Chapter 4 - The Investing Decisions
Chapter 4 - The Investing Decisions
4.1 INTRODUCTION -
Investment decisions and financing decisions go hand in hand. Investment decisions can’t be
discussed in isolation. The deployment of funds, raised through financing decisions is made
through investment decisions. Raising the funds optimally and investing the same judiciously
is major task in front of the finance manager. On the basis of judicious deployment of funds
DECISIONS
The research work done by various researchers is studied in the light of various theories /
concepts associated with the investment decisions. These theories / concepts along with the
relevant normative statement associated with the theory / concept are as given below.
C A P M (Capital Asset Pricing Model): The Required rate of return of an asset can be
calculated with the help of C A P M model, if the asset is added in the existing portfolio. The
model says expected return of a security or a portfolio is equal to risk free rate of return plus
the risk premium. If the expected rate of return does not match with the required rate of return,
then such investment should not be considered. A model that describes the relationship
between risk and expected return and that is used in the pricing of risky securities.
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The riskiness depends on the beta of the security. Securities having high Beta are perceived to
be risky.
Particularly the following normative statement/s is / are being considered by the researcher
ID-1. The Asset Pricing Theory involves the characterization of investments that can be
viewed as close economic substitutes and thus should have similar expected rate of returns.
ID-2. The Asset Pricing Theory is concerned with estimation of the cost of capital or the
ID-3. CAPM model is used by the managers while finalizing a Capital budgeting Decision, is
universally accepted.
Cash flow : A revenue or expense stream which causes change in cash account over a period
of time. The source of cash flow is in three activities viz, Financing, Investing and operations.
Generally cash out flow denoted an expense. Every firm prepares a cash flow statement where
in the non cash expenses are added back to net income and business generated by business is
calculated. The cash flow is a major indicator of company’s health, more specifically the
financial health. At personal level as well as at firm’s level adequate cash level maintains the
solvency. All the stake holders as well as business analysts of a firm are in gauge the financial
Particularly the following normative statement/s is / are being considered by the researcher
Cost of Capital The cost of using funds is the cost of capital. Funds include own funds as well
as borrowed funds. The investor’s expectation from the firm is the cost of capital. The Cost of
Equity is
Ke= (D / P ) + g
g is Growth expected ( in %)
I + ( MV-NP) / n
_______________ Where I= Interest Payable per Debenture
(M V + N P) /2 MV= Maturity (Redemption value)
NP= Net Proceeds per Debenture
n= No. of Years
Particularly the following normative statement/s is / are being considered by the researcher
Efficient Capital Market it is believed that the markets are efficient. Which means all the
There are three forms(Versions) of EMH viz. Weak , Semi Strong and Strong E M H .The
Weak form believes that , prices of assets being transected (Viz. Property, Stocks, Debt)
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already reflect the information available. The Semi Strong form believes that, though the
prices are reflecting the available information, prices would suddenly change to new
information available. The Strong form of EMH believes, prices suddenly change even to any
hidden or insider information. E M H and random Walk hypothesis are closely associated.
Efficient market hypothesis gained prominence in 60’s. This hypothesis believes that in
absence of any change in the fundamental information the price of asset moves randomly.
Particularly the following normative statement/s is / are being considered by the researcher
ID-6. With Perfect capital Markets, Firm's Investment Decisions are independent of its
Financial Conditions.
Financial Performance Management : Theories or concepts which are associated with the
estimation of performance of the firm are considered under Financial Performance Analysis.
Generally various ratios, used to measure the performance of the firm would be under
Particularly the following normative statement/s is / are being considered by the researcher
ID-7. The Empirical results of firm's Value Maximization and firm's Size maximization are
Consistent.
ID-8. Optimal hedging strategy does not generally involve complete insulation of Firm
ID-9. Managers Purchase Projects, that increase the value of the Firm , than Utility.
