What economic forces limit mutual fund managers from generating consistent outperformance? We propose and test the hypothesis that buy-side competition from other funds matters. We make three contributions in this regard. First, we propose new style-based spatial methods to identify the...

We use 10-K filings to construct novel text-based measures of the extent to which U.S. firms are exposed to three offshore activities: the sale of output, purchase of input, and ownership of producing assets. Our main result is that selling output abroad is associated with higher stock returns,...

A key question is why many multinational firms forgo foreign exchange derivative (FX) hedging and instead use operational hedging. We propose an explanation based on illiquidity and the unique advantages of operational hedges. We use 10-K filings to construct dynamically updated text-based...

We examine the role of angel investors in early venture financing using a unique sample of 182 Series A preferred stock rounds. Our sample includes deals in which angels invest alone, VCs invest alone, and where both investor types co-invest. We find that deals with more angel investors have...

We examine how product similarity and competition influence mergers and acquisitions and the ability of firms to exploit product market synergies through asset complementarities. Using novel text-based analysis of firm 10-K product descriptions, we find three key results. (1) Firms are more...

We provide evidence that over the past 30 years, U.S. firms have expanded their scope of operations. Increases in scope and scale were achieved largely without increasing traditional operating segments. Scope expansion significantly increases valuation and is primarily realized through...

We propose that the product life cycle is important in understanding firm disclosure policies and test this hypothesis using a 4-dimensional text-based life cycle model. Mature-stage firms disclose more, consistent with lowering search costs for an outward-focused investment strategy seeking...

Using text-based analysis of 10-K MD&A disclosures, we find that fraudulent firms produce verbal disclosure that is abnormal relative to strong counterfactuals. This abnormal text predicts fraud out of sample, has a verbal factor structure, and can be interpreted to reveal likely mechanisms that...

We use highly granular computational linguistics to assess the MD&A section of the 10-K as a whole. Our results show that the content of MD&A can be systematically used to explain the valuation of firms, particularly those undergoing business change, where the value relevance of financial...