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Mutual Fund Performance and Flows During the COVID-19 Crisis

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  • Pástor, LuboÅ¡
  • Vorsatz, Blair

Abstract

We present a comprehensive analysis of the performance and flows of U.S. actively-managed equity mutual funds during the COVID-19 crisis of 2020. We find that most active funds underperform passive benchmarks during the crisis, contradicting a popular hypothesis. Funds with high sustainability ratings perform well, as do funds with high star ratings. Fund outflows largely extend pre-crisis trends. Investors favor funds that apply exclusion criteria and funds with high sustainability ratings, especially environmental ones. Our finding that investors remain focused on sustainability during this major crisis suggests they view sustainability as a necessity rather than a luxury good.

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  • Pástor, LuboÅ¡ & Vorsatz, Blair, 2020. "Mutual Fund Performance and Flows During the COVID-19 Crisis," CEPR Discussion Papers 15033, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:15033
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Covid-19; Mutual funds; Sustainability;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G01 - Financial Economics - - General - - - Financial Crises
    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors

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