GOAL-BASED INVESTING: MODELING RISK-RETURN CHARACTERISTICS OF VARIOUS ASSET CLASSES IN THE CONTEXT OF INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO OPTIMIZATION UNDER NON-STATIONARY MARKET CONDITIONS - GBI

Project “GBI” is implemented within the framework of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan 2021–2026 and is financed by European Union funds through the NextGenerationEU instrument.

Research team

Denis Dolinar

Denis Dolinar, PhD, graduated in 2006 from the Faculty of Economics and Business – Zagreb, majoring in Finance. At the same Faculty, he enrolled in a postgraduate university specialist programme in 2009, specializing in Financial Analysis, and in 2010 in a postgraduate university doctoral programme in Business Economics. In 2015, he obtained the academic degree of Doctor of Science by defending his doctoral dissertation entitled “Identification of Systematic Risk Factors and the Applicability of Factor Models in the Croatian Stock Market.” In 2022, he was elected to the academic rank of Associate Professor.

From December 2006 to August 2008, Denis Dolinar was employed at Raiffeisen Consulting, where he worked in the Economic Research Department as a financial analyst for the Croatian stock market. Since September 2008, he has been employed at the Faculty of Economics and Business – Zagreb. At the Department of Business Economics, he primarily participates in delivering lectures, seminars, and exercises in the courses Corporate Finance, Capital Budgeting, Investment Analysis, and Financial Asset Management within the integrated undergraduate and graduate university programme; the course Investment Analysis within the undergraduate university programme taught in English; and the course Fundamentals of Securities Analysis within the specialist graduate professional programme. In addition, on several occasions, he has been invited to give lectures in the postgraduate specialist programme Financial Analysis as part of the Portfolio Management course. Since 2024, he has served as Head of the Department of Business Economics and Deputy Head of the specialization Analysis and Business Planning.

Denis Dolinar’s primary areas of scientific research include corporate finance and investment analysis. In these fields, he publishes scientific papers independently or as a co-author. He has participated in and presented papers at numerous international conferences. For his scientific work, he has received two awards: the Mijo Mirković Award (2023) and the Ljubomir Martić Recognition (2023).

A complete list of publications is available at:
https://www.croris.hr/osobe/profil/27323

In 2018, he co-chaired the professional conference “Asset Management Seminar,” organized in cooperation with Intercapital Asset Management d.o.o. for senior-year students. From 2020 to 2023, he was a member of a multidisciplinary research team on the scientific project “Networked Stationary Battery Energy Storage” (https://usbse.eu/), funded by the European Structural and Investment Funds and led by the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb. He has participated in numerous workshops and seminars, primarily in the fields of financial analysis and econometrics, including: EFFAS Summer School (Madrid, 2009); Doctoral Summer School, Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana (Ljubljana, 2013); Advances in Asset Allocation Seminar, EDHEC Risk Institute (London, 2018); and Scientific Beta Days Europe 2023 (Amsterdam, 2023).

His professional impact is reflected through memberships in supervisory bodies of financial institutions: 2018–2023, member of the Audit Committee of Intercapital Asset Management d.o.o.; 2023–present, member of the Supervisory and Audit Committee of SKDD d.d. His professional engagement is also evident through participation in several commercial projects of the Faculty as a co-author of expert studies. He is a member of the Croatian Association of Financial Analysts.

Lidija Dedi

Lidija Dedi, PhD, was born on November 4 1973 in Koprivnica, Croatia. She graduated in 1997, completed an MBA in Business Management in 2000, and earned her PhD in 2006 at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb. After completing her studies, she worked as a professional associate for the Sylvan Prometric Test Center and the MBA programme at the Faculty of Economics and Business. In 2001, she was appointed as a Teaching and Research Assistant at the Department of Business Economics at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb. She was promoted to Full Professor in 2018 and to Full Professor with Tenure in April 2023.