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Hurdle Rate: It is the minimum rate of return a project or an investment needs to earn, to
compensate the risk. Higher the risk higher would be the hurdle rate. Hurdle rate cannot be
less than cost of funds. IRR must be equal to or greater than the hurdle rate.
specifically classified as per particular theory or concept, but are in the domain of Investment
Particularly the following normative statement/s is / are being considered by the researcher
ID-11. The efficiency of capital allocation is negatively correlated with the extent of state
ID-12. The efficiency of capital allocation is positively correlated with the legal protection of
Minority investors.
ID-13. In the presence of irreversibility, theoretically, demand and interest rate uncertainty
ID-16. The Capital Budgeting Decisions of a Private enterprise and Public (Federal) enterprise
are same.
ID-17. The Modern Capital Budgeting Techniques consider the total Risk of the project while
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evaluating a Proposal.
ID-18. Lenders Syndication and inefficient behavior, Strategic Default of borrower are
unrelated.
ID-20. Intra Group Cash transfers are made with the intention of earning return on idle cash.
ID-21. Sophisticated Capital Budgeting techniques are used by the CFO's globally.
ID-22. Capital investment and Appraisal methods are used on ad-hoc basis.
ID-23. The Firm Size has an impact on the way Asset Structure Correlate with Capital
Structure.
Information Asymmetry: When one of the party in transaction, is having, superior information
than the other one then it is termed as asymmetric information. With the advancement of
This asymmetry leads to adverse selection and moral hazard. While deciding the capital
structure, Information Asymmetry may have implication on the capital structure of the firm.
Particularly the following normative statement/s is / are being considered by the researcher
ID-24.The efficiency of capital allocation is positively correlated with the amount of firm-
ID-25. Information and Incentive problems in Capital Market have important effects on
Corporate Investments.
ID-26. Low-Risk as well as High-Risk firms are consistent with the models revealing effect
Internal Rate of Return (I R R ) : IRR is the rate at which NPV of Cash Inflow matches with
NPV of Cash Outflow. Or NPV of Cash Outflow – NPV of Cash Inflow = 0. The IRR should
be greater than Hurdle rate of the project. While ranking the projects on IRR, Projects having
higher IRR are preferred. IRR works only for investments having initial cash out flow and
Particularly the following normative statement/s is / are being considered by the researcher
ID-27. IRR always reaches the same decision as NPV in the normal case where the initial
ID-28. Some projects have cash inflows followed by one or more cash outflows. IRR rule is
inverted here: one should accept when the IRR is below the discount rate.
Net Present Value(N P V ) : This is the different between Present value of cash out flow and
present value of cash inflow. Because of Time value of money the value of money to be
received in future and its value as of now would be different. NPV is use in all capital
budgeting techniques.
Particularly the following normative statement/s is / are being considered by the researcher
ID-29. The Investment Opportunities are evaluated by NPV method is generally correct.
ID-30. Any adjustments for debt financing are reflected in the discount rate, not the cash
flows.
Optimal Capital Structure: It is the ideal Debt Equity mix, in the capital of the firm, which
maximizes the value of the firm. At Optimal Capital structure the cost of capital of the firm is
minimum.
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Particularly the following normative statement/s is / are being considered by the researcher
Ratio Analysis: The performance of the firm can be judged with the help of ratio analysis.
There are four broad types of ratios A. Liquidity Ratios B. Profitability Ratios C. Capital
Structure (Leverage) Ratios and D. Activity Ratios. Ratios are harnessed to compare the
performance of the firm. This comparison could be with other firm in the industry or
Particularly the following normative statement/s is / are being considered by the researcher
ID-32. Ratio of Current Assets to Capital Stock is not associated with the size of the Firm.
Management researchers are studying the investing decisions since long. A sincere effort was
made by Gordon and Shapiro (Myron J Gordon and Eli Shapiro, 1956). These researchers
developed the mathematical model k = D/P +g. The researchers presented the definition of
rate of profit required by market on share of common stock. The researchers candidly said
that before the capital budgeting theory can be made as a reliable guide to action,
improvement in the techniques of future revenue estimation is must. Also they pointed out
that the rate of profit market requires on a share, varies with the dividend.
