Many green financial products currently have a low financial return level; even so, these products are spreading dynamically. In our study, we explored Hungarian green financial investment preferences and separated consumers of green financial products into homogeneous groups, which were characterized on the basis of sociodemographic characteristics. In the case of investments with a similar risk, using the sample we examined we proved that there is a homogenous group (C2) in Hungary which prefers green aspects to higher financial returns in the course of its investment decisions. We separated a group (C3) which can be considered influenceable, and we concluded that, with the application of appropriate marketing activities, this group could be a potential target consumers for national banks and traders of green financial products in the future. Young females are the main target consumers for green financial products in Hungary, and they are the largest majority of the C2 group, for whom financial rationality takes a backseat to green aspects. Based on the results of our study, national banks and traders of financial products can create a more accurate and effective marketing strategy for their products on the Hungarian market.

The evaluation of sustainability is complex, involving several factors and expert opinions. In our research, we analyzed and evaluated the activities of a premium packaging material manufacturer with the participation of three relevant and professional groups. Various expectations have been defined in the form of plan values. From these plan values, we measured and evaluated the sustainability level of the company with the help of plan-fact ratios, fuzzy logic and triangular functions, enabling the subjective evaluation and integration of different opinions into the model. The purpose of our model is to support enterprise decision-making by taking into account sustainability aspects and the different expectations of interested parties. Our model helps identify intervention points and manages subjectivity in the field so that the decisions of enterprise managers better reflect the expectations and perspectives of those involved. The model we built is significantly different from previously used and developed indexes, as it functions as an enterprise-controlling model and index during sustainability evaluation. The developed model can also integrate company-specific and global sustainability indicators. Our research contributes to the development of sustainability evaluation methodology and the scientific examination of enterprise decision-making models. The controlling model we developed offers an integrated approach to managing the subjectivity of sustainability evaluation and the different expectations of stakeholder groups.

This research explores the efficacy of rebalancing strategies in a diversified portfolio constructed exclusively with exchange-traded funds (ETFs). We selected five ETF types: short-term U.S. Treasury bonds, U.S. equities, global commodities, U.S. real estate investment trusts (REITs), and a multi-strategy hedge fund. Using a 10-year historical period, we applied a unique simulation model to generate random portfolios with varying asset weights and rebalancing tolerance bands, assessing the impact of rebalancing premiums on portfolio performance. Our study reveals a significant positive correlation (r = 0.6492, p < 0.001) between rebalancing-weighted returns and the Sharpe ratio, indicating that effective rebalancing enhances risk-adjusted returns. Support vector regression (SVR) analysis shows that rebalancing premiums have diverse effects. Specifically, equities and commodities benefit from rebalancing with improved risk-adjusted returns, while bonds and REITs demonstrate a negative relationship, suggesting that rebalancing might be less effective or even detrimental for these assets. Our findings also indicate that negative portfolio rebalancing returns combined with positive rebalancing-weighted returns yield the highest average Sharpe ratio of 0.4328, highlighting a distinct and reciprocal relationship between rebalancing effects at the asset and portfolio levels. This research highlights that while rebalancing can enhance portfolio performance, its effectiveness varies by asset class and market conditions.

Portfolio diversification is an accepted principle of risk management. When constructing an efficient portfolio, there are a number of asset classes to choose from. Financial innovation is expanding the range of instruments. In addition to traditional commodities and securities, other instruments have been added. These include cryptocurrencies. In our study, we seek to answer the question of what proportion of cryptocurrencies should be included alongside traditional instruments to optimise portfolio risk. We use VaR risk measures to optimise the process. Diversification opportunities are evaluated under normal return distributions, thick-tailed distributions, and asymmetric distributions. To answer our research questions, we have created a quantitative model in which we analysed the VaR of different portfolios, including crypto-diversified assets, using Monte Carlo simulations. The study database includes exchange rate data for two consecutive years. When selecting the periods under examination, it was important to compare favourable and less favourable periods from a macroeconomic point of view so that the study results can be interpreted as a stress test in addition to observing the diversification effect. The first period under examination is from 1 September 2020 to 31 August 2021, and the second from 1 September 2021 to 31 August 2022. Our research results ultimately confirm that including cryptoassets can reduce the risk of an investment portfolio. The two time periods examined in the simulation produced very different results. An analysis of the second period suggests that Bitcoin’s diversification ability has become significant in the unfolding market situation due to the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Our study examined the financial situation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the health industry of the Visegrad Four (V4: Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary) in the period 2008–2021. The basis of the analysis was the reports available in the Crefoport database. During the analysis, we took into account four key financial indicators (liquidity, profitability (ROA), efficiency, capital structure) and used the Kaplan–Meier survival estimator to examine the viability of enterprises. In our study, we draw attention to the national economic importance of healthcare SMEs in the CEE region, and within that, in the V4 countries during the period of Industry 4.0 and the COVID-19 pandemic. Our research goal is to examine the life expectancy of healthcare enterprises operating in Hungary at the time of their establishment, in relation to the SMEs of the other three countries. The health industry SMEs of the V4 countries showed positive growth (+18%) in the period under review compared to the average of the 3 years before the COVID-19 pandemic, in the average of the first 3 years of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study paid particular attention to the life expectancy of businesses at the time of establishment. According to our results, the life expectancy of healthcare enterprises operating in Hungary at the time of establishment is high, but it does not differ significantly from that of the other examined countries. Our study highlights that the health industry SMEs of the examined countries do not need financial support; they are standing on a stable footing, which provides them with an excellent opportunity to either expand abroad or introduce innovations.

The aim of the study is to create a performance evaluation controlling model to evaluate the performance of tourism enterprises as a function of the economic effects of COVID-19. As a result of the significant change in demand resulting from the economic environment, expectations and cyclicality caused by the pandemic, the assessment of organization performance has become subjective. Under these changed environmental conditions, most of the methods used by tourism companies to evaluate performance are not effective enough. In our research, we illustrated a controlling model based on fuzzy logic through a case study. By applying the model, it becomes possible to evaluate project-oriented tourism organizations according to different standardized norms. Our model considers the subjectivity derived from measurability and goal setting. We point out that the performance of organizations operating in the tourism industry significantly influenced by COVID-19 can be subjectively assessed during the pandemic period and thus depends on the analytical context. By evaluating the performance of tourism organizations along internal organizational goals, more relevant information content and more informed managerial decision support can be achieved.