Searching for evidence of the asset growth effect in Ibovespa: an exploratory study

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to analyze, for Brazil, the existence of an intriguing question in the international literature: firms with lower growth in total assets observed superior returns compared to those with higher growth. Therefore, the Bovespa index was considered as a proxy for the Brazilian market. Among the companies in the index, non-financial firms were selected, for which data were available for the period from 2000 to 2009. In order to verify whether there is a negative relationship between total assets growth and stock returns, we first separated them into four portfolios, based on the weighted average growth of total assets, and the logarithmic returns were calculated. In addition to descriptive statistics, a correlation matrix, ADF unit root test, linear regressions and annual panel data were developed. Based on the results, we concluded that it is not possible to say that this relationship exists in Brazil as the tests were not statistically significant. One possible reason for these results is that Brazil has lines of funding from official bodies, with low interest rates, which influences the market to react even positively in view of a growth in total assets.