FUTURE RETURNS

WE’RE FEELING GOOD... But wish we were looking good and we bet we’re not alone as two University of Wisconsin economists have found there is a link between a appearance and shareholder value. In a working paper called

Joseph Halford and Hung-Chia Hsu rated the attractiveness of from S& companies and found that the better a looks, the better market returns their companies get around the first day on the job. Good-looking chief execs also improve their stock’s performance whenthey appear ontelevision, indicating that shareholders respond positively when watching attractive CEOs. WE’RE HAPPY TO SEE... That the myth women invest differently than men has been put to bed. A Merrill Lynch Wealth Management Institute study of investors found that “gender is less a determinant of investing success than other social, demographic and circumstantial factors.” Many studies have suggested women are more risk averse than men, less engaged in investment decisions and trade less often. But the report, found that of women agree that risktaking is beneficial, feel they can adapt to changing market conditions and investment outcomes and want to be personally engaged in making investment decisions compared to of men. WE’RE ALWAYS LOOKING... For rewards, but a study by Mercer, Stikeman Elliott and the Generation Foundation found there is little support for investor loyalty rewards programs among all types of shareholders.

found there were four main obstacles to implementing such programs including discrimination between shareholders, the risk of unintended consequences, administrative complexities and uncertainly that such programs would actually change investor short-term behaviour.