Chapter 19 Performance persistence of pension fund managers: Evidence from Hong Kong mandatory provident funds

This chapter examines the performance persistence evidences of pension fund managers who managed the constituent equity funds included in Hong Kong Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) schemes over the period 2001–2004. Nonparametric two-way contingency table and parametric OLS regression analysis are employed to evaluate performance persistence. The evidence suggests that the raw returns, traditional Jensen alphas, and conditional Jensen alphas in the previous year possess predictive abilities. When the funds are classified into high-volatile and low-volatile samples, the high-volatile funds are found to possess stronger performance persistence. Neither hot-hand nor cold-hand phenomena are found in the equity funds managed by same investment manager.