IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/nbr/nberwo/7049.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Mutual Funds and Institutional Investments: What is the Most Efficient Way to Set Up Individual Accounts in a Social Security System?

Author

Listed:
  • Estelle James
  • Gary Ferrier
  • James Smalhout
  • Dimitri Vittas

Abstract

One of the biggest criticisms leveled at defined contribution individual account (IA) components of social security systems is that they are too expensive. This paper investigates the cost-effectiveness of three options for constructing funded social security pillars: 1) IA's invested in the retail market with relatively open choice, 2) IA's invested in the institutional market with constrained choice among investment companies, and 3) a centralized fund without individual accounts or differentiated investments across individuals. Our questions: What is the most cost-effective way to organize a mandatory IA system, how does the cost of an efficient IA system compare with that of a single centralized fund, and are the cost differentials large enough to outweigh the other important considerations? Our answers, based on empirical evidence about mutual and institutional funds in the U.S.: The retail market (option 1) allows individual investors to benefit from scale economies in asset management, but at the cost of high marketing expenses that are needed to attract and aggregate small sums of money into large pools. In contrast, a centralized fund (option 3) can be much cheaper because it achieves scale economies without high marketing costs, but gives workers no choice and hence is subject to political manipulation and misallocation of capital. Mandatory IA systems can be structured to get the best of both worlds: to obtain scale economies in asset management without incurring high marketing costs or sacrificing worker choice. To accomplish this requires centralized collections, a modest level of investor service and constrained choice. The system of constrained choice described in this paper (option 2) is much cheaper than the retail market and only slightly more expensive than a single centralized fund. We estimate that it will cost only .14-.18% of assets annually. These large administrative cost savings imply a Pareto improvement so long as choice is not constrained too much.'

Suggested Citation

  • Estelle James & Gary Ferrier & James Smalhout & Dimitri Vittas, 1999. "Mutual Funds and Institutional Investments: What is the Most Efficient Way to Set Up Individual Accounts in a Social Security System?," NBER Working Papers 7049, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:7049
    Note: PE AG
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w7049.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. 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.
    2. Dermine, Jean & Roller, Lars-Hendrik, 1992. "Economies of scale and scope in French mutual funds," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 83-93, March.
    3. Chordia, Tarun, 1996. "The structure of mutual fund charges," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 3-39, May.
    4. Shukla, Ravi K. & van Inwegen, Gregory B., 1995. "Do locals perform better than foreigners?: An analysis of UK and US mutual fund managers," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 241-254, August.
    5. McLeod, Robert W & Malhotra, D K, 1994. "A Re-examination of the Effect of 12B-1 Plans on Mutual Fund Expense Ratios," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 17(2), pages 231-240, Summer.
    6. Livingston, Miles & O'Neal, Edward S, 1996. "Mutual Fund Brokerage Commissions," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 19(2), pages 273-292, Summer.
    7. Robert W. McLeod & D. K. Malhotra, 1994. "A Re-Examination Of The Effect Of 12b–1 Plans On Mutual Fund Expense Ratios," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 17(2), pages 231-240, June.
    8. D. K. Malhotra & Robert W. McLeod, 1997. "An Empirical Analysis Of Mutual Fund Expenses," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 20(2), pages 175-190, June.
    9. Carhart, Mark M, 1997. "On Persistence in Mutual Fund Performance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(1), pages 57-82, March.
    10. Malhotra, D K & McLeod, Robert W, 1997. "An Empirical Analysis of Mutual Fund Expenses," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 20(2), pages 175-190, Summer.
    11. Miles Livingston & Edward S. O'Neal, 1996. "Mutual Fund Brokerage Commissions," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 19(2), pages 273-292, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Whitehouse, Edward, 2000. "Administrative charges for funded pensions: An international comparison and assessment," MPRA Paper 14172, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Whitehouse, Edward, 2000. "Paying for pensions: An international comparison of administrative charges in funded retirement-income systems," MPRA Paper 14171, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. James E. Pesando, 2001. "The Canada Pension Plan: Looking Back at the Recent Reforms," The State of Economics in Canada: Festschrift in Honour of David Slater, in: Patrick Grady & Andrew Sharpe (ed.),The State of Economics in Canada: Festschrift in Honour of David Slater, pages 137-150, Centre for the Study of Living Standards.
    4. Luciano Greco, 2005. "The Optimal Design of Funded Pension Plans: Unbundling Financing and Investment," "Marco Fanno" Working Papers 0003, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche "Marco Fanno".
    5. Mr. Rene Weber & David S. Gerber, 2007. "Aging, Asset Allocation, and Costs: Evidence for the Pension Fund Industry in Switzerland," IMF Working Papers 2007/029, International Monetary Fund.
    6. Greco, Luciano G., 2006. "The optimal design of funded pensions," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 24519, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    7. Ebrahim, M. Shahid & Mathur, Ike & ap Gwilym, Rhys, 2014. "Integrating corporate ownership and pension fund structures: A general equilibrium approach," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 553-569.
    8. Estelle James & Alejandra Cox Edwards & Rebeca Wong, 2012. "The Gender Impact of Pension Reform," World Bank Publications - Reports 13046, The World Bank Group.
    9. James,Estelle & Smalhout, James & Vittas, Dimitri, 2001. "Administrative costs and the organization of individual retirement account systems : a comparative perspective," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2554, The World Bank.
    10. James, Estelle & Edwards, Alejandra Cox & Wong, Rebecca, 2003. "The gender impact of pension reform : a cross-country analysis," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3074, The World Bank.

