Essays on the interaction of investor clienteles and mutual fund behavior

This thesis consists of three essays on the interaction of investor clienteles and mutual fund behavior. The first essay (Cici, Kempf, and Sorhage 2015, Do Financial Advisors Provide Tangible Benefits for Investors? Evidence from Tax-Motivated Mutual Fund Flowsʺ) adds to the literature on fund investor clienteles by addressing the question for potential benefits accruing to investors who rely on financial advisors when acquiring shares in a fund. The second essay (Sorhage, 2015, Outsourcing of Mutual Funds' Non-core Competenciesʺ) investigates the relation between mutual fund behavior and fund families' decisions to source fund activities unrelated to portfolio management internally or from external providers. The third essay (Dahm and Sorhage, 2015, Milk or Wine: Mutual Funds' (Dis)economies of Life) adds to the literature on time-varying fund behavior and is related to the previous two essays by examining whether funds' investment skills change to the positive or negative over time and how this is interrelated to investor groups.