While Merton (1987) proposes that firm value increases with the number of shareholders, relatively few studies have explicitly sought to identify the factors that affect investor participation per se in equity markets. Using a unique dataset that measures the inflow and outflow of equity...

This paper assesses the sophistication of pension funds' investment policies using data on 748 Dutch pension funds during the 1999-2006 period. We develop three indicators of sophistication: gross rounding of investment choices, investments in alternative sophisticated asset classes and 'home...

According to theory, institutional investors face both risk management and risk shifting incentives. This paper assesses the relevance of these conflicting incentives for Dutch pension funds and insurance firms over the period 1995-2009. Using a unique and extended dataset, we observe a...

We analyze the three components of active management (asset allocation, market timing and security selection) in the net performance of U.S. pension funds and relate these to fund size and the liquidity of the investments. On average, the funds in our sample have an annual net alpha of 89 basis...

According to theory, institutional investors face both risk management and risk shifting incentives. This paper assesses the relevance of these conflicting incentives for Dutch pension funds and insurance firms over the period 1995-2009. Using a unique and extended dataset, we observe a...

This paper introduces a general continuous-time mathematical framework for solution of dynamic mean-variance control problems. We obtain theoretical results for two classes of functionals: the first one depends on the whole trajectory of the controlled process and the second one is based on its...

Pension funds have greater fiduciary responsibilities than mutual funds and are also more severely punished for poor performance. Thus pension funds may find it particularly risky to deviate from peers. Consistent with this view, we find that pension funds herd and that their herding negatively...

This paper analyses investment strategies of three types of institutional investors – pension funds, life insurers and non-life insurers – over the period 1999-2005. We use balance sheet and cash flow data, including purchases and sales of equity, fixed income and real estate. We trace asset...

This study investigates whether the relation between macro-level fund flow and market returns varies between the retail and institutional fund management markets. We find evidence of a contemporaneous relation between flow and market return for retail funds and also find evidence to support the...

We document that institutional investors, and particularly hedge funds, increased their holdings of smaller stocks from 1980 to 2010 and decreased their holdings of larger stocks. As of 1990 institutions began to underweight, relative to market weights, those stocks that make up the largest 40...