The purpose of this article is to examine the impact of incentive fees on mutual fund performance. The paper proceeds as follows. In the first section we examine the characteristics and the use of incentive fees in the mutual fund industry. In the second section we explore the theory of the...

This paper examines problems in the CRSP Survivor Bias Free U.S. Mutual Fund Database (CRSP, 1998) and compares returns contained in it to those in Morningstar. The CRSP database has an omission bias that has the same effects as survivorship bias. Although all mutual funds are listed in CRSP,...

In this paper, we develop relative pricing (APT) models that are successful in explaining expected returns in the bond market. We utilize indexes as well as unanticipated changes in economic variables as factors driving security returns. An innovation in this paper is the measurement of the...

Mutual fund attrition can create problems for a researcher, because funds that disappear tend to do so due to poor performance. In this paper we estimate the size of the bias by tracking all funds that existed at the end of 1976. When a fund merges we calculate the return, taking into account...

There is overwhelming evidence that, post expenses, mutual fund managers on average underperform a combination of passive portfolios of similar risk. The recent increase in the number and types of index funds that are available to individual investors makes this a matter of practical as well as...

A great deal of the literature in financial economics contains the assumption that returns are a linear function of a set of observable factors. The specification of the variables in the linear process (known as the return-generating process) is one of the key issues in finance today. The...

A great deal of the literature in financial economics contains the assumption that returns are a linear function of a set of observable factors. The specification of the variables in the linear process (known as the return-generating process) is one of the key issues in finance today. The...

Portfolio theory is a well-developed paradigm. There are excellent textbooks on the subject. Of course, we are especially partial to our own Modern Portfolio Theory and Investment Analysis. There are also good reviews in more advanced doctoral-level texts such as Ingersoll (1987) or Huang and...

This is the first study to examine both how well plan administrators select funds and howparticipants react to plan administrator decisions. We find that on average administrators select funds that outperform randomly selected funds of the same type. When administrators change offerings, they...

This paper examines problems in the CRSP Survivor Bias Free U.S. Mutual Fund Database CRSP, 1998! and compares returns contained in it to those in Morningstar.The CRSP database has an omission bias that has the same effects as survivorship bias. Although all mutual funds are listed in CRSP,...