She teaches courses in internal and external financial analysis, including Corporate Finance, Investment Analysis, Capital Budgeting, Energy and Environmental Investment Analysis, and Corporate Financing. From the academic year 2013/14 to 2021/22, she served as Head of the graduate programme Analysis and Business Planning. She is the course coordinator for Investment Analysis, Capital Budgeting, Energy and Environmental Investment Analysis, and Corporate Financing.

She serves as a reviewer for numerous prestigious scientific journals, including International Review of Applied Economics; International Journal of Finance and Economics; Research in International Business and Finance; Applied Economics incorporating Applied Financial Economics; Asia-Pacific Journal of Financial Studies; and Emerging Markets Finance and Trade.

She has been a member of the Croatian Association of Financial Analysts since 2002. Since 2010, she has been a member of the Association’s Executive Board and serves as Vice President. In the same year (2002), she passed the Investment Advisor Certification Exam, with the certificate issued by the Croatian Securities Commission and the Croatian Association of Financial Analysts.

She is a member of the Editorial Board of the UTMS Journal of Economics. She is also a member of Who’s Who in the World (25th Silver Edition), WDSI (Western Decision Sciences Institute), EFFAS (European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies), and ANAHEI (Association of North America Higher Education International). For the periods July 2021–July 2024 and July 2024–July 2027, she has been a member of the EFFAS CEFA Review Panel.

During the academic year 2014/15, she was a Visiting Researcher at California State University Dominguez Hills, Carson, California, USA. From 24 to 28 February 2020, she actively participated in Global Faculty Week at Tecnológico de Monterrey in Querétaro, Mexico.

In 2016, she served as Chair of the Organizing Committee for the 1st International Conference on Financial Analysis, held in Dubrovnik from 1 to 3 of June 2016, and was also a member of the Programme Committee. She was a Guest Editor of Zagreb International Review of Economics and Business (ZIREB) (2017) Special Conference Issue related to the 1st International Conference on Financial Analysis, Dubrovnik, Croatia, June 1–3, 2016, as well as UTMS Journal of Economics, Vol. 8, No. 1, 2017.

She served as a professional editor of the following books:

Treasury of Investment Wisdom, Dean LeBaron and Romesh Vaitilingam, Masmedia, Zagreb (2010);
Stocks – When to Buy, When to Sell, Peter Lynch and John Rothchild, Masmedia, Zagreb (2012);
Security Analysis, Benjamin Graham and David L. Dodd, Masmedia, Zagreb (2013);
The Intelligent Investor, Benjamin Graham, Croatian edition, Egmont (2022).

From 1st of October 2022 to 30th of September 2024, she served as Head of the Department of Business Economics.

Danijela Miloš Sprčić

Danijela Miloš Sprčić was born on August 2, 1976, in Novska, where she finished elementary school and gymnasium. She holds a bachelor's and master’s degree in finance from the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb. She received her PhD in 2007 from The University of Greenwich Business School, Old Royal Naval College in London in the field of Finance and Risk management. She was elected to the title of Assistant Professor in 2008, to the title of Associate Professor in 2013, to the title of Full Professor in 2018, and to the title of Full Professor (tenured position) in 2023. She has been employed since 1999 at the Department of Managerial Economics at the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB), University of Zagreb. Her areas of scientific and professional activity are business finance, design and implementation of risk management systems, integrated risk management, corporate governance in credit institutions, analysis and valuation of companies, development of financial markets as well as analysis of profitability and risk of investment projects.

Danijela Miloš Sprčić is the president of the Supervisory Board and member of the Risk Committee of Croatia bank. She also serves as the member of the Supervisory Board of Erste Bank AD Podgorica, Monte Negro, where she is the president of the Remuneration Committee, member of the Risk Committee and member of the Audit Committee.

She is a member of the expert working group for the development of the Guidelines for Integrated Risk Management in Public Sector Institutions and was a member of the expert working group for the preparation of the Draft Proposal of the Act on Amendments to the Act on the System of Internal Controls in the Public Sector at the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Croatia.

