Short sellers are perceived as informed, sophisticated investors. Yet little is known about their actual performance and trading strategies. Using a novel, hand-collected data set of daily position disclosures in Europe, we identify the entry, change, and exit dates of large short-sale positions...

We examine the performance life cycle of hedge funds. Performance declines with age are pervasive, not just for the average fund, but also for past winners and for funds with characteristics that predict cross-sectional returns. Fund growth and decreasing performance incentives appear to...