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Cutthroats or comrades: Information sharing among competing fund managers

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  • Ganglmair, Bernhard
  • Holcomb, Alex
  • Myung, Noah

Abstract

Recent evidence of correlated trading among networked fund managers provides an indication that professional investors exchange investment ideas. To examine the motivations underlying this type of collaboration, we design a laboratory experiment in which competing fund managers share ideas until either chance or one of the fund managers (by choice to obtain a competitive advantage) terminates the exchange. We find that managers are more willing, and likely, to share when their rival's ability and intention to share in return are high. For a manager's decision to share, subjective expectations about rivals' intentions matter more than common expectations about their ability.

Suggested Citation

  • Ganglmair, Bernhard & Holcomb, Alex & Myung, Noah, 2016. "Cutthroats or comrades: Information sharing among competing fund managers," MPRA Paper 71506, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:71506
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    conversation; correlated trading; experimental finance; fund managers; hedge funds; information sharing; word-of-mouth communication;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C72 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Noncooperative Games
    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • D8 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty
    • G02 - Financial Economics - - General - - - Behavioral Finance: Underlying Principles
    • 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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