At the Faculty of Economics and Business Zagreb, she coordinates and teaches the courses Risk Management, Financial Management (MBA), Corporate Risk Management (BDiB), Strategic Risk Management (MBA), Analysis & Valuation of Companies and Fundamentals of Corporate Finance. She is a lecturer at the courses Corporate Finance and Selected Topics of Business Administration (PhD programme). She also coordinates and teaches the courses Financial Management and Risk Management in Construction Companies at the Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Zagreb at the postgraduate specialist programme "MBA in Construction". Since 2019, she has been a visiting professor at the School of Economics and Business, University of Ljubljana. She is the subject editor of the renowned scientific journal Risk Management published by Springer/Palgrave as well as the journal Economic and Business Review published by the School of Economics and Business, University of Ljubljana. She is a member of the Academic Council of the Croatian Society for Corporate Governance and Management and a member of the Scientific Society of Economists, the International Association of Professional Risk Managers and the Croatian Association of Corporate Treasurers.

She has led several professional projects as well as research projects funded by the Development Fund of the University of Zagreb. She also participated in research projects funded by the Croatian Science Foundation and the European Structural and Investment Funds. Through projects of professional cooperation and executive education programs, she has collaborated with a number of companies and professional associations, including Valamar Riviera, Croatian Lottery, Končar Group, Croatian Air-traffic Control Company - CroControl, City Gas Plant Zagreb, Croatian Electric Power Industry, Podravka, Ina, Ericsson Nikola Tesla, Croatian Exporters and the Croatian Chamber of Auditors.

Danijela Miloš Sprčić has written and published, independently or in co-authorship, over 50 scientific and professional papers in the field of finance and risk management, three author's books and four editorial books (Google Scholar Profile). Her papers have been published in renowned international publications such as Risk Management, Research in International Business and Finance, E a M: Economy and Management, EuroMed Journal of Business, Electrical Power and Energy Systems, Journal of Destination Marketing and Management, Zagreb International Review of Economics and Business (ZIREB), Economic Review, Financial Theory and Practice, etc.

Her solo authored paper "Perspectives for the Development of the Croatian Corporate Bond Market" published in 2004 in the journal Financial Theory and Practice was awarded the annual awards "Dr. Marijan Hanžeković" and "Mijo Mirković" for 2004, and her solo authored paper "Corporate risk management rationales: evidence from Croatian companies" published in the Economic Review was awarded the annual "Mijo Mirković" award for 2007. In 2013, Danijela Miloš Sprčić was awarded the annual "Mijo Mirković" award for a special contribution to the development of economic science. The award was given for the solo authored monograph "Risk Management - Basic Concepts, Strategies and Instruments".

Danijela Miloš Sprčić is an invited lecturer at scientific and professional conferences in the field of finance, risk management and corporate governance. She actively speaks and writes in English. She is married and a mother of two.

Ena Pecina

Ena Pecina, PhD, was born on 7 February 1987 in Banja Luka. After completing the VII Gymnasium in Zagreb, she enrolled in 2005 at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, where she completed her undergraduate programme in Business Economics in 2010, majoring in Analysis and Business Planning. She graduated with a grade point average of 4.9, ranking among the top 5% of her generation. During her studies, she received two Dean’s Awards as well as scholarships from the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports and the City of Zagreb. She worked as a student demonstrator at two departments, served as a team leader in the student association eStudent, and attended a summer school in Prague in 2010 organized by The Fund for American Studies.

She began her professional career at the end of 2010 as a Junior Credit Risk Analyst at Renault Nissan Hrvatska d.o.o. In March 2011, she joined the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, as a Teaching and Research Assistant at the Department of Business Economics. She completed the postgraduate specialist programme in Financial Analysis in 2014 and earned her PhD in 2018 in the field of Social Sciences (Economics, Finance). Her doctoral dissertation, entitled “Capital Structure Design and the Identification of Financing Constraints of Croatian Companies,” was written under the supervision of Professor Silvije Orsag, PhD, and was awarded the Dr. Pero Jurković Award.

