IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/revfec/v26y2015i1p1-11.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The role of institutional investors and individual investors in financial markets: Evidence from closed‐end funds

Author

Listed:
  • Emily J. Huang

Abstract

I use closed‐end funds as a unique research tool to explore whether institutional investors are a stabilizing or a destabilizing force in financial markets. If institutional investors stabilize the market by trading against mispricing, then they should purchase closed‐end funds selling at a wide discount and sell funds selling at a large premium. Consistent with the market‐stabilizer hypothesis, I document that wide‐discount funds experience a higher subsequent institutional demand than premium funds do. Moreover, my findings that an increase in institutional ownership forecasts a decrease in the volatility of discount returns support the proposition that institutional trading reduces noise trader risk. In sum, the results suggest that institutional investors play a price‐stabilizing role in financial markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Emily J. Huang, 2015. "The role of institutional investors and individual investors in financial markets: Evidence from closed‐end funds," Review of Financial Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(1), pages 1-11, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:revfec:v:26:y:2015:i:1:p:1-11
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rfe.2015.05.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rfe.2015.05.001
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rfe.2015.05.001?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. De Long, J Bradford, et al, 1990. "Positive Feedback Investment Strategies and Destabilizing Rational Speculation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 45(2), pages 379-395, June.
    2. Lakonishok, Josef, et al, 1991. "Window Dressing by Pension Fund Managers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 81(2), pages 227-231, May.
    3. Kumar, Alok, 2007. "Do the diversification choices of individual investors influence stock returns?," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 362-390, November.
    4. Paul A. Gompers & Andrew Metrick, 2001. "Institutional Investors and Equity Prices," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 116(1), pages 229-259.
    5. Robert J. Shiller, 1984. "Stock Prices and Social Dynamics," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 15(2), pages 457-510.
    6. Del Guercio, Diane, 1996. "The distorting effect of the prudent-man laws on institutional equity investments," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 31-62, January.
    7. Richard W. Sias & Laura T. Starks & Seha M. Tiniç, 2001. "Is Noise Trader Risk Priced?," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 24(3), pages 311-329, September.
    8. Sias, Richard W, 1997. "Price Pressure and the Role of Institutional Investors in Closed-End Funds," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 20(2), pages 211-229, Summer.
    9. Kenneth A. Kim & John R. Nofsinger, 2005. "Institutional Herding, Business Groups, and Economic Regimes: Evidence from Japan," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 78(1), pages 213-242, January.
    10. De Long, J Bradford & Andrei Shleifer & Lawrence H. Summers & Robert J. Waldmann, 1990. "Noise Trader Risk in Financial Markets," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(4), pages 703-738, August.
    11. Lee, Charles M C & Shleifer, Andrei & Thaler, Richard H, 1991. "Investor Sentiment and the Closed-End Fund Puzzle," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 46(1), pages 75-109, March.
    12. Scharfstein, David S & Stein, Jeremy C, 1990. "Herd Behavior and Investment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(3), pages 465-479, June.
    13. James A. Bennett, 2003. "Greener Pastures and the Impact of Dynamic Institutional Preferences," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 16(4), pages 1203-1238.
    14. Chan, Louis K C & Lakonishok, Josef, 1995. "The Behavior of Stock Prices around Institutional Trades," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 50(4), pages 1147-1174, September.
    15. Terrance Odean, 1998. "Are Investors Reluctant to Realize Their Losses?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 53(5), pages 1775-1798, October.
    16. Barberis, Nicholas & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert, 1998. "A model of investor sentiment," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 307-343, September.
    17. Richard W. Sias, 1997. "Price Pressure And The Role Of Institutional Investors In Closed-End Funds," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 20(2), pages 211-229, June.
    18. Cohen, Randolph B. & Gompers, Paul A. & Vuolteenaho, Tuomo, 2002. "Who underreacts to cash-flow news? evidence from trading between individuals and institutions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(2-3), pages 409-462.
    19. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1997. "The Limits of Arbitrage," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(1), pages 35-55, March.
    20. J. Christopher Hughen & Cynthia G. McDonald, 2005. "Who Are The Noise Traders?," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 28(2), pages 281-298, June.
    21. Gordon Gemmill & Dylan C. Thomas, 2002. "Noise Trading, Costly Arbitrage, and Asset Prices: Evidence from Closed‐end Funds," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(6), pages 2571-2594, December.
    22. Gibson, Scott & Safieddine, Assem & Sonti, Ramana, 2004. "Smart investments by smart money: Evidence from seasoned equity offerings," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(3), pages 581-604, June.
    23. Chiraphol N. Chiyachantana & Pankaj K. Jain & Christine Jiang & Robert A. Wood, 2004. "International Evidence on Institutional Trading Behavior and Price Impact," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 59(2), pages 869-898, April.
    24. Jonathan B. Berk & Richard Stanton, 2007. "Managerial Ability, Compensation, and the Closed‐End Fund Discount," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 62(2), pages 529-556, April.
    25. Pontiff, Jeffrey, 1997. "Excess Volatility and Closed-End Funds," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(1), pages 155-169, March.
    26. John Y. Campbell & Albert S. Kyle, 1993. "Smart Money, Noise Trading and Stock Price Behaviour," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 60(1), pages 1-34.
    27. Campbell, John Y. & Ramadorai, Tarun & Schwartz, Allie, 2009. "Caught on tape: Institutional trading, stock returns, and earnings announcements," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(1), pages 66-91, April.
