The average alpha of mutual funds is an indication of whether it pays off to invest in actively managed funds. In this study we show that a substantial part of the variation in the average alpha can be explained by exogenous factors. The most important factors are the average expense ratio, the...

We examine the performance of passively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that provide exposure to global emerging markets equities. We find that the tracking errors of these funds are substantially higher than previously reported levels for developed markets ETFs. ETFs that use statistical...

This paper carries out style analysis for Russian mutual funds using monthly data from the National Managers' Association over the period January 2008-December 2017; specifically, it applies the RSBA method developed by Sharpe (1992) for evaluating the impact of style on returns, and uses the Style...

This paper examines the magnitude and determinants of trading costs for small-cap funds in Australia. The total price impact for these funds is 0.99% (-0.34%) for purchases (sales). This is considerably larger than costs reported in prior literature. Both purchases and sales exhibit price...

This paper examines the predictive power of investment managers' sentiment revealed in their letters to shareholders for their future performance, using closed-end funds (CEFs) as a laboratory. We find that pessimistic tone in managers' letters to shareholders predicts superior future...

We propose the outperformance probability as a new performance measure, which can be used in order to compare a strategy with a specified benchmark, and develop the basic statistical properties of its maximum-likelihood estimator in a Brownian-motion framework. The given results are used to...

We analyse the differences between the optimal portfolio of funds that a fully in-formed investor might select and the current structure of the mutual fund markets as characterized by the funds' risk profile (conservative or aggressive) and target investor type (retail or wholesale). We find...

We collect compensation policy data from 60 Chinese mutual fund companies, which covers 88% of assets under management by all active stock and stock-oriented hybrid mutual funds in China. Using the collected data, we investigate the portfolio pumping from a performance-based perspective. We find...

Mutual fund portfolio turnover ratios (PTR) are at the center of the short-termism debate, which criticizes corporate maneuvers taken to prop up near-term earnings at the expense of long-term, value focused investments and policies. Scholars and policymakers often rely on portfolio turnover...

Numerous studies investigate the relationships between fund manager characteristics and fund performance. However, most evaluate fund performance by using traditional factor alphas, such as the Fama–French–Carhart four- and six-factor alphas. In the present study, we analyze data from...