In this paper, we show that the way in which fund managers are compensated can, under plausible conditions, lead them to act in a way that does not maximise the wellbeing of their clients. Due to performance bonuses in fund managers' rewards, there is a highly non-linear relationship between the...

We show theoretically and empirically that flows into index funds raise the prices of large stocks in the index disproportionately more than the prices of small stocks. Conversely, flows predict a high future return of the small-minus-large index portfolio. This finding runs counter to the CAPM,...

Exchange-traded fund (ETF) trading volumes have increased over the last decade and so have ETF settlement failures at the clearing corporation. We test the hypothesis that ETF short selling, high stock borrow prices, and options contract expiration contribute to ETF fails-to-deliver (FTDs). We...

We investigate the impact on firms of joining the S&P 500 index from 1997 to 2017. We find that the positive announcement effect on the stock price of index inclusion has disappeared and the long-run impact of index inclusion has become negative. Inclusion worsens stock price informativeness and...

For the DAX index market, this paper analyses the development of return differences between exchange traded funds (ETFs) and the DAX index from the perspective of long-term investors. The newly introduced methodology provides the opportunity to continuously identify long-term costs of passively...

Equity markets fail to account for value-relevant non-public information enjoyed by syndicated loan participants and reflected in publicly-posted loan prices. A long-short strategy that buys (sells) the equities of firms whose loans have recently appreciated (depreciated) earns large...

This study examines the relationship between bond fund flows, stock market returns and financial policies in developed and developing economies. The findings suggest a bidirectional (negative) relationship between bond flows and market returns in the presence of fiscal and monetary policy for...

We find that aggregate net equity fund flows are strongly negatively correlated with changes in expected future stock market volatility as measured by the VIX. Implying that investor purchase decisions are primarily driven by returns and sale decisions by risk perceptions, we further find that...

This paper first extends Sias (2004) to examine whether UK fund managers are engaged in herding behaviours in the stock market, their reasons for herding, whether their herding behaviours are different during bullish and bearish periods and whether or not their herding behaviours are...

This study investigates whether firm opacity impacts the investment behaviors and outcomes of retail investors using the fintech brokerage Robinhood (i.e., “RH investors”). We theorize that higher firm opacity leads RH investors to make nonrational investment decisions. The testable...