We examine whether equity issuances (IPOs and SEOs) are in part driven by investor sentiment by using equity mutual fund flows to proxy for the rational and/or irrational components of aggregate demand for equity. We find that more firms issue equity when flows are higher and repurchase equity...

We examine whether equity issuances (IPOs and SEOs) are in part driven by investor sentiment by using equity mutual fund flows to proxy for the rational and/or irrational components of aggregate demand for equity. We find that more firms issue equity when flows are higher and repurchase equity...

The literature suggests that underwriters perform significant marketing functions in securities offerings. We argue that underwriter’s efforts related to marketing can be estimated by the abnormal component of IPO underwriting spread. This is feasible using a large sample of Chinese IPOs,...