scholarly journals Cash management and performance of index mutual funds

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 549-565
Author(s):  
Diego Víctor de Mingo-López ◽  
Juan Carlos Matallín-Sáez ◽  
Amparo Soler-Domínguez

PurposeThis study aims to assess the relationship between cash management and fund performance in index fund portfolios.Design/methodology/approachUsing a sample of 104 index mutual funds that track the Standard and Poor 500 stock market index from January 1999 to December 2016, the authors employ quintile portfolios and different regression models to assess the differences in risk-adjusted monthly returns experienced by index funds managing different cash levels in their portfolios. To ensure the robustness of the results, different sub-periods and market states are considered in the analyses as well as other exogenous factors and fund characteristics affecting the level of portfolio cash holdings and index fund performance.FindingsResults show that index funds holding higher levels of cash and cash equivalents performed significantly worse than their low-cash counterparts. This evidence remains even after considering different sub-periods and bullish and bearish market conditions and controlling for fund expenses and other variables that could drive this cash-performance relationship.Originality/valueThis study expands the extant literature analyzing cash management in the mutual fund industry. More specifically, the analyses focus on index fund portfolios that replicate a specific benchmark, given that their performance differences should not be related to the market evolution but to the factors derived from the fund management and other exogenous issues. These findings are of interest to managers and investors willing to improve their risk-adjusted returns while investing as diversified as a stock market index.

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim Hiang Liow

Purpose This research aims to investigate whether and to what extent the co-movements of cross-country business cycles, cross-country stock market cycles and cross-country real estate market cycles are linked across G7 from February 1990 to June 2014. Design/methodology/approach The empirical approaches include correlation analysis on Hodrick–Prescott (HP) cycles, HP cycle return spillovers effects using Diebold and Yilmaz’s (2012) spillover index methodology, as well as Croux et al.’s (2001) dynamic correlation and cohesion methodology. Findings There are fairly strong cycle-return spillover effects between the cross-country business cycles, cross-country stock market cycles and cross-country real estate market cycles. The interactions among the cross-country business cycles, cross-country stock market cycles and cross-country real estate market cycles in G7 are less positively pronounced or exhibit counter-cyclical behavior at the traditional business cycle (medium-term) frequency band when “pure” stock market cycles are considered. Research limitations/implications The research is subject to the usual limitations concerning empirical research. Practical implications This study finds that real estate is an important factor in influencing the degree and behavior of the relationship between cross-country business cycles and cross-country stock market cycles in G7. It provides important empirical insights for portfolio investors to understand and forecast the differential benefits and pitfalls of portfolio diversification in the long-, medium- and short-cycle horizons, as well as for research studying the linkages between the real economy and financial sectors. Originality/value In adding to the existing body of knowledge concerning economic globalization and financial market interdependence, this study evaluates the linkages between business cycles, stock market cycles and public real estate market cycles cross G7 and adds to the academic real estate literature. Because public real estate market is a subset of stock market, our approach is to use an original stock market index, as well as a “pure” stock market index (with the influence of real estate market removed) to offer additional empirical insights from two key complementary perspectives.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-56
Author(s):  
Hoa Thi Nguyen ◽  
Dung Thi Nguyet Nguyen

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of mutual funds’ performance at both a country level and a fund level in Vietnam. Design/methodology/approach The different types of funds with more than three-year operation are selected to remove outliers of the stock market boom from 2015 to 2018. The data set includes 54 mutual funds operating during the period from 2008 until November 2018. Findings The research finds that there is a positive relationship between macroeconomics and mutual funds’ performance. Furthermore, country-level governance such as regulation effectiveness, political stability, economic growth and financial development has a positive correlation with mutual funds’ performance. However, the impact of fund-level factors is diverse with the no significant impact of board size on mutual fund’s performance, while passive funds perform better than active funds in Vietnam. Practical implications The research results suggest that investors should pay attention to the types of funds and operating expense when making an investment decision in mutual funds. There are some recommendations for both government policy-makers and the mutual fund industry that are likely to facilitate the development of this field in Vietnam. Originality/value The research contributes to the understanding of what are the factors that should be considered when investing in mutual funds.