The performance of the portfolio of risky assets was evaluated by Jensen (Michael C Jensen,
1969).when investors are risk averse, they prefer a certain stream of income over less certain
stream of income. They would accept additional risk, if higher expected future returns are
possible. Risky portfolio is expected to yield higher return than less risky portfolio. A
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mathematical model was developed and tested by Jensen. He expected that further such
model be tested for managed portfolios using monthly, quarterly data. As well model should
be tested for unmanaged portfolios. Thus The Asset Pricing Theory involves the
characterization of investments that can be viewed as close economic substitutes and thus
should have similar expected rate of returns does not hold true.
When firms can avail tax benefits when they borrow, then why firms do not borrow as much
as they can? This question was studied by Myers (Stewart C. Myers, 1976). He observed that
a form of capital rationing may exist from the lenders. He has answered why practical people
set target ratios in terms of book rather than market values. It was also answered that firms
match the maturities of assets and debt obligations. The notion of, Asset Pricing Theory is
concerned with estimation of the cost of capital or the expected rate of return for a given
The efficacy of CAPM is questioned by quite a few researchers. The relevance of CAPM
model . main input for capital budgeting decisions is estimation of cost of capital and for
which managers require to know the market risk premium. Jagannathan and Meier (Ravi
Jagannathan and Iwan Meier, 2002). The researchers raises a potent question that why did
anyone from the academic fraternity not raised the question about the usage of a supposedly
wrong model? These researchers claim that they have found the answer for this puzzle. The
duo studied the literature for over 50 years to ascertain the market risk premium. It is noted
that when the firms use the discount rate higher than the cost of capital then the selection of
The relation between the cash flow and leverage is studied by Shenoy and Koch (Catherine
Shenoy and Paul D. Koch , 1995). The researchers used dynamic simultaneous equations.
Their results were consistent with the behavior of Pecking order model as negative
simultaneous relationship was found between the cash flow and leverage. The results were
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consistent with the signaling theory as positive relationship between current leverage and
future cash flow was observed. The researchers also observed that there is some variation
across the industries in the extent of pecking order and signaling theory. The extent of
variation needs to be studied further said these researchers. Hence leverage and cash flow tend
Using the firm’s cost of capital to select the independent investment proposal was studied by
Lorie and Savage (James H. Lorie and Leonard J. Savage, 1949).they cited the major problem
distinguishing the acceptable and unacceptable investment proposal using the cost of capital.
On the basis of hypothetical data, these researchers have proposed rate of return method for
investment proposal selection. Given the cost of capital, which investment proposal be
selected? Given the Fixed sum of capital, which proposals be selected? And selecting the best
among the mutually exclusive proposal was discussed by these researchers, so that the value
maximization is achieved.
In Perfect capital Markets, Firm's Investment Decisions are independent of its Financial
Conditions or not? Has been studied by Fazzati et al. (Steven M fazzari , R. Glenn Hubbard
and Bruce C Petrsen, 1988). On the basis of mathematical model, using COMPUSTAT data
the researchers concluded that firm’s investment and financing decisions are not independent
The study of value maximization and size maximization has been done by Mc Connell and
Muscarella (John J Mc Connell and Chris J Muscarella, 1985). The corporate financial
decisions and its impact on the value of the firm were studied by these researchers. Empirical
prediction of the value maximization hypothesis is, unexpected increase in the capital
expenditure should be accompanied by increase in the market value of the firm. As well
value of the firm. The Size maximization hypothesis states, managers tend to overinvest to
increase the size of the firm. They tend to invest beyond a point where where marginal return
is equal to market expected return. The results of their study for size maximization are not
consistent with the hypothesis. So the Empirical results of firm's Value Maximization and
firm's Size maximization are not consistent. These researchers used the data of the firms listed
on NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) or AMEX( American Stock Exchange) for the period
of 1975-1981.
