We examine the relation between the information content of earnings (earnings response coefficients) and board and audit committee structure for a broad sample of more than 1,200 firms during 2001. We find that earnings are more informative the greater is the independence and the activity of the...

We study the role of the board by focusing on the composition and activity of the audit committee for a sample of 1,150 firms in 1998. Employing several proxies for the demand for accounting certification we find that those firms likely to demand greater certification are also those most likely...

We examine gross flows to mutual funds and find that existing investors punish poorly performing funds by increasing outflows. We also find that existing and potential investors punish poorly performing funds by reducing inflows. Finally, we uncover that current investors respond to poor...

Using a large sample of monthly gross flows from 1997 to 2003, we uncover several previously undocumented regularities in investor behavior. First investor purchases and sales produce fund-level gross flows that are highly persistent. Persistence in fund flows dominates performance as a...

The non-linear relation between mutual fund performance and subsequent net flows is well documented in the mutual fund literature. The extant literature generally ascribes the absence of net outflows in the face of poor performance to inactivity by existing fund investors (i.e., they do not to...

Mutual fund advisors make portfolio decisions for their funds on a daily basis. We examine the location of those portfolio decision rights on two dimensions. First, we consider the geographic location of the decision rights. Second, we consider whether the decision rights remain with an advisor...

We investigate marginal compensation rates in mutual fund advisory contracts and find the following. Equity and foreign fund advisors receive higher marginal compensation than debt and domestic fund advisors. Advisors of funds with greater turnover receive higher marginal compensation. Also,...

We examine the influence of NYSE specialist firm organizational form on the nature of liquidity provision. We compare closely held firms whose specialists provide liquidity with their own capital to widely held firms whose specialists provide liquidity with diffusely owned capital. We argue that...

We consider whether costs associated with specialist firm organizational form are relevant to the price formation process. Approximately 60% of the stocks traded on the NYSE are marketed by specialist firms whose specialists are principals in the firm, while the remaining 40% are marketed by...

Theory suggests firms maintain credit agreements to lower contracting costs. I find evidence that suggests firms use credit agreements to lower the expected cost of borrowing. Contrary to theories which suggest firms with growth opportunities use credit agreements to provide financial slack and...