This thesis represents a qualitative study analyzing a comprehensive interview dataset of long-standing target executives, investment bankers, and activist specialists to improve our understanding of the effects of hedge fund activism on target firms. Hedge funds possess a broad set of tools to...

This paper studies how Treasury market dynamics depend on adjustments to the central bank balance sheet. We introduce a dynamic model of Treasury bonds with traditional and shadow banks. In the model, both Treasury and repo market disruptions arise as a joint consequence of three frictions: (i)...

This study investigates the impact of a company's shareholder structure, particularly hedge fund ownership, on its likelihood to become target of a takeover offer. Additionally, it explores the consequences of such an offer within the context of the German takeover market. In line with prior...

We investigate whether eponymous hedge funds-those named after their founder/manager-signal managerial ability or ethical behavior. While such funds do not outperform non-eponymous peers, they exhibit lower operational and fraud risks. Survey evidence supports these findings. Eponymous funds...

This paper studies the rapid increase since 2019 of Government of Canada (GoC) debt issuance alongside greater hedge fund participation at GoC bond auctions. We find a systematic relationship between GoC debt stock and hedge fund bidding shares at auction. We attribute this to hedge funds'...

The existing literature on finance, debt and inequality depicts economic elites as a creditor class. According to a popular thesis, over the past four decades, the rich and ultra-rich households in the top 1 percent have experienced a saving glut (excess income), which they have invested in the...

Hedge funds have a track record of profiting on stock market crashes and sociopolitical crises. In 2008, hedge fund managers made billions betting that the US housing bubble would burst (Lewis 2011). Despite the fact that hedge funds contributed to bringing about the crisis (Lysandrou 2011) and...

We examine the factors influencing published estimates of hedge fund performance. Using a sample of 1,019 intercept terms from regressions of hedge fund returns on risk factors (the "alphas") collected from 74 studies, we document a strong downward trend in the reported alphas. The trend...

Based on the typical positions of S&P 500 option market makers, we derive a funding illiquidity measure from quoted prices of S&P 500 derivatives. Our measure significantly affects the returns of leveraged managed portfolios; hedge funds with negative exposure to changes in funding illiquidity...

Over the past decade, European investment funds have substantially increased their investment in dollar-denominated assets to more than 3.8 USD trillion, which should give raise to substantial currency hedging if US investor have reciprical currency exposures in their international portfolios....

Aktivistische Hedgefonds stellen mit ihren Forderungen die Arbeitnehmerseite grundsätzlich vor beträchtliche Herausforderungen. Institutionelle Investoren dagegen erhoffen sich erhebliche finanzielle Vorteile in Gestalt auftretender Kursanstiege ("Announcement-Effekt"). Die vorliegende Studie...

Expert networks provide investors with in-depth discussions with subject matter experts. Expert call demand is higher for younger, technology-oriented firms and those with greater intangible assets, consistent with demand for information on hard-to-value firms. Expert calls are more (less)...

This paper examines the causes and consequences of hedge fund investments in exchange traded funds (ETFs) using U.S. data from 1998 to 2018. The data indicate that transient hedge funds and quasi-indexer hedge funds are substantially more likely to invest in ETFs. Unexpected hedge fund inflows...

We study events in which activist hedge funds and short sellers target the same stock using unique European data on activism and mandatory disclosures of large short positions. The presence of large short sellers is associated with a 22.6% increase in the probability of becoming an activist...

We examine whether hedge fund activists correct inefficient R&D investment and create long-term value at their targets. Using an endogenous growth model to estimate the efficient level of R&D investment, we find firms targeted by activists are overinvesting in R&D on average, with both the...

This paper specifies a simulated convertible bond arbitrage portfolio to characterise the risks in convertible bond arbitrage. For comparison the risk profile of convertible bond arbitrage hedge fund indices at both monthly and daily frequencies is also examined. Results indicate that...

We study the interaction between ETF rebalancing and hedge fund “front-running” trades and its implications for the capital market. First, we document that ETF rebalancing has a strong negative relation with future stock returns. Second, we observe that hedge funds gradually increase...

We identify factors from a large set of anomalies for explaining hedge fund returns using machine learning methods. Our new model combines anomaly factors with market and macro factors and outperforms existing models both in-sample and out-of-sample. Moreover, the model leads to a significant...

In the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis, some risk management practitioners have advocated wider adoption of Bayesian inference to replace Value- at-Risk (VaR) models in order to minimize risk failures. Despite its limitations, the Bayesian methodology has significant advantages. Just...

I propose a new benchmark to evaluate hedge fund performance: the returns to shorting CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) futures. The informativeness of this benchmark leads to a new methodology that is able to predict hedge fund performance. Specifically, it separates hedge funds, ex-ante, into one...

Combining hedge funds' web access to 10-K filings on the SEC's EDGAR server and their holdings, we show that some hedge funds that download a large number of firms' annual reports from the SEC's website adjust their positions based on the textual information in the annual reports. We find that...