Portfolio Quality and Mutual Fund Performance

This study investigates how the quality of stocks owned by mutual funds affects the performance of those funds during 2000–2009. The quality of a stock is positively related to its size, while quality is inversely related to volatility. Evidently, stocks in the lowest quality decile perform particularly poorly amidst volatile market conditions with a mean monthly Daniel, Grinblatt, Titman and Wermers (DGTW) alpha 1.93% [25.73% per annum (pa)] less than high‐quality stocks. Furthermore, funds which hold the lowest quality stocks exhibit substantial underperformance, particularly during market downturns, with funds in the lowest decile of quality incurring a mean monthly DGTW alpha 0.96% (12.14% pa) lower than their higher quality counterparts. Interestingly, we discover a trend to funds investing in higher quality stocks over time.     

Managerial Sharing,Mutual Fund Connections,and Performance

In this study, we examine the effect of mutual fund connections, through managerial sharing, on performance and stock holding commonalities. Our analysis of return correlations and portfolio holdings indicates that more interconnected funds tend to buy and sell similar stocks, hence increasing the similarity of portfolio holdings and undermining the distinctiveness of their investment strategy. Our results also indicate that highly connected funds significantly underperform weakly connected funds by about 1.4% on a yearly risk‐adjusted basis. We show that fund family performance is unaffected by the intensity of fund connections, and that greater fund connections could significantly enhance family‐level profit margins.     

Mutual Fund Performance and Persistence in Taiwan: A Non-Parametric Approach

This paper applies data envelopment analysis (DEA) to measure the performance of Taiwan domestic equity funds during the period 1999 to 2003. To test performance persistence, we first divide the sample funds into low efficiency (0–25th percentile), middle efficiency (26th–75th percentile), and high efficiency (76th–100th percentile) groups according to their rankings on technical efficiency (TE) and Sharpe ratios, respectively. Then, based on the previous one-, two-, and three-year performances of the sample funds, we employ iterative seemingly unrelated regressions to analyse the persistence of sample fund performance. The results show that there exists a significant ‘hot hands’ effect in Taiwan domestic equity funds under the TE measure, but not under the measure of Sharpe ratios. The paper concludes that the different results in performance persistence analyses between the above two measures is driven by the DEA taking transaction costs into consideration.     

The Ethical Mutual Fund Performance Debate: New Evidence from Canada

Although the academic interest in ethical mutual fund performance has developed steadily, the evidence to date is mainly sample-specific. To tackle this critique, new research should extend to unexplored countries. Using this as a motivation, we examine the performance and risk sensitivities of Canadian ethical mutual funds vis-à-vis their conventional peers. In order to overcome the methodological deficiencies most prior papers suffered from, we use performance measurement approaches in the spirit of Carhart (1997, Journal of Finance 52(1): 57–82) and Ferson and Schadt (1996, Journal of Finance 51(2): 425–461). In doing so, we investigate the aggregated performance and investment style of ethical and conventional mutual funds and allow for time variation in the funds’ systematic risk. Our␣Canadian evidence supports the conjecture that any␣performance differential between ethical mutual funds and their conventional peers is statistically insignificant.      

基金净值估值问题研究

证券投资基金伴随着对稳定中国股市的迫切需要匆匆而来,在短短数年内获得了迅速地发展,并已初步显示其在增强股市筹资功能,推动金融体制改革方面的积极作用。但由于我国证券市场本身固有的缺陷,证券投资基金运作遭遇了许多问题,需要我们在实践中不断地完善。对基金净资产估值方面存在的问题进行理论探讨和经验研究,以期为目前投资基金的运作和管理提供一些参考。     

European Green Mutual Fund Performance: A Comparative Analysis with their Conventional and Black Peers

In recent years, several countries have enacted guidelines and/or mandatory laws to increase the presence of women on the boards of companies. Through these regulatory interventions, the aim is to eradicate the social and labor grievances that women have traditionally experienced and which has relegated them to smaller-scale jobs. Nevertheless, and despite the advances achieved, the female representation in the boardroom remains far from the desired levels. In this context, it is now necessary to enhance the advantages of board gender diversity from both ethical and economic points of view. This article examines the relation between board gender diversity and economic results in Spain: the second country in the world to legally require gender quotas in boardrooms and historically characterized by a minimal female participation in the workforce. Based on a sample of 125 non-financial firms listed on the Madrid Stock Exchange from 2005 to 2009, our findings show that in the period analyzed the increase of the number of women on boards was over 98 %. This suggests that compulsory legislation offers an efficient framework to execute the recommendation of Spanish codes of good governance by means of the increase in the number of women in the boards of firms. Furthermore, we find that the increase in the number of women on the boards is positively related to higher economic results. Therefore, both results suggest that gender diversity in boardrooms should be incremented, mandatory laws being a key factor to do so.     

