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Bias in the Reporting of Venture Capital Performance: The Disciplinary Role of FOIA

Author

Listed:
  • Erin E. Smith
  • Janet Kiholm Smith
  • Richard L. Smith

Abstract

Using a large sample of fund-years, we investigate the performance reporting behaviors of general partners (GPs) and limited partners (LPs) of Venture Capital (VC) funds. Self-reporting by GPs raises the concern that the information investors rely on may be biased, either due to selective reporting from the most successful funds or from overstated performance. Our results indicate that selective reporting is the more important concern: GPs report irregularly and are more likely to report when LPs report good performance. We estimate that selective reporting by GPs overstates VC fund returns by 4 percentage points. We look specifically at the disciplinary role of FOIA in mitigating distortions in reported performance. FOIA-eligible LPs are 8.5 times more likely to report than are other LPs. The presence of FOIA-eligible LPs may also restrain GPs from overstating results. We find no evidence that FOIA-eligible LPs are disadvantaged in their ability to invest in top-performing funds or funds managed by the most reputable GPs.

Suggested Citation

  • Erin E. Smith & Janet Kiholm Smith & Richard L. Smith, 2022. "Bias in the Reporting of Venture Capital Performance: The Disciplinary Role of FOIA," Review of Corporate Finance, now publishers, vol. 2(3), pages 493-525, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:now:jnlrcf:114.00000022
    DOI: 10.1561/114.00000022
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Douglas Cumming & Lars Helge Hass & Linda A. Myers & Monika Tarsalewska, 2023. "Does Venture Capital Backing Improve Disclosure Controls and Procedures? Evidence from Management’s Post-IPO Disclosures," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 187(3), pages 539-563, October.
    2. Douglas Cumming & Pedro Monteiro, 2023. "Sovereign wealth fund investment in venture capital, private equity, and real asset funds," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 6(3), pages 330-355, September.
    3. Cumming, Douglas J. & Monteiro, Pedro, 2023. "Sovereign wealth fund investment in venture capital, private equity, and real asset funds," CFS Working Paper Series 700, Center for Financial Studies (CFS).
    4. Fu, Xiaoqing Maggie & Harrison, Richard T. & Li, Dongfu Franco, 2022. "Venture capital investment in university spin-offs: Evidence from an emerging economy," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    5. Yang, Baohua & Zhou, Yingluo & Zhou, Zhong-Guo, 2022. "Strategic behavior of insiders in initial underpricing and long-run underperformance," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    6. Douglas Cumming & Satish Kumar & Weng Marc Lim & Nitesh Pandey, 2023. "Mapping the venture capital and private equity research: a bibliometric review and future research agenda," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 61(1), pages 173-221, June.
    7. Du, Qingjie & Heo, Yuna, 2022. "Political corruption, Dodd–Frank whistleblowing, and corporate investment," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    8. Zhao, Jing & Cao, June & Huang, Jingchang, 2023. "CEO/board medical background and stock returns during the COVID-19 pandemic," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Venture Capital performance; FOIA; bias in performance reporting; entrepreneurial finance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G18 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • G24 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Investment Banking; Venture Capital; Brokerage
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation

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