INVITATION The WU Gutmann Center cordially invites you to the forthcoming TWO WU GUTMANN CENTER PUBLIC LECTURES www.gutmann-center.at (apologies for duplicated mails!) **************************************************************************** Date: DECEMBER 5 (Monday), 2011 – 4:00 pm Location: Bank Gutmann AG, Schwarzenbergplatz 16, 1010 Wien Speaker: Prof. Dr. LUBOS PASTOR, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business http://www.ChicagoBooth.edu/fac/lubos.pastor/ Title: POLITICAL UNCERTAINTY AND THE STOCK MARKET Abstract: We study the pricing of political uncertainty in a general equilibrium model of government policy choice. We find that political uncertainty commands a risk premium whose magnitude is larger in poorer economic conditions. Political uncertainty reduces the value of the implicit put protection that the government provides to the market. It also makes stocks more volatile and more correlated when the economy is weak. In addition, we find that government policies cannot be judged by the stock market response to their announcement. Announcements of deeper reforms tend to elicit less favorable stock market reactions. Further information about talk & speaker: http://www.wu.ac.at/gc/whatwedo/bridging/lectures **************************************************************************** Date: DECEMBER 15 (Thursday), 2011 – 4:00 pm Location: Bank Gutmann AG, Schwarzenbergplatz 16, 1010 Wien Speaker: Prof. Dr. JEFFREY R. BROWN http://business.illinois.edu/jbrown/ Title: BEHAVIORAL ASPECTS OF INSURING LIFETIME INCOME Abstract: Economists have long been puzzled by why so few individuals choose to take steps to ensure that they will have guaranteed income for life. After many decades of research having failed to provide a robust answer to this "annuity puzzle," psychologists and behavioral economists have begun to explore alternative explanations for consumers' aversion to annuities and other lifetime income products. This emerging literature suggests that individuals' observed reluctance to insure length-of-life risks is not fully rational. This talk will discuss some "non-rational" explanations for retiree behavior, including the role of complexity, poor financial literacy, sensitivity to framing, the role of default options, and "rules of thumb" that consumers follow when making decisions about lifetime income. The discussion will also focus on the implications of these findings for private markets and public policy responses. Further information about talk & speaker: http://www.wu.ac.at/gc/whatwedo/bridging/lectures **************************************************************************** Please contact gutmann-center(a)wu.ac.at if you do not wish to receive any further invitations from us! Please REGISTER: Mail: gutmann-center(a)wu.ac.at Phone: +43-1-31336-4244 Contact and further information: WU Gutmann Center for Portfolio Management WU (Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien) - Department of Finance, Accounting and Statistics Mag. Dorothea GRIMM www.gutmann-center.at