The Use and Abuse of Mutual Fund Expenses

Prior research shows that mutual fund investors are often aware of up-front charges like sales loads, but they are less mindful of annual operating expenses, even though both types of fees lower overall performance. This study documents the historical trend and recent abuse of annual mutual fund expenses. As the industry becomes more adept at segmenting customers by level of investment sophistication, we claim that load mutual fund companies take advantage of this ability and charge higher expenses to their target customer: the less-knowledgeable investor. No-load fund companies, which tend to attract the more sophisticated investor, offer lower expenses. For example, over 2000–2004 the average annual expense ratio of load equity funds was 50 basis points higher than no-load equity funds. We show evidence of this widening cost disparity since the early 1990s among new and existing equity, bond, and index funds. We also document a growing abuse of sales distribution or 12b-1 fees among funds that are closed to new investors, almost all of which are load funds. Thus, load fund investors are more susceptible to paying higher expenses and receiving lower returns over time. Todd Houge is an Assistant Professor of Finance at the University of Iowa. Jay Wellman is an Assistant Professor of Finance at Binghamton University.     

Fallout from the Mutual Fund Trading Scandal

In September 2003, several prominent mutual fund companies came under investigation for illegal trading practices. Allegations suggested these funds allowed certain investors to profit from short-term trading schemes at the expense of other investors. Surprisingly, regulatory authorities have known for more than two decades of the potential for such abuses, yet have taken limited steps to correct the problem. We explore investor reaction to the scandal by measuring assets under management, stock returns, and performance. Mutual funds managed by investigated firms show a substantial decline in post-announcement assets under management. These firms also experienced significantly negative announcement-period returns. Finally, we discuss several policy suggestions to prevent future trading abuses and provide direction for future research.     

The Information Content of Mutual Fund Print Advertising

The mutual fund industry has experienced tremendous growth in recent years. During this time period mutual funds have become somewhat of a commodity with many funds using advertising to attract investors. The current study uses content analysis to determine the informational content of fund advertising. The results indicate that while the average number of informational cues increased during the time period 1979 to 1989, there was no significant increase in the information content of mutual fund advertising between 1989 and 1999. Relatively few funds include information such as loads, 12b‐1 fees, and expense ratios in their advertisements, and fund ads rarely discuss risk.     

风格漂移与基金绩效

基于收益率的风格分析模型,对国内36支开放式基金进行动态分析,将基金的实际投资风格和宣称的投资风格进行比较。研究发现绝大多数的基金在此研究期间发生了"风格漂移"现象,牛市行情中发生"风格漂移"的基金绩效要优于固守宣称风格的基金绩效,熊市行情中发生"风格漂移"的基金绩效要低于未发生"风格漂移"的基金绩效。     

农村资金互助社绩效评价研究——基于安徽太湖的案例

农村资金互助社是解决三农融资难的重要载体,但不同类型的资金互助社发展状况各异。为引导农村资金互助社健康发展,根据农村资金互助社的制度特征,从经营绩效、社会绩效两个方面构建绩效评估指标体系,并选择安徽太湖的两类资金互助社进行案例研究,结果发现银监会批准的资金互助社和专业合作社内部的资金互助社都取得了较好的经营绩效和社会绩效,但后者的社会绩效要优于前者,而前者的经营绩效要优于后者。     

Hedge Fund Performance and Manager Skill

Using data on the monthly returns of hedge funds during the period January 1990 to August 1998, we estimate six‐factor Jensen alphas for individual hedge funds, employing eight different investment styles. We find that about 25% of the hedge funds earn positive excess returns and that the frequency and magnitude of funds' excess returns differ markedly with investment style. Using six‐factor alphas as a measure of performance, we also analyze performance persistence over 1‐year and 2‐year horizons and find evidence of significant persistence among both winners and losers. These findings, together with our finding that hedge funds that pay managers higher incentive fees also have higher excess returns, are consistent with the view that fund manager skill may be a partial explanation for the positive excess returns earned by hedge funds. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 21:1003–1028, 2001     

Mutual Fund Incubation and the Role of the Securities and Exchange Commission

A mutual fund family incubates a fund when it creates a privately subsidized fund not available to the general investing public. It destroys unsuccessful incubator funds. The few successful funds will report higher incubation returns than the market return in advertisements intended to attract money from individual investors. This practice is currently allowed by the SEC. The evidence is that incubation returns are not a good predictor of subsequent fund performance and likely serve to mislead unsuspecting investors. University of Notre Dame Finance Professor Carl Ackermann received a Bachelor of Arts from Amherst College and a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill). University of Notre Dame Finance Professor Tim Loughran received a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Illinois (Urbana), an MBA from Indiana University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois (Urbana).     

