We demonstrate that fund investors employ a heuristic benchmark model to estimate alphas and allocate capital. This can result in observational equivalence to CAPM driven investment decisions. The benchmark estimator trades off bias against precision, accommodating finite sample constraints. The...

Using trading data from Finland and the US, I empirically show that investors tend to buy riskier stocks following realized losses. The measure of risk that the investors seem to pay attention to is the market beta of a stock. This behavior of buying higher beta stocks after a realized loss is...

Exploiting the unique institutional setting of Hong Kong's real estate market, we uncover a curious ripple effect of haunted houses on the prices of nearby houses. Prices drop on average 19% for units that become haunted, 9% for units on the same floor, 6% for units in the same block, and 1% for...

Using a novel database that tracks web traffic on the SEC's EDGAR server between 2004 and 2015, we show that institutional investors gather information on a very particular subset of firms and insiders, and their surveillance is very persistent over time. This tracking behavior has powerful...

We study a robo-advising portfolio optimizer that constructs tailored strategies based on investors' holdings and preferences. Adopters are similar to non-adopters in terms of demographics, but have more assets under management, trade more, and have higher risk-adjusted performance. The...