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 450-467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Öhman ◽  
Darush Yazdanfar

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the Granger causal link between the stock market index and housing prices in terms of apartment and villa prices. Design/methodology/approach Monthly data from September 2005 to October 2013 on apartment prices, villa prices, the stock market index, mortgage rates and the consumer price index were used. Statistical methods were applied to explore the long-run co-integration and Granger causal link between the stock market index and apartment and villa prices in Sweden. Findings The results indicate that the stock market index and housing prices are co-integrated and that a long-run equilibrium relationship exists between them. According to the Granger causality tests, bidirectional relationships exist between the stock market index and apartment and villa prices, respectively, supporting the wealth and credit-price effects. Moreover, variations in apartment and villa prices are primarily caused by endogenous shocks. Originality/value To the authors’ best knowledge, this study represents a first analysis of the causal nexus between the stock market and the housing market in terms of apartment and villa prices in the Swedish context using a vector error-correction model to analyze monthly data.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahsa Hosseini ◽  
Mohammad Khodaei Valahzaghard ◽  
Ali Saeedi

Purpose This paper aims to study manipulation and performance persistence in equity mutual funds. To this end, Manipulation-Proof Performance Measure (MPPM) and Doubt Ratio, along with a number of current performance measures are used to evaluate the performance of equity mutual funds in Iran. Design/methodology/approach The authors investigate performance manipulation by 1) comparing the results of the MPPM with the current performance measures, 2) checking the Doubt Ratio to detect suspicious funds. Additionally, the authors investigate performance persistence by forming and evaluating portfolios of the equity mutual funds at several time horizons. Findings The authors conclude that there is no evidence of performance manipulation in the equity mutual funds. Additionally, when comparing the performance of the upper (top) tertile portfolios and the lower tertile portfolios, in all of the studied 1, 3, 6 and 12-month horizons, the authors find performance persistence in the equity mutual funds. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first study to investigate the performance manipulation in the Iranian equity mutual funds, and also is the first study in Iran that uses the MPPM and the Doubt Ratio in addition to a number of current performance measures to investigate the performance persistence in the equity mutual funds at several time horizons.


2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 1288-1310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann-Ngoc Nguyen ◽  
Muhammad Sadiq Shahid ◽  
David Kernohan

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of investor confidence on mutual fund performance in two relatively vulnerable but leading emerging markets, India and Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach A pooled ordinary least squared (OLS) model is used to look at two alternative measures of investor confidence and test for the relationship between investor confidence and mutual fund returns. To check the robustness of the findings, the authors also implement two-stage least squares and generalized method of moments techniques to control for unobserved heterogeneity, simultaneity and dynamic endogeneity problems in the regressors. Findings The paper finds that the returns of mutual funds are positively associated with investor confidence and an interaction effect exists between investor confidence and persistence in performance. The paper also confirms that returns from mutual funds are associated with different fund characteristics such as fund size, turnover, expense, liquidity, performance persistence and the fund’s age. These findings remain robust to alternative model specifications and measures of investor confidence. Originality/value While the previous literature mainly focuses on mutual fund characteristics and the macroeconomic determinants of mutual fund returns, this paper demonstrates that investor confidence plays an important role in determining mutual fund performance. The authors attribute this finding to two relatively unique features of the emerging markets in the study. A lack of awareness of mutual funds as being a low-cost investment vehicle and the interplay of cultural and behavioral changes have prevented investor’s savings from being channeled into investment products, away from gold or property.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 163-169
Author(s):  
Moh. Benny Alexandri ◽  
Meita Pragiwani ◽  
Dhylla Laiela

Abstract Mutual fund has already existed in Indonesia since 1995 but it has not been socialized. It was due to lack of information to the public about how to invest in stock market, especially in mutual fund. So that, the public have difficulties in assessing and selecting the mutual fund that can provide optimum performance and has benefits affecting the growth of mutual fund. The purpose of this research is to analyze the effect of asset allocation policy (sharia stocks, sharia bonds (sukuk), and mudharabah deposits) on the performance of mixed sharia mutual fund in Indonesia during 2010-2013. The type of this research is descriptive-verification analysis. The samples used are seven mixed sharia mutual funds in each year. So the total number of samples are twenty eight mixed sharia mutual funds during 2010-2013. The result shows that asset allocation policy for sharia stocks, asset allocation policy for sharia bonds (sukuk), and asset allocation policy for mudharabah deposits are simultaneously affecting mixed sharia mutual fund performance. It is simultaniously indicated 0.522 or approximately 52.2%.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 247-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federica Ielasi ◽  
Monica Rossolini ◽  
Sara Limberti

