Prior studies have shown that newly public firms exhibit a high degree of uncertainty and asymmetric information, with few reliable sources of information. These findings suggest that investors could benefit if some independent party is able to assess the quality of a newly public firm. Since...

We test whether 1) institutional investors with concentrated international holdings outperform internationally diversified investors, and 2) foreign investors with information advantage, measured by cultural and geographic proximity to the target market, outperform other foreign investors. Using...

Using data on security holdings of 10,771 institutional investors from 72 different countries, we test whether concentrated investment strategies result in excess risk-adjusted returns to institutional investors. We examine three measures of portfolio concentration: home country, foreign...

Empirical studies document that investors typically deviate significantly from a globally market value weighted portfolio, concentrating their portfolio holdings in securities domiciled in their home country and in familiar foreign markets. Evidence that home country concentration stems from an...

Traditional portfolio theory predicts that investors' portfolios should be diversified across international markets. In contrast, empirical studies document that investors are more likely to invest in their home country and in familiar foreign markets. These findings imply that investors do not...

Traditional portfolio theory predicts that investors' portfolios should be diversified across international markets. In contrast, empirical studies document that investors are more likely to invest in their home country and in familiar foreign markets. These findings imply that investors do not...

This study examines and compares characteristics, financing patterns, and performance outcomes of women-owned and men-owned young entrepreneurial firms. Using fully imputed data from the Kauffman Firm Surveys of U.S. start-up firms, we first examine the differences in firm and owner...

In this study, we analyze the firm's choice of legal form of organization (“LFO”). We find that only about one in three firms begins operations as a proprietorship, while almost as many begin as limited liability companies and as corporations. Moreover, this distribution is remarkably stable...