Madrid, December 1, 2008

The focus of the 5th Madrid Finance Workshop was corporate finance. During the academic event, professors from several European and American universities presented research papers whose topics ranged from the retention of CEOs during corporate merger processes, to the provision of incentives for fostering globalization in companies.

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New York, December 9, 2008

IESE Prof. José Luis Suárez was in New York on December 9 presenting European Real Estate Markets, a new book in which he offers a complete overview of the subject. The event, organized by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in New York and CIIF, was attended by more than 50 IESE alumni.

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Madrid, February 23, 2009

The conclusion of the Continuous Education Program “Afrontando la crisis: Medidas para superarla” held at IESE's Madrid campus on February 23 was clear: it is necessary to make structural reforms in order to secure the growth of the Spanish economy and provide guarantees for the future.
 
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Fernández, P., Bermejo, V.J.

The average return on investment funds in the past 3, 5, 10 and 15 years (2.52%, 1.88%, 0.91% and 2.96%) was below inflation and investment in state bonds of any duration. Despite these results, the 2,936 existing funds had a value of €168 billion in December 2008. Just 18 of the 1,025 funds with 10 years of history saw returns over the selected benchmark (only one of those had a higher return than the IBEX 35: 10.4%). In other words, 269 funds gave their investors a negative return! Just one of the 306 funds with 15 years of history obtained an average return above those of the 10-year fixed-rate Spanish state bonds (10%) and the IBEX 35 (11.6%). In these 15 years, return on the ITBM was 12.9%; that of the portfolio with the shares paying the highest dividend, 19%; and that of a portfolio with companies having a lower market price/book value, 25%. During the period from 1991 to 2008, funds destroyed €102 billion of their investors' value. The commissions and costs incurred over this period totaled €36 billion.

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Biscarri, J.
 
The recent pressure being put on politicians to predict economic fluctuations has put monetary policy back in the spotlight. In this article, IESE Prof. Javier Gómez Biscarri examines the differences in interest rates as indicators of economic recessions in Europe and the United States. The results indicate that the European economies are becoming increasingly integrated with that of the US, something that could be affecting monetary policy: it has more immediate repercussions on the real economy, but is also less efficient.

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Estrada, J.

The performance of an index represents a key element of the passive and active approaches to investment, whether for its indication of the securities portfolio in which to invest or because it establishes a standard for measuring the performance of actively managed funds. Nevertheless, recent studies show that higher return can be achieved by basing the composition of the index on fundamental indicators, such as dividends or book value, instead of the traditional cap-weighted method. IESE Prof. Javier Estrada explores whether funds that invest in indices based on fundamentals could be more profitable in an international context, and identifies the best strategies for choosing a portfolio.

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By Rodolfo Campos, Professor at IESE

Spreading risk through the securitization of bank assets is currently considered to be among the primary factors having led to the recent financial turbulence. Deposits and securitization constitute two alternative forms of financing for banks, who therefore decide among these options based on their economic environment and on the regulatory incentives presented to them. The increased competition for securing funds could explain the recent rise in securitization as a form of financing. Prof. Rodolfo G. Campos will analyze this practice to shed light on its implications.

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By Pedro Saffi, Professor at IESE

Short selling is the practice of selling a financial instrument that the seller does not own at the time of the sale, with the intention of later purchasing the financial instrument at a lower price.
Under normal market conditions, short selling is meant to increase price efficiency as well as add liquidity to markets. However, many people believe this practice to be among the many causes of several stock market crashes...

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Madrid, March 17, 2009

The 16th Annual CIIF Symposium will give special attention to the current situation of economic uncertainty. The event will feature the year's most important research papers being presented by their authors. Heinrich Liechtenstein will explain how to handle the venture-capital crisis, while Prof. Javier Estrada will closely examine the new measure of risk known as the “gain-loss spread.” For his part, the Prof. Pablo Fernández will offer the keys to long-term investment.

The session will conclude with a talk from José Luis Escrivá, director of economic studies services at BBVA, and Ángel Laborda, head of the economics and statistics department at FUNCAS. The two speakers, along with CIIF president Prof. Juan José Toribio, will delve into the current economic crisis and discuss the new economic challenges for the coming years.

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Barcelona, April 20-21 & 27-28; May 4-5 & 11-12, 2009
Madrid, May 12-13 & 19-20 & 26-27; June 2-3, 2009

Companies are currently operating in a difficult environment in which decision makers must factor in their organization's economic and financial information. Regardless of their areas of responsibility, executives must comprehend and be capable of analyzing the economic and financial concepts and data that will help them determine and implement suitable action plans.

By way of the case method, this Short Focused Program will give nonfinancial executives the necessary tools for analyzing this type of information in order to better evaluate their decisions.

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