This paper examines the role conviction plays in asset management and its relationship with investment returns. We measure the strength of fund manager conviction through a fund’s Active Share, i.e., the extent to which an investment portfolio differs from its benchmark index. First, we show...

We examine whether mutual fund managers have differential skill in the buy and sell domains. Although they have characteristic-timing ability in aggregate, we show they exhibit asymmetric ability when buying and selling. Our key finding is that fund managers with superior selling ability are...

To increase understanding of the real world of the fund manager, the authors apply principles from emotional finance. They report their findings from analysing in-depth interviews of 52 traditional and quantitative-oriented equity managers. In particular, they examine the importance of...

We help to explain the rapid growth in aggregate hedge fund assets under management until June 2008 followed by their collapse in terms of the conflicting emotions such investment vehicles evoke. Specifically, we describe how some high-profile hedge funds were transformed in the minds of...