The Classification and Market Pricing of the Cash Flows and Accruals on Trading Positions

Abstract

We investigate whether the market prices the change in net trading assets as an operating or non-operating activity or some mixture of the two, and whether this market pricing is consistent with the (fundamental) association of the change in net trading assets with future cash flows from operations. Our investigation is motivated by the observation that – despite the classification of the cash flows on trading positions as operating under FAS 102 – trading is economically a hybrid operating/non-operating activity. Reflecting this hybrid nature, we hypothesize and find that the change in net trading assets has a less positive association with returns and future CFO than do the pure operating components of cash flows and accruals, and that it has a more positive association with returns and future CFO than do the pure non-operating components of cash flows. To the best of our knowledge, our paper is the first to propose and test hypotheses about the valuation implications of such hybrid cash flows and accruals.