PurposeThis paper aims to analyze the portfolio characteristics and the performance measures of sustainability-themed mutual funds, compared to ethical mutual funds that implement different sustainable and responsible investment strategies.Design/methodology/approachThe study refers to a European sample of 106 ethical funds and 51 sustainability-themed funds. The monthly performance of each fund is downloaded from Bloomberg for the period from January 1996 to December 2015. By applying a Fama and French (1993) three-factor model, the authors overcome the limits of a capital asset pricing model (CAPM) based-single index model, to compare the performance of the two categories of funds.FindingsSustainability-themed funds do not differ significantly from ethical funds in terms of portfolio attributes, except for market capitalization, age and net asset value. Regarding performance measures, the results shows that sustainability-themed funds have a lower underperformance than ethical funds (as measured by Jensen’s alpha), whereas the samples do not differ in terms of market risk (as measured by Beta coefficient). The idiosyncratic risk of sustainability-themed funds is positively influenced by the specific portfolio strategies. The sustainability-themed funds show a higher concentration in the industrial sector and a lower exposure to financial sector than ethical funds; in terms of geographical strategy, they are more global and international oriented; they mainly focus on small caps and value stocks.Research limitations/implicationsThe different sustainable and responsible investment strategies can be applied simultaneously and in a growing number of possible combinations. Mutual fund managers can consider thematic approach as an efficient opportunity for reconciling financial performance and economic sustainability. It is demonstrated that sustainability-themed funds adopt a portfolio strategy significantly different from ethical funds and from the environmental, social and governance benchmarks. Mutual fund managers implement a thematic specialization without any negative impact on the funds returns compared to ethical funds; actually, with a proper diversified portfolio, they are able to reduce idiosyncratic risk.Originality/valueThe analysis is extremely innovative, especially for the thematic sample. During the past 15 years, literature about sustainable and responsible investment has been focused especially on the differences in terms of risk and performance between socially responsible and conventional funds. This paper, starting from the methodology applied in these studies, wants to compare two different types of socially responsible strategies, with a specific focus on sustainability-themed mutual funds, given their exponential growth in the past few years.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-33
Author(s):  
Razali Haron ◽  
Salami Mansurat Ayojimi

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the Goods and Service Tax (GST) implementation on Malaysian stock market index. Design/methodology/approach This study used daily closing prices of the Malaysian stock index and futures markets for the period ranging from June 2009 to November 2016. Empirical estimation is based on the generalised autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (1, 1) model for pre- and post-announcement of the GST. Findings Result shows that volatility of Malaysian stock market index increases in the post-announcement than in the pre-announcement of the GST which indicates that educative programs employed by the government before the GST announcement did not yield meaningful result. The volatility of the Malaysian stock market index is persistent during the GST announcement and highly persistent after the implementation. Noticeable increase in post-announcement is in support with the expectation of the market about GST policy in Malaysia. Practical implications The finding of this study is consistent with expectation of the market that GST policy will increase the price of the goods and services and might reduce standard of living. This is supported by a noticeable increase in the volatility of the Malaysian stock market index in the post-announcement of GST which is empirically shown during the announcement and after the implementation of GST. Although the GST announcement could be classified as a scheduled announcement, unwillingness to accept the policy prevails in the market as shown by the increase in the market volatility. Originality/value Past studies on Malaysian stock market index volatility focus on the impact of Asian and global financial crisis whereas this study examines the impact of the GST announcement and implementation on the volatility of the Malaysian stock market index.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 78
Author(s):  
Ali Alnodel ◽  
Muhammad Junaid Khawaja

The objective of the study is to determine the factors affecting underpricing behaviour of  IPOs in Saudi stock market. A special interest is to study the effect of Shariah compliance of Saudi investors on the extent IPO underpricing. The paper uses multiple regression analysis on the IPOs data for Saudi Stock market from 2004 to 2017 with a total of 105 observations.The results show overwhelming evidence of underpricing of IPOs during the first day trading. The most important result of this piece of research is that investors positively respond to the IPOs with Shariah compliance and return is negatively affected by Shariah board. The results also show that the abnormal returns are driven by the demand side factors like oversubscription. Other findings of the study show that premium to face value, type of audit firms and underwriters, and Saudi stock market index are significant determinants of the underpricing of IPOs.The most important implication of this paper is that the existence of abnormal first day return in Saudi stock market shows the existence of market imperfections. By motivating the investors to invest in Shariah compliant IPOs, decreasing the element of uncertainty and ensuring information symmetry these abnormal returns can be normalized. The results show that Saudi society is partial towards Shariah compliant investment opportunities and the investors’ desire to avoid investments involving Haram activities can be used to reduce market imperfections.This paper identifies the important determinants of IPOs underpricing in Saudi stock market and sheds light on the effect of Shariah compliant firms on IPO underpricing. Keywords – IPOs, Underpricing, Shariah Compliance, Auditor, Stock Market, Saudi Arabia


2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 189-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lior Zatlavi ◽  
Dror Y. Kenett ◽  
Eshel Ben-Jacob

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