Limited partners (LPs) of private equity funds commit to invest with extreme levels of illiquidity and significant uncertainty regarding the timing of capital flows. Secondary markets have emerged which alleviate some of the associated cost. This paper develops a subjective valuation model...

In this paper, we have sought to understand what has been the performance of university endowments, and what drives the observed pattern of performance. Our key observations are as follows: (a) the endowments of elite universities have grown dramatically faster than endowments overall; (b)...

In this paper, I extend the results of Moskowitz and Vissing-Jørgensen (2002) on the returns to entrepreneurial investments in the United States. First, following the authors' methodology I replicate the original findings from the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) for the period 1989 - 1998 and...

We use unique data fromfinancial advisers' professional exam scores and combine it with other variables to create an index of financial sophistication. Using this index to explain long-term stock return expectations, we find that more sophisticated financial advisers tend to have lower return...

This paper is the first systematic analysis of the impact of diversification on the performance of private equity funds. A unique data set allows the exact evaluation of diversification across the dimensions financing stages, industries, and countries. Very different levels of diversification...

This paper studies the persistence of mutual fund performance. Academic research often focuses on fund returns, sometimes adjusted for style and market cap biases. Because fund rating systems play a central role in the asset management industry, we consider another approach in this paper. Using...

There is a substantial divide between evidence in the empirical literature and survey evidence in the financial press regarding the influence of sell-side analyst recommendations on the trading of mutual funds. While surveys of fund managers suggest that they assign little weight to analyst...

We use proprietary data to examine factors that lead hedge fund managers to offer hurdle rates and investigate relative hedge fund performance based on risk adjusted returns. Using data from 3,571 hedge funds over a 15 year period, we find that funds that do not offer a hurdle rate outperform...

In this study we use a comprehensive database of mutual funds and study performance persistence across different styles, regions, and asset classes. While we find strong evidence of performance persistence for some markets, there is weak or no evidence for other markets. Contrary to popular...