In the Indian equity market, the Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) is the most popular strategy due to its convenience for disciplined investing regardless of market conditions. This study analyzes the excess returns of an extensive dataset of listed Indian companies from 2010 to 2019, along with a value-based version of the Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA), to identify top performing stocks, based on their sectors and market capitalization. The findings of the study provide empirical evidence of Value Averaging (VA) as a viable alternative strategy over SIP (also known as Dollar Cost Averaging or Rupee Cost Averaging) as 352 out of 359 companies yielded higher returns under VA. The superiority of the VA strategy over the SIP was particularly marked in the consumer goods, financial services and industrial manufacturing sectors, with a clear dominance of small cap companies. The results also show that risk factors for VA strategy play an important role and should be taken into account, rather than base investment decisions on excess returns alone. The efficiency scores of individual stocks provide important insights for mutual funds, financial brokers and individual investors in India.

Purpose The global sukuk market has seen widespread innovations in the last couple of decades, which helped sukuk develop into one of the most acceptable Islamic instruments for raising finance. According to the State of the Global Islamic Economy Report (2018–19), United Arab Emirates (UAE) is ranked second among Islamic economies and Nasdaq Dubai is credited to be the leading international center for sukuk listings (Thomson Reuters, 2018). However, there has been limited research studies on this financing option within the region. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to focus on the role of signaling theory driving the financing choice for listed entities in the UAE. The paper aims to make a significant contribution in light of the recent expansion of sukuk issuances and fills the lacuna in research carried out in the UAE bond market. Design/methodology/approach This study empirically tested the hypotheses on a data set that covered a sample of 1,354 bond issuances over the period 2008–2019. The authors used logistic regression to distinguish between the issuance of sukuk versus conventional bond. Sukuk structuration leads to information asymmetry that prompts firms to send signals to the capital market. Information asymmetry has been studied in terms of issue-specific (maturity and issue size) and issuer-specific (firm size, growth, profitability, leverage) variables. Two control variables were included to capture the years under study and the macroeconomic effects of economic slowdown. Findings The banking sector accounted for 93% of bond issuances but contributed only 63% of the bond market in the UAE in terms of issue size. The data evidenced that non-banking sukuk issuances expanded over the years, with participation from sectors like real estate, oil and gas, logistics and utilities and contributed 50% of issuances in the UAE sukuk market. Typically, firms with smaller asset sizes and higher financing requirements were found to favour sukuk. The banking sector revealed irrelevance of information asymmetry, as Islamic Banks were mandated to issue sukuk. Non-financial firms with high profits and high debts were prompted to prefer conventional bonds, in line with the adverse selection mechanism. Originality/value Although UAE’s sukuk market has existed for more than a decade, scant research has been carried out. Few studies exist for the GCC region that either concentrated on stock market reactions to issuances of Islamic versus conventional bonds or studied capital market characteristics of non-financial entities alone. This is the first study to focus on signaling theory and information asymmetry playing a role in the capital structure of all listed firms (banking and non-banking) issuing bonds in the UAE.