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Sensation Seeking and Hedge Funds

Author

Listed:
  • STEPHEN BROWN
  • YAN LU
  • SUGATA RAY
  • MELVYN TEO

Abstract

We show that, motivated by sensation seeking, hedge fund managers who own powerful sports cars take on more investment risk but do not deliver higher returns, resulting in lower Sharpe ratios, information ratios, and alphas. Moreover, sensation‐seeking managers trade more frequently, actively, and unconventionally, and prefer lottery‐like stocks. We show further that some investors are themselves susceptible to sensation seeking and that sensation‐seeking investors fuel the demand for sensation‐seeking managers. While investors perceive sensation seekers to be less competent, they do not fully appreciate the superior investment skills of sensation‐avoiding fund managers.

Suggested Citation

  • Stephen Brown & Yan Lu & Sugata Ray & Melvyn Teo, 2018. "Sensation Seeking and Hedge Funds," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 73(6), pages 2871-2914, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:jfinan:v:73:y:2018:i:6:p:2871-2914
    DOI: 10.1111/jofi.12723
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    Cited by:

    1. Demir, Tolga & Mohammadi, Ali & Shafi, Kourosh, 2022. "Crowdfunding as gambling: Evidence from repeated natural experiments," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    2. Yang, Fan & Havranek, Tomas & Irsova, Zuzana & Novak, Jiri, 2022. "Hedge Fund Performance: A Quantitative Survey," EconStor Preprints 260612, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    3. Licht, Amir N. & Adams, Renee B., 2020. "Shareholders and Stakeholders around the World: The Role of Values, Culture, and Law in Directors' Decisions," LawFin Working Paper Series 13, Goethe University, Center for Advanced Studies on the Foundations of Law and Finance (LawFin).
    4. Sun, Kaisi & Wang, Hui & Zhu, Yifeng, 2022. "How is the change in left-tail risk priced in China?," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    5. Liu, Hongqi & Peng, Cameron & Wei, Xiong & Wei, Xiong, 2022. "Taming the bias zoo," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 109301, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. Liu, Hongqi & Peng, Cameron & Xiong, Wei A. & Xiong, Wei, 2022. "Taming the bias zoo," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(2), pages 716-741.
    7. Kumar, Nitish & Mullally, Kevin & Ray, Sugata & Tang, Yuehua, 2020. "Prime (information) brokerage," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(2), pages 371-391.
    8. Grobys, Klaus & Junttila, Juha, 2021. "Speculation and lottery-like demand in cryptocurrency markets," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    9. Li, Jiangyuan & Liu, Bo & Yang, Jinqiang & Zou, Zhentao, 2020. "Hedge fund’s dynamic leverage decisions under time-inconsistent preferences," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 284(2), pages 779-791.
    10. Sean Cleary & Jonathan Jona & Gladys Lee & Joshua Shemesh, 2020. "Underlying risk preferences and analyst risk‐taking behavior," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(7-8), pages 949-981, July.
    11. Agarwal, Vikas & Cochardt, Alexander Elmar & Orlov, Vitaly, 2022. "Birth order and fund manager's trading behavior: Role of sibling rivalry," CFR Working Papers 22-12, University of Cologne, Centre for Financial Research (CFR).
    12. Lee, Suin & Pantzalis, Christos & Park, Jung Chul, 2019. "Does local culture trigger speculative investment behavior?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 71-88.
    13. Clark Liu & Johan Sulaeman & Tao Shu & P Eric Yeung, 2023. "Life is Too Short? Bereaved Managers and Investment Decisions," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 27(4), pages 1373-1421.
    14. Yonatan Shertzer & Yael Brender-Ilan, 2023. "Why Do Leaders Escalate Their Commitment to a Failed Course of Action? A Moderated-Mediation Personality Traits Model," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(1), pages 21582440231, February.
    15. Dai, Na & Nahata, Rajarishi & Brauner, Aaron, 2022. "Does individualism matter for hedge funds? A cross-country examination," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    16. Lu, Yan & Mortal, Sandra & Ray, Sugata, 2022. "Hedge fund hold ’em," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    17. Luo, Deqing & Wu, Xiaoping & Xu, Jiawen & Yan, Jingzhou, 2022. "Robust leverage decision under locked wealth and high-water mark contract," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PB).
    18. Dayani, Arash & Jannati, Sima, 2022. "Running a mutual fund: Performance and trading behavior of runner managers," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 43-62.
    19. Chen, Dongxu & Wu, Ke & Zhu, Yifeng, 2022. "Stock return asymmetry in China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    20. Mao, Mike Qinghao & Wong, Ching Hin, 2022. "Managerial commitment and heterogeneity in target-date funds," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 1-19.
    21. Liu, Hongqi & Peng, Cameron & Xiong, Wei A. & Xiong, Wei, 2020. "Resolving the excessive trading puzzle: an integrated approach based on surveys and transactions," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 118870, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    22. Hongqi Liu & Cameron Peng & Wei A. Xiong & Wei Xiong, 2020. "Taming the Bias Zoo," NBER Working Papers 26911, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    23. Freund, Steven & Kovacs, Tunde & Nguyen, Nam H. & Phan, Hieu V., 2023. "CEO personality traits and debt contracting: Evidence from pilot CEOs," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    24. Liu, Chang & Sun, Peng & Zhu, Dongming, 2023. "Lottery preference, short-sale constraint, and the salience effect: Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    25. Huang, Wenli & Liu, Wenqiong & Lu, Lei & Mu, Congming, 2023. "Hedge funds trading strategies and leverage," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).

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