Financial management aims at choosing the best investment and financing alternatives by focusing on their costs and benefits. Its objective is to:

The correct option is: Increase the shareholders’ wealth.

Understanding the Objective of Financial Management
Financial management is concerned with the acquisition, financing, and management of assets with some overall goal in mind. While firms might look at various short-term goals, the ultimate and primary objective of financial management is wealth maximization (specifically, maximizing the market value of the company's shares).

Why Wealth Maximization is the Core Objective:
1. Value Creation: Shareholders are the owners of a corporation. The wealth of a shareholder is represented by the market value of the shares they hold. When a company chooses the best investment and financing alternatives, it aims to generate benefits that exceed costs, thereby increasing the value of the firm's stock.
2. Time Value of Money and Risk: Unlike simple "profit maximization" or "capital maximization" metrics, which focus on short-term accounting numbers, wealth maximization considers the time value of money, the riskiness of cash flows, and the long-term sustainability of the business.
3. Share Price as a Barometer: The market price of a company's share reflects the market's assessment of the quality of its financial decisions. By focusing on increasing shareholders' wealth, financial managers ensure they are making decisions that align with the best long-term interests of the owners.