IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbfina/v181y2025ics0378426625001645.html

Unencumbered by style: Why do funds change factor loadings, and does it help?

Author

Listed:
  • Bai, Ting
  • Hilscher, Jens
  • Scherbina, Anna

Abstract

We show that, rather than maintaining a constant style, active equity funds alter their factor loadings over time. Style changes are larger following quarters in which funds either substantially under- or out-perform other funds based on returns or fund flows, which is explained by managers both not correcting the resulting passive style drift and deliberately reallocating a portion of the portfolio. Motivated by this observation, we identify a new measure of manager skill, which we call “tactical investment skill.” It captures a manager’s ex-ante observable ability to increase future returns through loadings changes. We show that high-skill managers outperform their low-skill peers in the following month in terms of raw returns and alphas. This outperformance is more pronounced following quarters with large loadings changes.

Suggested Citation

  • Bai, Ting & Hilscher, Jens & Scherbina, Anna, 2025. "Unencumbered by style: Why do funds change factor loadings, and does it help?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbfina:v:181:y:2025:i:c:s0378426625001645
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbankfin.2025.107544
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378426625001645
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2025.107544?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lakonishok, Josef, et al, 1991. "Window Dressing by Pension Fund Managers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 81(2), pages 227-231, May.
    2. Martin Lettau & Sydney C. Ludvigson & Paulo Manoel, 2018. "Characteristics of Mutual Fund Portfolios: Where Are the Value Funds?," NBER Working Papers 25381, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Henriksson, Roy D & Merton, Robert C, 1981. "On Market Timing and Investment Performance. II. Statistical Procedures for Evaluating Forecasting Skills," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 54(4), pages 513-533, October.
    4. Brad M. Barber & Xing Huang & Terrance Odean, 2016. "Which Factors Matter to Investors? Evidence from Mutual Fund Flows," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 29(10), pages 2600-2642.
    5. Ippolito, Richard A, 1992. "Consumer Reaction to Measures of Poor Quality: Evidence from the Mutual Fund Industry," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 35(1), pages 45-70, April.
    6. William Goetzmann & Jonathan Ingersoll & Zoran Ivkovich, 1998. "Monthly Measurement of Daily Timers," Yale School of Management Working Papers ysm88, Yale School of Management, revised 01 Oct 2000.
    7. Louis K. C. Chan & Hsiu-Lang Chen & Josef Lakonishok, 2002. "On Mutual Fund Investment Styles," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 15(5), pages 1407-1437.
    8. Anthony W. Lynch & David K. Musto, 2003. "How Investors Interpret Past Fund Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(5), pages 2033-2058, October.
    9. Polk, Christopher & Thompson, Samuel & Vuolteenaho, Tuomo, 2006. "Cross-sectional forecasts of the equity premium," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(1), pages 101-141, July.
    10. K. J. Martijn Cremers & Antti Petajisto, 2009. "How Active Is Your Fund Manager? A New Measure That Predicts Performance," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(9), pages 3329-3365, September.
    11. Jan Annaert & Geert Van Campenhout, 2007. "Time Variation in Mutual Fund Style Exposures," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 11(4), pages 633-661.
    12. Carhart, Mark M, 1997. "On Persistence in Mutual Fund Performance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(1), pages 57-82, March.
    13. Jennifer Huang & Clemens Sialm & Hanjiang Zhang, 2011. "Risk Shifting and Mutual Fund Performance," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 24(8), pages 2575-2616.
    14. repec:bla:jfinan:v:53:y:1998:i:5:p:1589-1622 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Daniel, Kent, et al, 1997. "Measuring Mutual Fund Performance with Characteristic-Based Benchmarks," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(3), pages 1035-1058, July.
    16. Judith Chevalier & Glenn Ellison, 1999. "Career Concerns of Mutual Fund Managers," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 114(2), pages 389-432.
    17. Chang, Eric C & Lewellen, Wilbur G, 1984. "Market Timing and Mutual Fund Investment Performance," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 57(1), pages 57-72, January.
    18. Harry Mamaysky & Matthew Spiegel & Hong Zhang, 2008. "Estimating the Dynamics of Mutual Fund Alphas and Betas," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 21(1), pages 233-264, January.
    19. Martijn Cremers & Antti Petajisto, 2006. "How Active is Your Fund Manager? A New Measure That Predicts Performance," Yale School of Management Working Papers amz2370, Yale School of Management, revised 01 May 2009.
