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Burned by leverage? Flows and fragility in bond mutual funds

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  • Molestina Vivar, Luis
  • Wedow, Michael
  • Weistroffer, Christian

Abstract

Does leverage drive investor flows in bond mutual funds? Leverage can increase fund returns in good times, but it can also magnify investors’ losses and their response to bad performance. We study bond fund flows to provide new evidence for the link between mutual fund leverage and financial fragility. We find that outflows are greater in leveraged funds during stressed periods and after bad performance, compared with unleveraged funds. We provide supporting evidence that leverage exacerbates the negative externality in investors' redemption decisions. In this regard, we find that fund managers in leveraged funds react more procyclically to net outflows compared with fund managers in unleveraged funds. Such procyclical security sales in leveraged funds may increase investors’ first-mover advantages and their response to bad performance. These findings suggest that leverage amplifies fragility in the bond mutual fund sector. JEL Classification: G01, G20, G23

Suggested Citation

  • Molestina Vivar, Luis & Wedow, Michael & Weistroffer, Christian, 2020. "Burned by leverage? Flows and fragility in bond mutual funds," Working Paper Series 2413, European Central Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20202413
    Note: 406092
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    3. Hoerova, Marie & Breckenfelder, Johannes, 2023. "Do non-banks need access to the lender of last resort? Evidence from fund runs," CEPR Discussion Papers 18122, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    4. Fricke, Daniel, 2021. "Synthetic Leverage and Fund Risk-Taking," ESRB Working Paper Series 126, European Systemic Risk Board.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    bond funds; financial fragility; fund leverage;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G01 - Financial Economics - - General - - - Financial Crises
    • 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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