This study investigates the cross-sectional variation in equity real estate investment trusts (EREITs) returns. A pooled cross-sectional, time-series approach is used as an alternative to the two-step Fama-MacBeth regression. With pooling, more powerful tests can be obtained from the limited...

This study investigates whether discount rate changes serve as an informative signal for investors to enter or exit the stock market. Based on the signal, a market timing strategy is formulated and its performance relative to a passive buy-and-hold strategy is tested with several performance...

The addition of the Fama and French (2015) profitability (RMW) and investment (CMA) factors to the standard four-factor model reveals persistent positive alpha after fees for mutual funds. Over the period 2000-2014, about 65 percent of fund managers have at least some skill, and about 15 percent...

On average, stocks with high prior-period volatility underperform those with low prior-period volatility, but that simple comparison paints an incomplete, and potentially misleading, picture. As we show, high volatility is an indicator of both positive and negative future abnormal performance....

We find the low volatility anomaly is present in all but the smallest of stocks. Portfolios can be formed on either total or idiosyncratic volatility to take advantage of this anomaly, but we show measures of idiosyncratic volatility are key. Standard risk-adjusted returns suggest that there is...

We examine why mutual funds appear to underperform hedge funds. Utilizing a unique panel of mutual fund contracts changes, we explore several possible channels, including: alternative investment practices (e.g., short sales and leverage), performance-based compensation, and the ability to...

Theoretical considerations in Dybvig, Ingersoll, and Ross (1996) lead them to conclude that long forward and zero-coupon rates can never fall. We examine this conjecture empirically using monthly U.S. Treasury STRIPS data over the period 1990-2000. Based on the Cox, Ingersoll, and Ross (1985)...

We examine how organizational structure affects corporate payout policies. Conglomerates (multi-segment firms) pay out more than pure plays (single-segment firms) in both cash dividends and total payouts (defined as cash dividends plus share repurchases). Further, corporate payouts increase as...