She was elected to the academic rank of Assistant Professor in 2023. At the Faculty, she teaches at undergraduate and graduate levels, in both professional and university programmes, in Croatian and English. She participates in teaching and examination processes in the following courses: Fundamentals of Corporate Finance, Corporate Finance, Investment Analysis, Business Analysis, Corporate Finance, and Investment Analysis. In addition, on several occasions, she has been invited to lecture in the university specialist programme Business Administration – MBA within the Financial Management course. Since 2024, she has served as Head of the specialization Analysis and Business Planning within the integrated undergraduate and graduate university programme in Business Economics, while simultaneously holding the position of Deputy Head of the Department of Business Economics. She is a member of the Faculty Council (narrow composition) and several professional committees. Her mentoring work is highlighted by the victory of a female student team at the CFA Research Challenge in 2025.

Her scientific interests focus on financial analysis, including corporate finance, investment analysis, and business analysis. She is an active researcher on both international and domestic projects. Since 2023, she has been a researcher on the Croatian Science Foundation project Digitalisation of Non-Thermal Extraction of Proteins from Plant By-products and Electroforming as an Output Product – DEEP (IP-2022-10-2207), led by Professor Anet Režek Jambrak, PhD (Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb). She is also a researcher on the Erasmus+ project Envisioning Sustainable Futures in Higher Education Business Departments, Inspired by Permaculture Design Principles (2023–2026), led by Associate Professor Zoran Wittine, PhD, and funded by the European Union.

She continuously pursues professional development through international workshops (Amsterdam, Portugal, Split), with a particular focus on econometric methods and the Stata software. She is a member of the Croatian Association of Financial Analysts and of the Organizing Committee of the international scientific conference International Odyssey Conference on Economics and Business. In addition to her academic work, she has participated as a co-author in the preparation of commercial expert studies conducted by the Faculty. Ena Pecina is married and the mother of two children.

Andrija Sabol

Andrija Sabol, PhD, was born on 28 January 1987 in Čakovec, Croatia. After completing Josip Slavenski Gymnasium in Čakovec in 2005, he enrolled at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb. During his studies, he received five Dean’s Awards—three for outstanding academic achievement, one for extracurricular activities, and one for a seminar paper. He served as a student demonstrator in several courses at the Department of Business Economics and was a scholarship recipient of the City of Čakovec. He graduated in June 2010 among the top students of the first cohort educated under the Bologna system. Immediately after graduation, he began working as a trainee at the Međimurje Regional Development Agency – REDEA, where he was involved in the application and implementation of projects financed by European Union funds.

In February 2011, he joined the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, as a Teaching and Research Assistant at the Department of Business Economics, teaching courses in Strategic Planning, Business Transformation Planning, Corporate Finance, and Investment Analysis. In the same year, he enrolled in the postgraduate specialist programme in Financial Analysis, which he successfully completed in 2014 by defending the thesis “Scenario Planning as a Tool for Business Transformation Design,” under the supervision of Associate Professor Đurđica Fučkan, PhD. From 2012 until the defense of his doctoral dissertation in November 2017, he was enrolled in the doctoral programme at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb. He defended his doctoral dissertation entitled “Managerial Competencies in the Design of Competitive Advantages and Value Creation of Croatian Companies” in November 2017 under the supervision of Professor Silvije Orsag, PhD.

Since 2022, when he was elected to the academic rank of Assistant Professor, he has served as course coordinator and independently delivers lectures, seminars, and examinations in the following courses: Business Transformation Planning, Business Planning, Business Analysis, Strategy Design, Integrated Planning, Planning, Business Valuation and Analysis (integrated university programme), Analysis and Planning (professional programme), Selected Topics in Corporate Governance, and Paradigms and Methodology of Planning and Analysis (doctoral programme). He has supervised several hundred master’s theses within the specialization Analysis and Business Planning and served as Head of the specialization from 2022 to 2024. He also works as a consultant in the fields of strategic and financial analysis and business valuation.