    28. Jeffrey Pontiff, 1996. "Costly Arbitrage: Evidence from Closed-End Funds," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 111(4), pages 1135-1151.
    29. John R. Nofsinger & Richard W. Sias, 1999. "Herding and Feedback Trading by Institutional and Individual Investors," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 54(6), pages 2263-2295, December.
    30. Newey, Whitney & West, Kenneth, 2014. "A simple, positive semi-definite, heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation consistent covariance matrix," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 33(1), pages 125-132.
    31. Kraus, Alan & Stoll, Hans R, 1972. "Price Impacts of Block Trading on the New York Stock Exchange," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 27(3), pages 569-588, June.
    32. Grullon, Gustavo & Albert Wang, F., 2001. "Closed-End Fund Discounts with Informed Ownership Differential," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 171-205, April.
    33. Steven A. Ross, 2002. "Neoclassical Finance, Alternative Finance and the Closed End Fund Puzzle," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 8(2), pages 129-137, June.
    34. Richard W. Sias & Laura T. Starks, 2006. "Changes in Institutional Ownership and Stock Returns: Assessment and Methodology," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 79(6), pages 2869-2910, November.
    35. Patrick J. Dennis & Deon Strickland, 2002. "Who Blinks in Volatile Markets, Individuals or Institutions?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(5), pages 1923-1949, October.
    36. Sias, Richard W & Starks, Laura T & Tinic, Seha M, 2001. "Is Noise Trader Risk Priced?," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 24(3), pages 311-329, Fall.
    37. Ekkehart Boehmer & Eric K. Kelley, 2009. "Institutional Investors and the Informational Efficiency of Prices," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(9), pages 3563-3594, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jiang, Li & Bai, Yu, 2022. "Strategic or substantive innovation? -The impact of institutional investors' site visits on green innovation evidence from China," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    2. Gao, Zhenbin & Zhang, Jie, 2023. "The fluctuation correlation between investor sentiment and stock index using VMD-LSTM: Evidence from China stock market," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    3. Fredy Gamboa-Estrada & Andrés Sánchez-Jabba, 2022. "The Effects of Foreign Investor Composition on Colombia’s Sovereign Debt Flows," Borradores de Economia 1222, Banco de la Republica de Colombia.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Huang, Emily J., 2015. "The role of institutional investors and individual investors in financial markets: Evidence from closed-end funds," Review of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 1-11.
    2. Alexander, Gordon J. & Peterson, Mark A., 2017. "Short selling and the pricing of closed-end funds," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 124-142.
    3. Fredy Gamboa-Estrada & Andrés Sánchez-Jabba, 2022. "The Effects of Foreign Investor Composition on Colombia’s Sovereign Debt Flows," Borradores de Economia 1222, Banco de la Republica de Colombia.
    4. Delcoure, Natalya & Zhong, Maosen, 2007. "On the premiums of iShares," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 168-195, March.
    5. Baltzer, Markus & Jank, Stephan & Smajlbegovic, Esad, 2019. "Who trades on momentum?," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 56-74.
    6. Bhootra, Ajay & Hur, Jungshik, 2012. "On the relationship between concentration of prospect theory/mental accounting investors, cointegration, and momentum," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 1266-1275.
    7. Chen, An-Sing & Hong, Bi-Shia, 2006. "Institutional ownership changes and returns around analysts' earnings forecast release events: Evidence from Taiwan," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(9), pages 2471-2488, September.
    8. Jungshik Hur & Mahesh Pritamani & Vivek Sharma, 2010. "Momentum and the Disposition Effect: The Role of Individual Investors," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 39(3), pages 1155-1176, September.
    9. Andreas Röthig, 2009. "Microeconomic Risk Management and Macroeconomic Stability," Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems, Springer, number 978-3-642-01565-6, December.
    10. Tarun Ramadorai, 2012. "The Secondary Market for Hedge Funds and the Closed Hedge Fund Premium," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 67(2), pages 479-512, April.
    11. Brzeszczyński, Janusz & Bohl, Martin T. & Serwa, Dobromił, 2019. "Pension funds, large capital inflows and stock returns in a thin market," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 18(3), pages 347-387, July.
    12. Edelen, Roger M. & Ince, Ozgur S. & Kadlec, Gregory B., 2016. "Institutional investors and stock return anomalies," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(3), pages 472-488.
    13. Pegah Dehghani & Ros Zam Zam Sapian, 2014. "Sectoral herding behavior in the aftermarket of Malaysian IPOs," Venture Capital, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(3), pages 227-246, July.
    14. Ülkü, Numan & Weber, Enzo, 2013. "Identifying the interaction between stock market returns and trading flows of investor types: Looking into the day using daily data," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 2733-2749.
    15. Thomas, Ashok & Spataro, Luca & Mathew, Nanditha, 2014. "Pension funds and stock market volatility: An empirical analysis of OECD countries," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 11(C), pages 92-103.
    16. Pontiff, Jeffrey, 2006. "Costly arbitrage and the myth of idiosyncratic risk," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1-2), pages 35-52, October.
    17. Sayim, Mustafa & Rahman, Hamid, 2015. "An examination of U.S. institutional and individual investor sentiment effect on the Turkish stock market," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 1-17.
    18. Douglas Foster, F. & Gallagher, David R. & Looi, Adrian, 2011. "Institutional trading and share returns," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 3383-3399.
    19. Akbas, Ferhat & Boehmer, Ekkehart & Jiang, Chao & Koch, Paul D., 2022. "Overnight returns, daytime reversals, and future stock returns," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(3), pages 850-875.
    20. Jared DeLisle, R. & Morscheck, J.D. & Nofsinger, John R., 2014. "Share repurchases and institutional supply," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 216-230.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:revfec:v:26:y:2015:i:1:p:1-11. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1002/(ISSN)1873-5924 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.