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The economic gain of being small in the mutual fund industry: U.S. and international evidence

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  • Angelidis, Timotheos
  • Babalos, Vassilios
  • Fessas, Michalis

Abstract

Motivated by the ongoing debate on the interaction between fund size and fund performance, we investigate the effect of asset growth on fund performance. We explicitly measure the economic gain (loss) of being a small (large) fund by comparing the average performance of a large fund vis à vis its average performance when it was small. Our results reveal that for the U.S. actively managed equity funds, the risk-adjusted return differential amounts to 7.08% per year in favor of small funds. Moreover, we fail to identify any performance loss for a fund relative to its history unless it belongs in the top 70% of fund size. However, the documented implicit performance handicap of U.S. large equity funds is not met in funds investing outside the U.S. Our findings carry important implications for the mutual fund industry and for the fund selection process.

Suggested Citation

  • Angelidis, Timotheos & Babalos, Vassilios & Fessas, Michalis, 2021. "The economic gain of being small in the mutual fund industry: U.S. and international evidence," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finana:v:77:y:2021:i:c:s1057521921001848
    DOI: 10.1016/j.irfa.2021.101852
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Fund size; Performance; U.S. mutual funds; International funds;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G15 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - International Financial Markets
    • G20 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - General
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors

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