    20. Pettenuzzo, Davide & Timmermann, Allan, 2011. "Predictability of stock returns and asset allocation under structural breaks," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 164(1), pages 60-78, September.
    21. Marcin Kacperczyk & Clemens Sialm & Lu Zheng, 2005. "On the Industry Concentration of Actively Managed Equity Mutual Funds," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(4), pages 1983-2011, August.
    22. Goetzmann, William N. & Ingersoll, Jonathan & Ivković, Zoran, 2000. "Monthly Measurement of Daily Timers," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 35(3), pages 257-290, September.
    23. David K. Musto, 2011. "The Economics of Mutual Funds," Annual Review of Financial Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 3(1), pages 159-172, December.
    24. Martijn Cremers & Antti Petajisto, 2006. "How Active is Your Fund Manager? A New Measure That Predicts Performance," Yale School of Management Working Papers amz2370, Yale School of Management, revised 01 May 2009.
    25. Dan diBartolomeo & Erik Witkowski, 1997. "Mutual Fund Misclassification: Evidence Based on Style Analysis," Financial Analysts Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(5), pages 32-43, September.
    26. Wermers, Russ, 2012. "A matter of style: The causes and consequences of style drift in institutional portfolios," CFR Working Papers 12-04, University of Cologne, Centre for Financial Research (CFR).
    27. Marcin Kacperczyk & Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh & Laura Veldkamp, 2014. "Time-Varying Fund Manager Skill," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 69(4), pages 1455-1484, August.
    28. Berk, Jonathan B. & van Binsbergen, Jules H., 2016. "Assessing asset pricing models using revealed preference," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(1), pages 1-23.
    29. Berk, Jonathan B. & van Binsbergen, Jules H., 2015. "Measuring skill in the mutual fund industry," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(1), pages 1-20.
    30. Edwin J. Elton & Martin J. Gruber & Christopher R. Blake, 2001. "A First Look at the Accuracy of the CRSP Mutual Fund Database and a Comparison of the CRSP and Morningstar Mutual Fund Databases," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 56(6), pages 2415-2430, December.
    31. Ľuboš Pástor & Robert F. Stambaugh & Lucian A. Taylor, 2017. "Do Funds Make More When They Trade More?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 72(4), pages 1483-1528, August.
    32. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 1993. "Common risk factors in the returns on stocks and bonds," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 3-56, February.
    33. Michael J. Cooper & Huseyin Gulen & P. Raghavendra Rau, 2005. "Changing Names with Style: Mutual Fund Name Changes and Their Effects on Fund Flows," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(6), pages 2825-2858, December.
    34. Laurens Swinkels & Liam Tjong-A-Tjoe, 2007. "Can mutual funds time investment styles?," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 8(2), pages 123-132, July.
    35. Pástor, Ľuboš & Stambaugh, Robert F. & Taylor, Lucian A., 2015. "Scale and skill in active management," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(1), pages 23-45.
    36. Frijns, Bart & Gilbert, Aaron & Zwinkels, Remco C. J., 2016. "On the Style-Based Feedback Trading of Mutual Fund Managers," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 51(3), pages 771-800, June.
    37. Henriksson, Roy D, 1984. "Market Timing and Mutual Fund Performance: An Empirical Investigation," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 57(1), pages 73-96, January.
    38. Chevalier, Judith & Ellison, Glenn, 1997. "Risk Taking by Mutual Funds as a Response to Incentives," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 105(6), pages 1167-1200, December.
    39. K. J. Martijn Cremers & Jon A. Fulkerson & Timothy B. Riley, 2022. "Active Share and the Predictability of the Performance of Separate Accounts," Financial Analysts Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 78(1), pages 39-57, January.
    40. Busse, Jeffrey A., 2001. "Another Look at Mutual Fund Tournaments," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 36(1), pages 53-73, March.
    41. Jeffrey A. Busse & Jing Ding & Lei Jiang & Ke Wu, 2024. "Dynamic Market Timing in Mutual Funds," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 70(6), pages 3470-3492, June.
    42. Hao Jiang & Michela Verardo, 2018. "Does Herding Behavior Reveal Skill? An Analysis of Mutual Fund Performance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 73(5), pages 2229-2269, October.
    43. Brown, Keith C & Harlow, W V & Starks, Laura T, 1996. "Of Tournaments and Temptations: An Analysis of Managerial Incentives in the Mutual Fund Industry," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 51(1), pages 85-110, March.
    44. Jiang, Hao & Verardo, Michela, 2018. "Does herding behavior reveal skill? An analysis of mutual fund performance," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 86372, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    45. Jiang, George J. & Yao, Tong & Yu, Tong, 2007. "Do mutual funds time the market? Evidence from portfolio holdings," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(3), pages 724-758, December.