Availability of internal funds and hedging has been studied by the researchers. Froot et al.
(Kenneth A Froot , David S Scharfstein and Jermy C Stein, 1993). They used the
COMPUSTST data and developed a mathematical model. while analyzing corporate risk
management strategies the researchers noted, when the external sources of finance are more
costly to corporations than internally generated funds then hedging benefits. It adds a value to
the extent that the corporation has adequate internal funds to take advantage of investment
opportunity. However optimum hedging strategy does not insulate the firm from marketable
sources of risk.
The hedging aspect has been studied further. A question has been raised by researcher about
hedging strategies and its value in the eyes of Financial Analysts. Chung (Sam Y. Chung,
2003).The results of this study confirm the usage of derivative to reduce the risk. Firms using
intensive hedging strategies tend to reduce risk on its future cash flow and equity returns.
Furthermore financial analysts take cognizance of firm’s hedging and it is reflected it their
Ownership and Control are two different aspects of management of the firm. Researchers tried
to analyze the behavior of manager in selecting the proposal. Whether the value maximization
aspect is looked after by the manager or the utility aspect is considered by the managers?
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Carpenter (Robert E. Carpenter, 1994). The researcher used regression and observed that
managers select the proposal which enhances the value of the firm, rather than increasing the
utility.
The comparison of hurdle rate for growth and value firms was made by Jagannathan et al.
(Ravi Jagannathan , Iwan Meier and Vefa Tarhan, 2011). Basis of the study of the panel data,
the researchers found that, hurdle premium is same as cost of capital, and varies across the
firms. Hence the assumption of hurdle premium for growth firms and value firms is same does
Risk and uncertainty are studied by many researchers. The most frequently method of
accepting an investment proposal is NPV. Projects are worth selecting when they yield
positive NPV. Uncertainty of receiving the anticipated cash flow needs to be considered.
Myers (Stewart C. Myers, 1967).In his study the researcher has raised question like, there is
not only a specific question of whether projects can be considered as risk independent but also
more general problem of determining the actual relationship between security risk
characteristics and its market value. Myers proposed a mathematical model. The study insists
that the theory of capital budgeting under risk and uncertainty needs a rethinking.
The uncertainty is not restricted to the anticipated cash inflow, there is element of uncertainty
associated with the Initial cash outflow as well. Ehrhardt et al. (Michael C. Ehrhardt and John
M. Wachowicz, Jr,, 2006) Studied the uncertainty associated with initial cash outlay. Their
study noted that most of the firms use Discounted Cash Flow(DCF) technique to evaluate a
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capital budgeting decision.DCF assumes that initial cash outlay is known with certainty.
However it is not the case, there is uncertainty in initial cash out lay. They propose that this
proposal. To study this proposal these researchers used survey method. They surveyed CFO’s.
The weakness of certainty equivalence approach is also highlighted. They propose that
The capital budgeting decisions of Public and Private enterprises are studied. The researchers
are interested in knowing, when the form of enterprise changes, would it cause any change in
capital budgeting decisions. Schwenninger (Sherle R. Schwenninger, 1990).it was noted that
the priorities of public enterprises are essentially different than that of Private enterprises.
Hence the capital budgeting decisions of both the types of firms are different.
Theoretical aspects of capital budgeting are not properly conveyed to the students. The
selection of a particular project and its, impact on the value of the firm is questioned by Stulz
(René M. Stulz, 1999).Stulz argues that when a new capital budget project is added, firms
ignore the impact of new project on firm’s total risk. Almost always this disregard, ignorance
to total risk leads to inappropriate selection of the project. It is further argued that empirical
evidence shows that total risk does matter still such concept is not conveyed to students
learning capital budgeting techniques. Hence, the Modern Capital Budgeting Techniques
consider the total Risk of the project while evaluating a Proposal is not true.