发展产业投资基金问题初探

我国金融体系存在的一个重大缺陷,是直接融资与间接融资比例严重失调,致使银行体系累积了大量风险,威胁着我国的金融安全和经济社会稳定.解决这一问题的重要措施之一是大力发展产业投资基金.本文分析了发展产业投资基金对优化我国融资结构、丰富企业和居民投资理财工具、支持中小企业发展等方面的重要作用,并从法规、监管、组织形式、市场准入、退出机制等方面提出了发展产业投资基金的政策建议.     

A Few Bad Apples? Scandalous Behavior of Mutual Fund Managers

Recent scandals in the business world have intensified the demand for an explanation of the causes of corporate wrongdoing. This study empirically tests the effects of mutual fund management fees and control structures on the likelihood of illegal activity within mutual fund organizations. Specific attention is given to the presence of agency duality issues in the mutual fund industry and how this influences the motivations and decisions of fund managers. Findings provide support for the hypothesized relationship that higher levels of management fees decrease the likelihood of illegal behavior. Additionally, control of the mutual fund by external management is found to have a negative impact on the likelihood of illegal activity while also acting as a moderator of the management fee-illegal behavior relationship. Justin Davis is an Assistant Professor of Strategic Management at Ohio University and Doctoral Candidate at The University of Texas at Arlington. His primary research interests include firm-level entrepreneurship, agency issues in corporate governance, and venture capital investment. Dr. G. Tyge Payne is an Assistant Professor of Strategic Management in the Jerry S. Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech University. His primary research interests include organization-environment fit/misfit, firm-level and corporate enterpreneurship; dual agency issues, and interorganizational relationships. Dr. Gary C. McMahan is an Associate Professor of Management and Coordinator of the Ph.D. Program in Management at The University of Texas at Arlington. His research interests include the strategic role of human resources in organizations and corporate governance and ethics in financial services institutions. He has published over 40 articles, monographs, proceedings, and book chapters.     

私人股权基金投资业绩研究

私人股权投资已经成为近几年资本市场上最具争议的投资明星,然而在本轮东亚地区尤其是中国的私人股权投资的热潮中,并非所有的私人股权基金都取得了满意的业绩。利用来自Private Equity Intelligence的基金业绩数据,对目前投资于中国及周边地区的私人股权基金的表现进行实证分析,研究影响私人股权基金业绩的主要因素,并对其中的因素之——投资期和退出期的划分情况进行确定。     

The Effects of Summary Information on Consumer Perceptions of Mutual Fund Characteristics

Choosing how to best invest for retirement is one of the most important decisions a consumer can make. Unfortunately, this can be an especially challenging task given the current financial information disclosure environment. The objective of this research was to explore whether a modified method of supplemental information disclosure impacts investors’ fund evaluations and investment intentions. Results indicate that while investors continue to place too much emphasis on prior performance, the provision of supplemental information, particularly in a graphical format, interacts with performance and investment knowledge to influence perceptions and evaluations of mutual funds.     

公募基金年末业绩追逐与风险调整行为研究

本文研究了我国公募基金追逐年末业绩对其风险调整行为的影响以及公募基金提高投资组合风险对业绩表现的影响,探讨了公募基金对高风险的追求是否能够带来更好的年末业绩.研究发现,前三季度表现较差的公募基金、资金净流入量较大的公募基金倾向于在最后一个季度提高投资组合的风险;而公募基金在最后一个季度提高投资风险的策略并不能够显著改善其年终业绩表现.     

Environmental Mutual Funds: Financial Performance and Managerial Abilities

For 15 years, former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky used his Penn State University perquisites to lure young and fatherless boys by offering them special access to one of the most revered football programs in the country. He repeatedly used the football locker room as a space to groom, molest, and rape his victims. In February 2001, an eye-witness alerted Penn State’s top leaders that Sandusky was caught sexually assaulting a young boy in the showers. Instead of taking swift action against Sandusky, leaders began a cover-up that is considered one of the worst scandals in sports history. While public outcry has focused on the leaders’ silence, we focus on the talk that occurred within the organization by key personnel. Drawing from court documents and internal investigative reports, we examine two euphemism clusters that unfolded in the scandal. The first cluster comprises reporting euphemisms, in which personnel used coded language to report the assault up the chain of command. The second cluster comprises responding euphemisms, in which Penn State’s top leaders relied on an innocuous, but patently false, interpretation of earlier euphemisms as a decision-making framework to chart their course of (in)action. We use this case to demonstrate how euphemistic language impairs ethical decision-making, particularly by framing meaning and visibility of acts, encouraging mindless processing of moral considerations, and providing a shield against psychological and material consequences. Further, we argue that euphemism may serve as a disguised retort to critical upward communication in organizations.