We investigate the performance of a sample of German mutual equity funds over the period from 1994 to 2003. Our general finding is that mutual funds, on average, hardly produce excess returns relative to their benchmark that are large enough to cover their expenses. This conclusion is drawn from...

The literature on gold is dominated by empirical studies on its diversification, hedging, and safe haven properties. In contrast, the question “When to invest in gold?” is generally not analyzed in much detail. We test more than 4,000 seasonal, technical, and fundamental timing strategies...