We examine changes in equity mutual funds' investment advisory contracts. There are substantial advisory compensation rate changes in both directions, with typical percentage rate shifts exceeding one-fourth. We find that rate increases are associated with superior past market-adjusted...

We study standard mutual fund performance measures, using simulation procedures combined with random and random-stratified samples of NYSE and AMEX securities. We track simulated fund portfolios over time. These portfolios? performance is ordinary, and well-specified performance measures should...

We study firms that reduced private debt by repaying bank loans with proceeds from junk bonds. The debt contracts differ dramatically, and the contractual restrictions in bank debt are tighter. Sample firms are profitable, but experience operating earnings declines just prior to the junk bond...

Junk bonds have been portrayed as an important alternative source of debt finance for high-growth firms that rely extensively on bank debt. We investigate the role of junk bonds in corporate finance, using a sample of firms that issued junk bonds to pay down bank loans. Bank debt paydowns are...

We study put option sales undertaken by corporations during their repurchase programs. Put sales' main theoretical motivation is market timing, providing an excellent framework for studying whether security issues reflect managers' ability to identify mispricing. Our evidence is that these bets...

Previous work shows that the growth rate of industrial production is a common macroeconomic risk factor in the cross-section of expected returns. We demonstrate the connection between momentum profits and shifts in factor loadings on this macroeconomic variable. Winners have temporarily higher...