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Syndicated loans are one of the important source of corporate fund raising. A decade ago $ 1
Trillion worth syndication loan transactions took place. Sufi (Amir Sufi, 2004).Sufi observed
and choice of participant lenders. He further observed that, when the borrower requires more
intensive investigation and close monitoring by financial institution, then lead arranger retains
large portion of the loan, forms concentrated syndicate and chooses participants that are closer
to the borrower. This evidence is consistent with moral hazard in a setting of Information
asymmetry. Also, he noted, when the borrower needs renegotiation then lead arranger adds
participants with small portions of loan to syndicate. This suggests that lenders for syndication
to reduce inefficient behavior and strategic default by the borrower. He used COMPUSTAT
data base for his study. So, Lenders Syndication and inefficient behavior, Strategic Default of
Internal Rate of Return is used to calculate the return on the investment proposal. Fama and
French method to calculate IRR was used by McGraw (Patricia A. McGraw, 2005).
Researcher used DataStream data from 1993-2001, for 81 firms. 10 firms listed on New
Zealand Stock Exchange. It was noted that Nominal return on value is 7.07 % and real return
on value is 5.07 %. The nominal return on cost is 11.59 % and real return on cost is 9.48 %. It
was noted that 10 former state owned firms have nominal and real returns significantly higher
than 71 publically listed companies. The return on corporate investment has been profitable
but real and nominal compound returns have declined over time. Hence this study throws light
on the fact that ownership status of the firm and rate of return are not independent.
Firms belongings to a business group, receive financial assistance when such firms are in
distress. A detailed study was made by Gopalan et al. (Radhakrishnan Gopalan , Vikram
Nanda and Amit Seru, 2006). These researchers made a study of Indian firms. They used
multivariate analysis. Internal capital markets were examined by them. They have
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documented that intra group transfers of cash in the form of loan are typically used to support
financial weaker firms in the group. These loans are given to such firms on very soft terms.
Many a times at 0 % interest. This reduces the risk of bankruptcy. The stronger firms in the
group are concerned about the potential default risk of weaker firms and the spillover of the
same on the group. Consequences of bankruptcy are more serious when the bankrupt firm has
closer ties with the group firm. The main motive of cash transfers between group firms is not
to earn return on idle cash but an effort to save the weaker firm from potential default.
How many of the CFO’s are savvy in using the sophisticated capital budgeting techniques,
while finalizing the project? Whether geographic foundries cause any effect on usage of
capital budgeting appraisal technique? A detailed study has been made by Hermes et al. (Niels
Hermes , Peter Smid and and Lu Yao, 2006). These researchers compared the capital
budgeting practices between China and the Netherlands. It was candidly observed by them
that, Dutch CFO’s use NPV method more significantly than Chinese CFO’s. Chinese CFO’s
use ARR method more significantly than Dutch counterparts. Chinese CFO’s compute cost of
equity less significantly than Dutch counterparts. Hence it is not prudent to assume that most
sophisticated capital budgeting techniques are used by the CFO’s across the globe. Variations
In line with the earlier study, Danielson and Scott (Morris G. Danielson and Jonathan A.
Scott, 2006) studied the Capital budgeting decisions of small firms. Is there any role of gut
feeling in finalizing the capital budgeting proposal? Do smaller firms differ in usage of capital
budgeting techniques then the larger ones? These aspects are studied by these researchers.
These researchers noted on the basis of Survey data compiled by the National Federation of
Independent Business that, large firms favor Discounted Cash flow Analysis , many smaller
firm rely on simpler methods, not considering the time value of money aspect in account.
Smaller firms rely more on Payback period method as well as owner’s gut feel. The reasons
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cited by the researchers are limited educational background of owners and very small size of
the firm. Their results are suggestive of the fact that, optimal investment evaluation
One more study in line with the earlier one, discusses the effect of political risk on the capital
budget evaluation technique. Holmen and Pramborg (Martin Holmen and Bengt Pramborg,
2009). These researchers considered the Swedish Firms data, to analyze the Capital budgeting
techniques for Foreign Direct Investment. It was observed that, use of theoretically correct
NPV method decreases when political risk in the host country increases and then use of
payback method increases. They concluded that in presence of capital market imperfections,
unsystematic and country specific political risks managers tend to use simpler methods for
capital budgeting proposal estimation. Hence rule of thumb is used by the decision makers.