His research interests lie in strategic planning, strategic analysis, and sustainable development, complemented by business analysis and company valuation. His scientific and teaching work is grounded in analyses of sustainable strategies at the micro, meso, and macro levels, with a focus on strategy formulation and planning processes, particularly on implementation, evaluation, and further empirical investigation of applied strategies in practice. His research pays special attention to the principles of multidimensionality, multi-objective decision-making, and multi-criteria analysis of sustainable development, taking into account environmental, social, and economic–financial dimensions.

He has participated in and presented papers at international conferences and has published articles in internationally peer-reviewed journals. He has also taken part in several workshops and seminars. He is fluent in English and German.

Zrinka Orlović Altabas

Zrinka Orlović Altabas, PhD, enrolled at the Faculty of Economics and Business – Zagreb in 2013, majoring in Business Economics. During her studies, she worked as a student demonstrator at the Department of Statistics and the Department of Mathematics. For her outstanding academic performance and achievements, she was awarded the University Excellence Scholarship in 2015, 2016, and 2017. She completed the university undergraduate programme in 2017 and, one year later in 2018, completed the university graduate programme in Analysis and Business Planning, earning the degree of Master of Economics.

In October 2018, she began working as a Teaching and Research Assistant at the Faculty of Economics and Business – Zagreb, at the Department of Business Economics, where she is currently employed. In 2024, she was promoted to the position of Senior Teaching and Research Assistant at the same faculty. In December 2018, she enrolled in the postgraduate university (doctoral) programme in Business Economics at the Faculty of Economics and Business – Zagreb. She completed her doctoral studies in 2023 by defending her doctoral dissertation entitled “Yield Curve Modelling and Its Implications for Bond Portfolio Management in the Croatian Financial Market.”

She participates in teaching the course Corporate Finance within the integrated undergraduate university programme and the course Investment Analysis within the integrated graduate university programme. She is also involved in teaching the elective course Financial Asset Management within the integrated undergraduate and graduate university programmes, as well as the course Fundamentals of Securities Analysis within the professional graduate programme. In addition, as a Visiting Lecturer at WU Vienna through the CEEPUS Network Mobility Grant, she delivered a guest course.

Throughout her professional career, she has participated in numerous seminars and workshops and has presented papers at several international conferences. She is fluent in English. Her research interests focus on investment analysis, portfolio management, and data analysis.

Zrinka Orlović Altabas is an active member of committees for scientific and professional conferences and of the ECTS Committee at the Faculty of Economics and Business – Zagreb. She is a member of the Editorial Board of the Economic and Business Review, School of Economics and Business, University of Ljubljana. She is also a member of Global Market Access Solutions, where she contributes to the development of fiscal models.

Zrinka Lovretin Golubić

Zrinka Lovretin Golubić, PhD, completed her primary and secondary education in Jastrebarsko. After graduating from the general secondary school in Jastrebarsko, she enrolled in 2005 at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb. During her studies, she worked as a student demonstrator at the Department of Statistics and the Department of Business Economics. For her outstanding academic performance and achievements, she received two Dean’s Awards and was a scholarship holder of the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Croatia for high-achieving students. She completed the university undergraduate programme in 2009 and, one year later in 2010, completed the university graduate programme in Finance, earning the degree of Master of Economics.

In May 2022, she completed the postgraduate university (doctoral) programme Economics and Business Economics, majoring in Business Economics, at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb. By defending her doctoral dissertation entitled “Possibilities for Modifying the Single-Factor Model in the Croatian Capital Market,” she earned the academic degree of Doctor of Science. In 2022, she received the Dr. Pero Jurković Award for her doctoral dissertation, recognizing a special scientific contribution in the field of finance.

