We examine the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on firms' decisions to suspend dividends and estimate a model that quantifies the effect of suspensions on growth in aggregate dividends. Our estimates show that dividend suspensions had a large impact on expected future dividend growth and also...

We construct synthetic, tradable risk factors (e.g., tradable HML and MOM) and individual factor legs (e.g., growth and value) using optimal combinations of large and liquid mutual funds and ETFs based on their holdings. We show that a large fraction of existing smart beta funds are simply...

We provide the first academic study on the performance of IRA pension plans from 2004 through 2018. At the aggregate level, the risk-adjusted performances of IRA plans are comparable to that of the aggregate equity market. However, high-income individuals substantially outperform low-income...

We estimate a demand system linking 401(k) plans ownership of individual stocks and funds to their demand for equities, and quantify the effect of 401(k) assets on fund managers' investment behavior. We find that 401(k) fund and stock ownership are the most important variables, after size,...