This article explores the relationships of mutual fund advertising and investor skill in making fund choices. Fund advertising dominates the choices of unsophisticated investors. Advertising appeals to investor emotions by resonating with current beliefs, not by providing information that...

In summary, the ex ante evidence suggests strong preference relationships for the three sets of risk-return variables analyzed. Further, there appear to be differences among the nature and shape of the relationships as evidenced by the statistical tests: one, the association between risk and...

This study provides in-depth coverage of important findings surrounding the question of why investors continue to buy underperforming actively managed mutual funds. This issue is complicated by the finding active managers have skill that allows them to add fund value, but which is not shared...

Since the 2003 mutual funds scandal, it has become quite clear that thoughtful, long-term individual investors should focus on identifying and investing in stewardship funds. The purpose of this study is to provide readily available approaches for individual investors to use in the...

Baker and Wurgler [2007] take a “top down” approach to behavioral finance and the stock market. Investor sentiment is taken to be exogenous and the focus is on its empirical effects. Sentiment is measurable and its waves have clearly discernible, important, and regular effects on firms and...

Since the 2003 mutual funds scandal, it has become quite clear that thoughtful, long-term individual investors should focus on identifying and investing in stewardship funds. The purpose of this study is to provide readily available approaches for individual investors to use in the...