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Do Hedge Fund Managers Understand Politics? Political Sensitivity and Investment Skill

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  • Chen, Honghui
  • Kumar, Alok
  • Lu, Yan
  • Singh, Ajai

Abstract

We show that hedge fund managers who more actively and astutely adjust the political sensitivity of their portfolios, in line with the dynamic U.S. political landscape, improve their investment performance. Funds that tilt their portfolios toward market segments expected to perform better during the new political regime, specifically around U.S. Presidential elections, generate significantly higher alphas. Further, hedge fund families with greater responsiveness to political changes exhibit persistently superior performance and are more likely to survive. Hedge fund investors reward more responsive fund managers with greater inflows.

Suggested Citation

  • Chen, Honghui & Kumar, Alok & Lu, Yan & Singh, Ajai, 2022. "Do Hedge Fund Managers Understand Politics? Political Sensitivity and Investment Skill," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbfina:v:135:y:2022:i:c:s0378426621003228
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbankfin.2021.106371
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    Cited by:

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Hedge funds; Political sensitivity; Presidential elections; Portfolio adjustments; Performance evaluation; Managerial skill;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors

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