We develop a dynamic model of investment at the firm level in order to better understand the behavior of equity returns. Each period the firm has an option to invest. Past investment decisions account for the firm's existing asset base, which is assumed to depreciate. The value of a firm is then...

We present a simple model that rationalizes performance persistence in hedge fund limited partnerships. In contrast to the model for mutual funds of Berk and Green (2004), the learning in our model pertains to profitability associated with an innovative trading strategy or an emerging sector,...

As a consequence of optimal investment choices, firms' assets and growth options change in predictable ways. Using a dynamic model, we show that this imparts predictability to changes in a firm's systematic risk, and its expected return. Simulations show that the model simultaneously reproduces:...

We study the price discovery of municipal bonds, an important OTC market. As in markets for consumer goods, prices quot;rise faster than they fall.quot; Round-trip profits to dealers on retail trades increase in rising markets but do not decrease in falling markets. Effective half-spreads...

We study trading and prices in newly issued municipal bonds. Municipals, which trade in decentralized, broker-dealer markets, are underpriced when issued, but unlike equities the average price rises slowly over a period of several days. We document high levels of price dispersion in newly issued...

Municipal bonds trade in opaque, decentralized broker-dealer markets in which price information is costly to gather. Whether dealers in such a market operate competitively is an empirical issue, but a difficult one to study. Data in such markets is generally not centrally recorded. We analyze a...

We compute the value of a firm that pays its cash flows each period through share repurchases in a dynamic environment where personal taxes are paid on realized capital gains and dividends. These results provide a measure of the personal tax advantages of equity financing relative to debt...

We develop and analyze a model of a multi-stage investment project that captures many features of Ramp;D ventures and start-up companies. An important feature these problems share is that the firm learns about the potential profitability of the project throughout its life, but that...

We develop a simple rational model of active portfolio management that provides a natural benchmark against which to evaluate observed relationship between returns and fund flows. Many effects widely regarded as anomalous are consistent with this simple explanation. In the model, investments...

Municipal bonds trade in opaque, decentralized broker-dealer markets in which price information is costly to gather. We analyze a database of trades between broker-dealers and customers in municipal bonds. These data were only released to the public with a lag; the market was opaque. Dealers...