We examine the relation between cross-sectional stock return dispersion and active fund performance in Australia, drawing on the concept that higher return dispersion provides greater opportunity for skilled managers to generate value. In contrast with findings using US data that outperformance...

We study whether sell-side financial analysts' physical attractiveness is associated with their job performance. We find that attractive analysts make more accurate earnings forecasts than less attractive analysts. Moreover, more attractive analysts make stock recommendations that are more...

We investigate how information choices impact equity returns and risk. Building on an existing theoretical model of information and investment choice, we estimate a learning index that reflects the expected benefits of learning about an asset. High learning index stocks have lower future returns...