Their results are in line with the earlier studies in this regard. So, globally sophisticated capital
A deliberate effort is made by Shinoda (Tomonari Shinoda, 2010) to study the prevailing
practices followed by the Japanese managers to assess the capital budgeting proposals. In the
study the researcher used survey method. 225 responsible officials, taking the decisions
regarding capital budgeting assessment and selection of the project , from firms listed on
Tokyo Stock Exchange. The study was confined to October 2008 to January 2009. The study
showed that managers used payback period as well as Net present Value method for assessing
the proposal. Most of the managers used multiple tools for assessing capital budgeting
proposals. Further researcher commented that, this observation is in line with views of
academia. So, it is not prudent to assume, that , firms use sophisticated methods to assess
Irrespective of the performance of the firm, whether selection or rejection of the project is
justified? A project worth rejection, would be rejected by all the companies? Questions like
this made the study done by Dragota and Tatu (Victor Dragota and Lucian Tatu, 2011) very
interesting. These researchers claim recovery of losses create mirage. They said using NPV
method the performing companies would reject non performing proposals. However some less
performing companies would accept the same projects. They also suggest that the classical
principle of evaluating the proposals independently should be done cautiously. Hence these
results also claim that Globally CFO’s do not use sophisticated capital budgeting techniques
In line with earlier studies, this study makes an attempt to know whether usage of
selected the companies from Western Europe and Western Africa.Ekeha (George Ekegey
method was used. The data received was analyzed by multivariate regression analysis. The
focus was on “Country Effect”. He observed that, European CFO’s NPV more than their
African counterparts. West African CFO’s use ARR more than European CFO’s. West
African CFO’s minimally estimate cost of capital compared to European CFO’s. However use
of IRR does not differ significantly in both the countries. So, as well in this study it is
observed that Globally CFO’s are not using sophisticated capital Budgeting techniques.
The usage of sophisticated techniques for capital budgeting decisions has been studied by the
researchers across the globe. A study of Portuguese firms has been made by Afonso and
Cunha (Paulo Afonso and Jorge Cunha, 2009).These researchers noted that, the sophisticated
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capital budgeting techniques are used on ad hoc basis. However they observed different level
of sophistication and completeness. They used survey method for the study and they studied
The impact of firm size on the asset structure and capital structure co relation has been studied
structure relationship far from straightforward. The impact of country dependence and
industry dependence is seen , while studying the asset- capital structure relationship.
The access to information and its effect on corporate investment has been studied by Hoshi et
al. (Takeo Hoshi , Anil Kashyap and David Scharfstein, 1991).Researchers examines two sets
of Japanese Firms. First Set of Firms, having close ties with large Japanese banks, raise
external finance through debt, as these banks were well-informed about these firms. While
second set of firms, having weak ties with banks faced difficulty in raising finance.
Investment is more sensitive to liquidity for second set of firms. Hence information and
In their study on Stakeholders and Transparency of the firm Almazan et al. (Andres Almazan,
Javier Suarez and Sheridan Titman, 2004).Researchers observed that, firms which are highly
levered are forced to raise capital more often, a process which leads to generate information.
While studying the corporate leverage,Philippon (Thomas Philippon, 2004).His study has
given a model, where firms optimally choose the dynamics of their optimal capital structure,
taking into account their target leverage as well as adjustment costs associated with the debt
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and equity changes. The target is higher for large and profitable firms and lower for firms
Table No:7
CA P M -0.00617284
Information Asymmetry 0
IRR -0.00231
NPV -0.00463
It is observed from the data analysis that all the mean values are negative and not near to 0.
While information asymmetry mean value is 0. This signifies that all the theories / concepts /
approaches considered under Investment Decisions are neither fully accepted nor fully rejectd.