Using U.S. equity mutual fund data, we show that portfolio pumping – an illegal trading activity that artificially inflates year-end and quarter-end portfolio returns – is more pronounced among single-managed than team-managed funds. The return inflation by team-managed funds is 45% lower...

We propose a new channel through which teamwork improves mutual fund activity: by offsetting individual manager overconfidence, teams mitigate excessive performance-induced trading (PIT). The predictions of our theoretical model are confirmed in the data. Team-managed funds trade less after good...

Despite the overwhelming trend in mutual funds towards team management, empirical studies find no performance benefits for this phenomenon. We show it is caused by large discrepancies in reported managerial structures in CRSP and Morningstar Principia datasets versus SEC records, resulting in up...

The literature debates whether vertical (autocratic) or horizontal (democratic) policy making is better for institutional and country development. We approach this issue by examining how decision-making hierarchy in team-managed U.S. equity mutual funds affects their performance and risk taking....