This article investigates the building blocks to successful investment strategies for institutional investors. It presents the results of a worldwide survey of investment beliefs, and finds striking differences in how pension funds and commercial asset managers view capital markets. Asset...

A segmentation of the socially responsible investing (SRI) movement by values-versus-profit orientation solves the puzzling evidence that both socially responsible and controversial stocks produce superior returns. We derive that the segment of values-driven investors, who are willing to...

We study the economic significance of social dimensions in investment decisions by analyzing the holdings of U.S. equity mutual funds over the period 2004-2012. Using these holdings, we measure funds' exposures to socially sensitive stocks in order to answer two questions. What explains...

A direct relationship between the observed investment beliefs held by pension funds and performance measures is tested using an international sample of pension funds. Investment beliefs address strategic choices in the investment philosophy and process that affect the future performance of the...

Bubbles can persist because investors are better off riding bubbles. We define bubbles in a natural way as significant, prolonged deviations from fundamental values measured by the well-known asset pricing models. Our real-time bubble detection system shows that –using US industry returns–...

We investigate whether two heuristics, the peak-end rule and herding, lead to cognitive biases in the index of consumer sentiment published by the University of Michigan. Both affect respondents' assessment of changes in their financial position over the past year. Consistent with the peak-end...

We examine the relative weights hedge fund investors attach to past information in the fund selection process. The weighting scheme appears inconsistent with econometric forecasting models that predict fund returns, alphas or Sharpe ratios. In particular, investor flows are highly sensitive to...