I estimate a mean-variance efficient (MVE) portfolio assuming that the MVE frontier is spanned by optimal portfolios that fund managers offer to heterogeneous investors. Consistent with predictions of mutual fund separation, the estimated MVE portfolio can price the cross section of portfolios...

An idealized model of the investment process redefines the respective roles of security analysts and portfolio managers, quantifies such concepts as activity and aggressiveness, and explains how the individual analyst's efforts at forecasting returns translate into improved portfolio performance

This study establishes a multi-tier framework to evaluate how fund manager characteristics systematically affect mutual fund performance. The framework includes three tiers of performance elements: 1) comprehensive performance, 2) return and risk, and 3) timing skill and picking ability. Using...

The past couple of decades have seen a significant shift in assets from active to passive investment strategies. We examine the potential effects of this shift on financial stability through four different channels: (1) effects on investment funds’ liquidity transformation and redemption...

The purpose of this research is to explore the viability of utilizing the Morningstar upside/downside capture ratio (UDCR) as viable measure of mutual fund risk and its relation to return. This research examines and compares result of the Sharpe ratio to the Morningstar upside/downside capture...

Recent research suggests that improper identification of outliers can lead to distorted inference. We investigate this issue by examining the role that multivariate outliers play in research outcomes using the Chen, Hong, Huang, and Kubik (2004) study. We find that the documented negative...

To explore the rationality and competitiveness of the mutual fund industry, we analyze the alpha of active and index mutual funds from a global sample of more than 60,000 equity and fixed income funds and test the null hypothesis that alphas to investors are zero. We distinguish between...

One of the astonishing new developments in the financial community is the rise of ethical investments during the last decade. Particularly, the recent financial crisis has determined a major attention towards an ethically oriented finance based on social investments and environmental benefits...

Investment funds marketed as “sustainable” or “ESG” (Environmental, Social and Governance) have proliferated in recent years. In the wake of this trend, skepticism is looming among the public over the trustworthiness of these financial actors and the distinctiveness of their investment...

Using comprehensive fund manager turnover data, I classify turnovers by the long-term past performance of their funds. Management structure and manager experience have significant impact on fund manager replacement, as single managers and rookie managers have less incentive to leave voluntarily,...