical shipping indexes in the most cost-effective way

Multiple Criteria Decision Making

International audienc

Multi-objective optimization models in finance and investments

International audienc