There is still no consensus regarding a generally accepted factor model to assess risk-adjusted hedge fund performance. In this paper, we compare three alternative factor models: the widely used Fung and Hsieh (2004) seven-factor model, a recently proposed extension to an eight-factor model, and...

It is common to evaluate mutual fund (and in general, security) returns by linear factor models. However, performance measures from these models are misleading if there are some omitted factors that explain cross-sectional variation in returns. We propose to use a latent-factor approach,...

In asset management, the portfolio leverage affects performance, and can be subject to constraints and operational limitations. Due to the possible leverage aversion of the investors, the comparison between portfolio performances can be incomplete or misleading. We propose a procedure to...

The paper builds on a simple yet novel idea that the way investors react to the recent mutual fund performance depends largely upon the long-term historical performance of that fund. In particular, I find that investors react more actively to the fund's recent performance in case of the funds...

We link a seemingly biased trading behavior to equilibrium asset prices. U.S. equity mutual fund managers tend to sell both their big winners and big losers. This selling pressure pushes down current prices and leads to higher future returns; aggregating across funds, we nd that securities for...

Our paper explores the link between cross-sectional fund return dispersion and performance evaluation. The foundation of our model is the simple intuition that in periods of high return dispersion, which is associated with high levels of idiosyncratic risk for zero-alpha funds, it is easier for...

Limited partnerships are attractive investment vehicles for investors because, as limited partners, investors cannot lose more than their invested capital despite the leverage of the partnership's portfolio. Consistent with this, the availability of tax losses to a limited partner is also more...

We analyze the out-of-sample performance of variables shown to forecast future mutual fund alphas. The degree of predictability, as measured by alpha spreads from quintile sorts or by cross-sectional regression slopes, falls by at least half post-sample. These declines appear to be primarily the...

We study the equilibrium implications of a multi-asset economy in which asset managers are subject to different benchmarks, and demonstrate how heterogeneous benchmarking generates a mechanism through which fundamental shocks propagate across assets. Fluctuations in asset managers' capital...

This paper provides new evidence about returns to scale in asset management, and their connection with capital flows to funds by investors. Equity mutual funds have diminishing returns to scale at the industry level, while hedge and fixed income funds have increasing returns to scale. The...