    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. Nicolaj Siggelkow, 1999. "Expense Shifting: An Empirical Study of Agency Costs in the Mutual Fund Industry," Center for Financial Institutions Working Papers 99-09, Wharton School Center for Financial Institutions, University of Pennsylvania.
    2. Prather, Laurie & Bertin, William J. & Henker, Thomas, 2004. "Mutual fund characteristics, managerial attributes, and fund performance," Review of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 305-326.
    3. Miles Livingston & Edward S. O'Neal, 1998. "The Cost Of Mutual Fund Distribution Fees," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 21(2), pages 205-218, June.
    4. Franz Diboky & Jörg Finsinger, 2006. "Total Expense Ratio — eine empirische Untersuchung der Zusatzkosten von Investmentfonds," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 58(6), pages 710-729, September.
    5. Tran-Dieu, Linh, 2015. "How do mutual funds transfer scale economies to investors? Evidence from France," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 66-83.
    6. Soo-Wah Low, 2008. "A cross-sectional analysis of Malaysian unit trust fund expense ratios," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(4), pages 270-277, October.
    7. Anolli, Mario & Del Giudice, Alfonso, 2008. "Italian Open End Mutual Fund Costs," MPRA Paper 8111, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Sofi Mohd Fikri & M. H. Yahya, 2019. "The Fund Characteristics, Fees, and expenses structure between Conventional and Islamic Mutual Fund," Asian Academy of Management Journal of Accounting and Finance (AAMJAF), Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia, vol. 15(1), pages 157-190.
    9. Todd Houge & Tim Lughran, 2006. "Do Invesrtors Capture the Value Premium?," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 35(2), pages 5-19, June.
    10. Laurie Prather & William J. Bertin & Thomas Henker, 2004. "Mutual fund characteristics, managerial attributes, and fund performance," Review of Financial Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 13(4), pages 305-326.
    11. Gil-Bazo, Javier & Ruiz-Verdú, Pablo, 2006. "Yet another puzzle? the relation between price and performance in the mutual fund industry," DEE - Working Papers. Business Economics. WB wb066519, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Departamento de Economía de la Empresa.
    12. Helen Higgs & Andrew C. Worthington, 2010. "Economies of Scale and Scope in Australian Superannuation Funds," Discussion Papers in Finance finance:201015, Griffith University, Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics.
    13. Marco Navone & Giacomo Nocera, 2016. "Unbundling the Expense Ratio: Hidden Distribution Costs in European Mutual Fund Markets," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 22(4), pages 640-666, September.
    14. Fernando, Deepthi & Klapper, Leora & Sulla, Victor & Vittas, Dimitri, 2003. "The global growth of mutual funds," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3055, The World Bank.
    15. Susan E.K. Christoffersen, 2000. "Fee Waivers in Money Market Mutual Funds," Center for Financial Institutions Working Papers 97-46, Wharton School Center for Financial Institutions, University of Pennsylvania.
    16. Todd Houge & Jay Wellman, 2007. "The Use and Abuse of Mutual Fund Expenses," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 70(1), pages 23-32, January.
    17. Isabel Toledo & Rocío Marco, 2010. "Costs associated with mutual funds in Spain," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(2), pages 165-179.
    18. David A. Latzko, 1999. "Economies Of Scale In Mutual Fund Administration," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 22(3), pages 331-339, September.
    19. Jeffrey J. Yankow & Thomas I. Smythe & Vance P. Lesseig & Michael A. Jones, 2011. "The Impact of Advertising on Fund Flows in Alternative Distribution Channels," International Journal of Financial Research, International Journal of Financial Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 2(1), pages 2-22, March.
    20. Tang, Ke & Wang, Wenjun & Xu, Rong, 2012. "Size and performance of Chinese mutual funds: The role of economy of scale and liquidity," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 228-246.

    More about this item

    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:nbr:nberwo:7049. 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: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/nberrus.html .

    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.