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UK equity mutual fund alphas make a comeback

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  • Mateus, Irina B.
  • Mateus, Cesario
  • Todorovic, Natasa

Abstract

In this study, we re-visit the performance of 887 active UK equity mutual funds using a new approach proposed by Angelidis, Giamouridis, and Tessaromatis. The authors argue that mutual funds stock selection is driven by the benchmark index, so if the benchmark generates alpha, there will be a bias in interpretation of manager's stock-picking ability. In their model, the alpha of a fund is adjusted by the benchmark's alpha. By applying this method, we eliminate bias inflicted by the persistently negative alphas of FTSE 100 Index in the period 1992–2013. We find that adjusted Fama–French and Carhat alphas of UK equity mutual funds are higher than those implied by the standard three- and four-factor models and are overall positive, contrary to most of the existing literature on UK fund performance. This result is consistent across funds' investment styles and robust to the use of FTSE Small Cap as benchmark for a sub-sample of small cap funds.

Suggested Citation

  • Mateus, Irina B. & Mateus, Cesario & Todorovic, Natasa, 2016. "UK equity mutual fund alphas make a comeback," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 98-110.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finana:v:44:y:2016:i:c:p:98-110
    DOI: 10.1016/j.irfa.2016.01.004
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    1. Keith Cuthbertson & Dirk Nitzsche & Niall O’Sullivan, 2023. "UK mutual funds: performance persistence and portfolio size," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 24(4), pages 284-298, July.
    2. Mateus, Irina B. & Mateus, Cesario & Todorovic, Natasa, 2019. "Review of new trends in the literature on factor models and mutual fund performance," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 344-354.
    3. Irina Bezhentseva Mateus & Cesario Mateus & Natasa Todorovic, 2019. "Benchmark-adjusted performance of US equity mutual funds and the issue of prospectus benchmarks," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 20(1), pages 15-30, February.
    4. Cuthbertson, Keith & Nitzsche, Dirk & O'Sullivan, Niall, 2022. "Mutual fund performance persistence: Factor models and portfolio size," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    5. José Luis Miralles-Quirós & María Mar Miralles-Quirós, 2020. "Who Knocks on the Door of Portfolio Performance Heaven: Sinner or Saint Investors?," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-18, November.
    6. Cesario Mateus & Irina B. Mateus & Marco Soggiu, 2020. "Do smart beta ETFs deliver persistent performance?," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 21(5), pages 413-427, September.
    7. Cesario Mateus & Irina B. Mateus & Marco Soggiu, 0. "Do smart beta ETFs deliver persistent performance?," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 0, pages 1-15.
    8. Sudipta Majumdar & Rohan Kumar Mishra & Abhijeet Chandra, 2024. "Fund Characteristics, Managerial Skills and Performance Persistence: Evidence from India," Asia-Pacific Financial Markets, Springer;Japanese Association of Financial Economics and Engineering, vol. 31(2), pages 335-354, June.
    9. Hanke, Bernd & Keswani, Aneel & Quigley, Garrett & Zagonov, Maxim, 2018. "Survivorship bias and comparability of UK open-ended fund databases," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 110-114.
    10. José Luis Miralles-Quirós & María Mar Miralles-Quirós & José Manuel Nogueira, 2020. "Sustainable Development Goals and Investment Strategies: The Profitability of Using Five-Factor Fama-French Alphas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-16, February.
    11. Veeravel. V & A. Balakrishnan, 2023. "Persistence of Large-Cap Equity Funds performance, market timing ability, and selectivity: evidence from India," Asia-Pacific Financial Markets, Springer;Japanese Association of Financial Economics and Engineering, vol. 30(1), pages 37-48, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Fama–French; Carhart; Adjusted alphas; UK equity funds performance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors

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