From September 2010 to April 2017, she worked in various positions within the Treasury Department at INA d.d., spending the last two years as a Finance Expert. Her responsibilities included the preparation of financial plans, development of financing strategies, calculation and evaluation of financial indicators, conducting negotiations and signing various types of loan agreements, as well as treasury-related analysis and control of subsidiaries. In May 2017, she joined the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, as a Teaching and Research Assistant at the Department of Business Economics, where she is currently employed as a Senior Teaching and Research Assistant.

She participates in teaching the courses Corporate Finance and Investment Analysis, as well as the elective course Financial Asset Management, within the integrated undergraduate and graduate university programme; the course Fundamentals of Corporate Finance within the professional undergraduate programme; and the course Corporate Finance within the English-taught undergraduate programme Bachelor Degree in Business (BDiB).

Her scientific and research work focuses on investment analysis, particularly in the context of portfolio management and the impact of behavioural factors on investment decision-making. She has participated in several workshops and seminars for further professional development, presented papers at international conferences, and publishes articles in internationally peer-reviewed journals. She is a member of the Croatian Statistical Association and is fluent in English.

Jura Jurčević

Jura Jurčević, PhD, was born on 23 April 1996 in Karlovac, Croatia. In 2015, he enrolled at the Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, majoring in Mathematics. In 2018, he enrolled in the graduate programme in Financial and Business Mathematics at the same faculty and graduated in 2020. In 2020, he enrolled in the postgraduate university (doctoral) programme in Economics and Business Economics at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb. In 2025, he obtained the academic degree of Doctor of Science by defending his doctoral dissertation entitled “Development of an Optimization Model for the Profitability of Battery Energy Storage in the European Union Based on Perfect Foresight and Electricity Price Forecasting.”

Since 1 October 2020, he has been employed as a Teaching and Research Assistant at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, at the Department of Business Economics, within the project Networked Stationary Battery Energy Storage (USBSE). Since 1 May 2023, he has been employed as a Teaching and Research Assistant at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, at the Department of Business Economics. He primarily participates in delivering seminar classes in the course Corporate Finance within the integrated undergraduate and graduate university programme, as well as in the course Fundamentals of Corporate Finance within the professional graduate programme.

His scientific research focuses on investment analysis. In this field, he authors and co-authors scientific papers and has participated in and presented papers at numerous international conferences. From 2020 to 2023, he was a member of a multidisciplinary research team on the scientific project “Networked Stationary Battery Energy Storage” (https://usbse.eu/), funded by the European Structural and Investment Funds. For his scientific work, he received the Ljubomir Martić Recognition from the Faculty of Economics and Business – Zagreb in 2023.

Uršula Kaštelan Brumen

Uršula Kaštelan Brumen is a Teaching and Research Assistant at the Department of Business Economics, Faculty of Economics and Business – Zagreb. She completed her primary and secondary education in Zaprešić. After graduating from the Ban Josip Jelačić Gymnasium, she enrolled in 2014 at the Faculty of Economics and Business – Zagreb, majoring in Business Economics. During her studies, she worked as a student demonstrator at the Department of Business Economics.

She completed the university undergraduate programme Business Economics in 2018 and, in 2019, completed the university graduate programme Analysis and Business Planning, earning the degree of Master of Economics.

During her studies at the Faculty of Economics and Business – Zagreb, her work as a demonstrator at the Department of Business Economics fostered a strong interest in teaching and scientific research. After completing the graduate programme Analysis and Business Planning, she was employed in February 2020 as a Teaching and Research Assistant at the Faculty of Economics and Business – Zagreb, at the Department of Business Economics. Since then, she has been actively involved in delivering teaching in the course Corporate Finance. In November 2020, she enrolled in the postgraduate university (doctoral) programme Economics and Business Economics.

Her scientific and research interests focus on business strategies, corporate finance, and healthcare.

Page updated

Report abuse