    46. Joshua M. Pollet & Mungo Wilson, 2008. "How Does Size Affect Mutual Fund Behavior?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(6), pages 2941-2969, December.
    47. Cremers, Martijn & Petajisto, Antti & Zitzewitz, Eric, 2013. "Should Benchmark Indices Have Alpha? Revisiting Performance Evaluation," Critical Finance Review, now publishers, vol. 2(1), pages 1-48, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Keith Cuthbertson & Dirk Nitzsche & Niall O'Sullivan, 2010. "Mutual Fund Performance: Measurement and Evidence," Financial Markets, Institutions & Instruments, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(2), pages 95-187, May.
    2. Hung, Pi-Hsia & Lien, Donald & Kuo, Ming-Sin, 2020. "Window dressing in equity mutual funds," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 338-354.
    3. Li, Zhiyong & Rao, Xiao, 2023. "Exploring the zoo of predictors for mutual fund performance in China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    4. Ferson, Wayne E., 2013. "Investment Performance: A Review and Synthesis," Handbook of the Economics of Finance, in: G.M. Constantinides & M. Harris & R. M. Stulz (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Finance, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 969-1010, Elsevier.
    5. Massa, Massimo & Cheng, Si & Zhang, Hong, 2021. "Tax Evasion and Market Efficiency: Evidence from the FATCA and Offshore Mutual Funds," CEPR Discussion Papers 15747, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    6. Jiang, George J. & Zaynutdinova, Gulnara R. & Zhang, Huacheng, 2021. "Stock-selection timing," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    7. Manuel Ammann & Sebastian Fischer & Florian Weigert, 2018. "Risk Factor Exposure Variation and Mutual Fund Performance," Working Papers on Finance 1817, University of St. Gallen, School of Finance, revised Nov 2018.
    8. Nehal Joshipura & Mayank Joshipura & Tanvi Joshi, 2025. "Decoding mutual fund performance: current pathways and new avenues," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 59(4), pages 3113-3135, August.
    9. Chang, Xiaochen & Guo, Songlin & Huang, Junkai, 2022. "Kidnapped mutual funds: Irrational preference of naive investors and fund incentive distortion," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    10. Cuthbertson, Keith & Nitzsche, Dirk & O'Sullivan, Niall, 2016. "A review of behavioural and management effects in mutual fund performance," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 162-176.
    11. Lan, Chunhua & Moneta, Fabio & Wermers, Russ, 2018. "Holding Horizon: A New Measure of Active Investment Management," CFR Working Papers 15-06, University of Cologne, Centre for Financial Research (CFR), revised 2018.
    12. Ferson, Wayne & Mo, Haitao, 2016. "Performance measurement with selectivity, market and volatility timing," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(1), pages 93-110.
    13. Viktoriya Lantushenko & Edward Nelling, 2020. "New Positions in Mutual Fund Portfolios: Implications for Fund Alpha," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 58(2), pages 161-198, December.
    14. Victor DeMiguel & Javier Gil-Bazo & Francisco J. Nogales & André A. P. Santos, 2021. "Can machine learning help to select portfolios of mutual funds?," Economics Working Papers 1772, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
    15. Zambrana, Rafael & Zapatero, Fernando, 2021. "A tale of two types: Generalists vs. specialists in asset management," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 844-861.
    16. repec:bge:wpaper:1245 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Ammann, Manuel & Fischer, Sebastian & Weigert, Florian, 2020. "Factor exposure variation and mutual fund performance," CFR Working Papers 20-06, University of Cologne, Centre for Financial Research (CFR).
    18. Fulkerson, Jon A. & Riley, Timothy B., 2019. "Portfolio concentration and mutual fund performance," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 1-16.
    19. Pi‐Hsia Hung & Donald Lien & Yun‐Ju Chien, 2020. "Portfolio concentration and fund manager performance," Review of Financial Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(3), pages 423-451, July.
    20. Yi, Li & Xiao, Li & Liao, Yinkai, 2024. "Network centrality, style drift, and mutual fund performance," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(PA).
    21. Michel Verlaine, 2022. "Behavioral finance and the architecture of the asset management industry," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(5), pages 1454-1476, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • G10 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)
    • G20 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - General
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors

    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:eee:jbfina:v:181:y:2025:i:c:s0378426625001645. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbf .

    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.