We examine the relative weights hedge fund investors attach to past information in the fund selection process. The weighting scheme appears inconsistent with econometric forecasting models that predict fund returns, alphas or Sharpe ratios. In particular, investor flows are highly sensitive to...

Some investment advisors offer multiple versions of a fund with the same manager and highly correlated returns. But these twinʺ funds are separate portfolios for different investors with differing abilities to select and monitor managers. Using a matched sample of retail and institutional twin...

Using the herding measures of Lakonishok, Shleifer and Vishny (1992) (LSV) and Frey, Herbst and Walter (2007) (FHW), we assess herding by French equity mutual funds between 1999 and 2005. We show that LSV herding amounts to 6.5% while FHW herding is about 2.5 times stronger. We observe that...

The existence of the momentum effect in stock returns has been documented for the U.S. (e.g., Jegadeesh and Titman, 1993) and many other national equity markets worldwide (e.g., Griffin et al., 2003). However, little is known about the active employment of momentum strategies among institutional...

Using data from surveys as well as as real transactions we analyze which and why investors choose funds with performance fees even though these funds may be more expensive. According to agency theory, performance fees could incentivize managers to achieve better returns, but they could also...

We assess the abilities and the role of buy-side analysts within mutual fund families by analyzing mutual funds managed by buy-side analysts from fourteen fund families. Buy-side analysts exhibit investment abilities by realizing positive style- and risk-adjusted returns. Analysts' skills have a...

We study the relation between mutual fund trades and mass media coverage of stocks. We find that funds exhibit persistent differences in their propensity to buy media-covered stocks. Moreover, this propensity is negatively related to their future performance. Funds in the highest propensity...

Consistent with Chevalier and Ellison (1999), we find that mutual fund managers with degrees from elite universities tend to outperform their counterparts from less elite universities. The abnormal performance can be characterized as “fast performance,” the stocks they select realize excess...

This paper analyzes the effect of investor monitoring on the performance of equity investment funds. For that purpose, we analyze the relationship between fund performance, measured using four-factor Alpha, and a set of control variables and monitoring proxy variables. We used monthly data for...

Using fund raw return as a proxy for unsophisticated flows, I find that future fund performance increases in alpha and decreases in flow. I show that funds holding stocks which, in aggregate, have been sold by funds with low flows do better in the future. Such stocks have had their prices pushed...