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Informative fund size, managerial skill, and investor rationality

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  • Zhu, Min

Abstract

This paper considers the nature of returns to scale in active management following Pástor et al. (2015) who fail to establish diseconomies of scale at the fund level. Using an enhanced empirical strategy, we find a significant negative impact of fund size on performance. This empirical evidence indicates that fund alpha and fund size are not independent entities. Consequently, skill, rather than being measured by the fund alpha, should be measured by the value that a fund extracts from capital markets. We also show that there exist sophisticated investors who correctly exploit positive net present value investment opportunities.

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  • Zhu, Min, 2018. "Informative fund size, managerial skill, and investor rationality," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(1), pages 114-134.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfinec:v:130:y:2018:i:1:p:114-134
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2018.06.002
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    7. 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.
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    Cited by:

    1. Kiran Paudel & Atsuyuki Naka, 2023. "Effects of size on the exchange-traded funds performance," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 24(6), pages 474-484, October.
    2. Victor DeMiguel & Javier Gil-Bazo & Francisco J. Nogales & André A. P. Santos, 2021. "Can Machine Learning Help to Select Portfolios of Mutual Funds?," Working Papers 1245, Barcelona School of Economics.
    3. 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).
    4. Angelidis, Timotheos & Babalos, Vassilios & Fessas, Michalis, 2021. "The economic gain of being small in the mutual fund industry: U.S. and international evidence," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    5. Pástor, Ľuboš & Stambaugh, Robert F. & Taylor, Lucian A., 2020. "Fund tradeoffs," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 138(3), pages 614-634.
    6. Lu, Shuai & Li, Shouwei & Zhou, Wei & Yang, Wenke, 2022. "Network herding of energy funds in the post-Carbon-Peak Policy era: Does it benefit profitability and stability?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
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    8. Ibert, Markus, 2023. "What do mutual fund managers’ private portfolios tell us about their skills?," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    9. Dahlquist, Magnus & Ibert, Markus & Wilke, Felix, 2020. "Expectations of Active Mutual Fund Performance," CEPR Discussion Papers 15548, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    10. Yang Song, 2020. "The Mismatch Between Mutual Fund Scale and Skill," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 75(5), pages 2555-2589, October.
    11. Alexander Dyck & Paulo Manoel & Adair Morse, 2022. "Outraged by Compensation: Implications for Public Pension Performance," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 35(6), pages 2928-2980.
    12. Giuseppe Galloppo, 2021. "Size," Springer Books, in: Asset Allocation Strategies for Mutual Funds, chapter 0, pages 151-190, Springer.
    13. Puspita Ghaniy Anggraini & Mahfud Sholihin, 2023. "What do we know about managerial ability? A systematic literature review," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 73(1), pages 1-30, February.
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    15. Wang, Cheng & Han, Jing, 2023. "Prospect theory and mutual fund flows: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    16. Choi, Hae Mi & Gupta-Mukherjee, Swasti, 2022. "Price sensitivity of the consumer-investor: Evidence from energy prices and mutual fund fees," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    17. Tanja Artiga Gonzalez & Teodor Dyakov & Justus Inhoffen & Evert Wipplinger, 2021. "Crowding of International Mutual Funds," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1937, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    18. Wayne Ferson & Junbo L Wang, 2021. "A Panel Regression Approach to Holdings-Based Fund Performance Measures [Multiperiod performance persistence analysis of hedge funds]," The Review of Asset Pricing Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 11(4), pages 695-734.
    19. Dannhauser, Caitlin D. & Spilker, Harold D., 2023. "The Modern Mutual Fund Family," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 148(1), pages 1-20.
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    23. Jeffrey A. Busse & Tarun Chordia & Lei Jiang & Yuehua Tang, 2021. "Transaction Costs, Portfolio Characteristics, and Mutual Fund Performance," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(2), pages 1227-1248, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Mutual funds; Managerial skill; Diseconomies of scale; Investor rationality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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