Marketing and distribution expenses are responsible for about a third of the cost of active management in the mutual fund industry. We develop and estimate a structural model of mutual fund marketing with learning about unobserved skill and costly investor search. Our estimates suggest that...

Marketing and distribution expenses are responsible for about a third of the cost of active management in the mutual fund industry. We develop and estimate a structural model of mutual fund marketing with learning about unobserved skill and costly investor search. Our estimates suggest that...

Does the observed relationship between mutual fund flows and recent performance represent irrational “return chasing” or rational learning about unobserved fund manager skill in the presence of decreasing returns to scale? We estimate a structural model of investor beliefs implicit in the...

We study a dynamic equilibrium model of mutual fund investing under career concerns that features investment opportunities at different horizons. Equilibrium returns are endogenously determined by competition. Short-term investment strategies can benefit fund managers by accelerating skill...

We propose a model featuring horizon-specific mutual fund manager skill. Managers optimally choose their holdings based on their skill and the price impact of their trades. Fund turnover negatively correlates with the horizon over which value is added and positively correlates with price impact...

The real price of recreation goods and services has fallen dramatically over the last century. At the same time, hours per worker have also been on a steady decline. As recreation goods make leisure time more enjoyable, we investigate if the fall in their price has contributed to the decline in...