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 provide evidence on the valuation of equity positions by hedge fund advisors. Reported valuations deviate from standard valuations based on closing prices from CRSP for roughly seven percent of the positions. These deviations are economically significant for about 25 percent of the hedge fund...

We provide novel evidence that hedge fund performance is persistent following weak hedge fund markets, but is not persistent following strong markets. Specifically, we construct two performance measures, DownsideReturns and UpsideReturns, conditioned on the level of overall hedge fund sector...

We investigate the extent to which hedge fund managers smooth self-reported returns. In contrast with prior research on the “anomalous” properties of hedge fund returns, we observe the mechanisms used to price the fund's investment positions and report the fund's performance to investors,...

We investigate the extent to which hedge fund managers smooth self‐reported returns. In contrast with prior research on the “anomalous” properties of hedge fund returns, we observe the mechanisms used to price the fund's investment positions and report the fund's performance to investors,...

This paper introduces a cross-country law and finance analysis of the misreporting behavior in the hedge fund industry in terms of smoothing returns so that a fund consistently generates positive returns. We find strong evidence that international differences in hedge fund regulation are...

We study how capital flows affect hedge fund returns. The contemporaneous relation is positive: funds with high flows outperform funds with low flows during the month of the flows. This immediate reaction, combined with feedback trading, gives rise to a cycle: flows exert price pressure, this...

Standard risk metrics tend to underestimate the true risks of hedge funds because of serial correlation in the reported returns. Getmansky et al. (2004) derive mean, variance, Sharpe ratio, and beta formulae adjusted for serial correlation. Following their lead, adjusted downside and global...

Hedge funds commonly misreport returns by overstating their reported performance. We study the conditions that affect hedge fund managers' propensity to misreport and the effects of misreporting on performance measurement and investment decisions. First, misreporting is most prevalent in large...

In this paper, we rationalize the persistent abnormal performance of hedge funds. We show how the commitment to deliver an absolute return, the decreasing returns to scale to which hedge fund strategies are subject, and the performance-linked compensation combine with the incomeaximizing...