We present evidence that equity momentum strategies are partially driven by positive-feedback trading intermediated via the mutual fund sector. We identify a U.S.-specific structural break to this channel that substantially weakened the relationship between fund flows and past style returns. As...

We show that mutual fund ratings generate correlated demand that creates systematic price fluctuations. Mutual fund investors chase fund performance via Morningstar ratings. Until June 2002, funds pursuing the same investment style had highly correlated ratings. Therefore, rating-chasing...

Rational investors should account for risk factor exposure when allocating capital to mutual funds. Two recent influential studies use mutual fund flows to test whether investors distinguish between performance driven by managers' skill and systematic risk factors. Both studies found that...

Mutual funds hold 32% of the U.S. equity market and comprise 58% of retirement savings, yet retail investors consistently make poor choices when selecting funds. Theory suggests that poor choices are partially due to mutual fund managers creating unnecessarily complex disclosures and fee...

I show how funding costs to derivatives dealers' shareholders for carrying and hedging inventory affect mid-market derivatives prices. An implication is that some supposed "no-arbitrage" pricing relationships, such as put-call parity, frequently break down. I also explore the implications for...

It is common to evaluate mutual fund (and in general, security) returns by linear factor models. However, performance measures from these models are misleading if there are some omitted factors that explain cross-sectional variation in returns. We propose to use a latent-factor approach,...

We re-examine the puzzling pattern of lead-lag returns among economically linked firms. Our results show these patterns are driven largely by investors' tendency to ignore information that arrives continuously in small amounts. In contrast, when information with the same cumulative returns...