Fund managers’ herding and mutual fund governance

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 242-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Casavecchia
Keyword(s):  
Mutual Fund ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Capital Allocation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Multivariate Tests ◽  
Managerial Skills ◽  
Fund Managers ◽  
Herding Strategies ◽  
Trading Decisions ◽  
Fund Governance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the implications of managerial herding for investors’ wealth and capital allocation across funds, and the critical role played by fund governance in monitoring herding incentives. Design/methodology/approach – The author adopt the fund herding measure first proposed by Grinblatt et al. (1995) over the long sample period 1992-2007. Univariate and multivariate tests are then constructed to examine the relationship between managerial herding, performance, and investors’ sensitivities. OLS, fixed-effect panel data models are utilized to conduct the tests. Findings – The author show that managers that do not herd have above-average managerial skills, trade less on noise, and significantly outperform herding managers. The author also illustrate that although fund herding could be used as a signal of managerial quality, underperforming herding funds manage to survive in equilibrium, indicating that investor flows do not adequately respond to the information content of a persistent herding behavior. Finally, the author demonstrate that better governance in the form of stronger managerial incentive schemes constitutes a significant deterrent against detrimental herding strategies, representing an effective monitoring device of the response of fund managers to poor flow-performance sensitivity. Originality/value – The paper provides original evidence on the efficacy of external and internal governance in deterring wealth-reducing herding strategies. The author document that where more effective managerial incentives schemes are put in place by the management companies, fund managers are more likely to be better informed, resulting in fewer incentives to mimic the trading decisions of their peers.

Board compensation, holdings and mutual fund expense ratios

2013 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 228-250
Author(s):  
Eric Fricke
Keyword(s):  
Mutual Fund ◽  
Regulatory Focus ◽  
Time Series Data ◽  
Series Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Fund Managers ◽  
Board Compensation ◽  
Rent Sharing ◽  
Fund Governance ◽  
Fund Expense

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how board compensation and holdings are related to mutual fund expense ratios. Previous studies find that compensation and expense ratios are positively correlated and argue that this relationship is potential evidence of rent sharing, whereby excessively compensated boards fail to negotiate with fund managers for lower shareholder fees.Design/methodology/approachUsing a dataset of US open‐end mutual funds, the author examines how geographic‐based salary data, director profession, director fund holdings and fund returns might explain the relationship between compensation and fees.FindingsThe results provide additional support for potential rent sharing between fund managers and directors and are robust to alternative measures of director compensation, fund sales loads, director holdings and fund returns.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings are limited by the sample size and the lack of time series data of the hand‐collected dataset. Data are collected from 598 funds in the year 2003.Practical implicationsThese findings suggest that mutual fund expense ratios may be affected by potential agency costs.Social implicationsMutual fund regulatory focus has been predominantly focused on the independence of board chairmen, but this study shows that compensation may also be a significant contributor to fund governance.Originality/valueThis study is unique in its recent focus on fund expense ratios and board compensation and examining potential explanations for this relationship.

Modeling brand resonance score (BRS) – an application in financial services

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ande Raja Ambedkar ◽  
Punniyamoorthy Murugesan ◽  
N. Thamaraiselvan
Keyword(s):  
Mutual Fund ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Analytic Network Process ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Fund Managers ◽  
Network Process ◽  
Brand Resonance

Purpose The experts in industry and academicians value brand resonance is the prerequisite factor in the firms of financial services. In this regard, the purpose of this paper is to model the brand resonance score (BRS) for modified customer-based brand equity (CBBE) model in mutual fund financial services using structural equation modeling (SEM) and analytic network process (ANP). Design/methodology/approach Criteria and sub-criteria relative weights are calculated from the SEM and sub-sub-criteria relative weights are measured through pair-wise comparison matrix for BRS modeling using ANP approach. Findings The brand resonance using ANP has been quantified, and BRSs of each brand through brand judgments and brand feelings criteria are calculated using two renowned Indian mutual fund services brands State Bank of India and Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. Research limitations/implications Interdependency between sub-criteria are not explored. This research study is specific to Indian bank mutual fund services context. Practical implications Research findings provide useful guidelines for fund managers/analysts of mutual fund service firms to improve the brand resonance to investors. Originality/value The paper explained modeling BRS using ANP technique which helps organizations quantify the brand resonance effectively.

Market states and mutual fund risk shifting

2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (7) ◽  
pp. 828-838 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marius Popescu ◽  
Zhaojin Xu
Keyword(s):  
Mutual Fund ◽  
The State ◽  
Risk Level ◽  
Risk Shifting ◽  
Portfolio Risk ◽  
Past Performance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Fund Managers ◽  
Bear Markets ◽  
Bull Markets

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the motivation behind mutual funds’ risk shifting behavior by examining its impact on fund performance, while jointly considering fund managers’ compensation incentives and career concerns. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a sample of US actively managed equity funds over the period 1980-2010. A fund’s risk shifting is estimated as the difference between the fund’s intended portfolio risk in the second half of the year and the realized portfolio risk in the first half of the year. Using the state of the market to identify the dominating type of incentive that fund managers face, we examine the relationship between performance and risk shifting in a cross-sectional regression setting, using the Fama and MacBeth (1973) methodology. Findings The authors find that poorly performing (well performing) funds are likely to increase (decrease) their risk level in bull markets, while reducing (increasing) it during bear markets. Furthermore, we find that funds that increase risk underperform, while those that decrease their portfolio risk do not. In addition, we find that poorly performing funds that increase (or decrease) their risk underperform across bull and bear markets, while well performing funds that reduce risk during bull markets subsequently outperform. Originality/value The paper contributes to the literature on mutual fund risk shifting by providing evidence that the performance consequence of such behavior is dependent on the state of the market and on the funds’ past performance. The results suggest that loser funds tend to be agency prone or be managed by managers with inferior investment skill, and that winner funds exhibit superior investment ability during bull markets. The authors argue that both the agency and investment ability hypotheses are driving fund managers’ risk shifting behavior.

Evaluating alternative performance benchmarks for Indian mutual fund industry

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 222-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanjay Sehgal ◽  
Sonal Babbar
Keyword(s):  
Asset Pricing ◽  
Mutual Fund ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Five Factor Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Asset Pricing Model ◽  
Fund Managers ◽  
Asset Pricing Models ◽  
Performance Benchmarks ◽  
Fama And French

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to perform a relative assessment of performance benchmarks based on alternative asset pricing models to evaluate performance of mutual funds and suggest the best approach in Indian context. Design/methodology/approach Sample of 237 open-ended Indian equity (growth) schemes from April 2003 to March 2013 is used. Both unconditional and conditional versions of eight performance models are employed, namely, Jensen (1968) measure, three-moment asset pricing model, four-moment asset pricing model, Fama and French (1993) three-factor model, Carhart (1997) four-factor model, Elton et al. (1999) five-index model, Fama and French (2015) five-factor model and firm quality five-factor model. Findings Conditional version of Carhart (1997) model is found to be the most appropriate performance benchmark in the Indian context. Success of conditional models over unconditional models highlights that fund managers dynamically manage their portfolios. Practical implications A significant α generated over and above the return estimated using Carhart’s (1997) model reflects true stock-picking skills of fund managers and it is, therefore, worth paying an active management fee. Stock exchanges and credit rating agencies in India should construct indices incorporating size, value and momentum factors to be used for purpose of benchmarking. Originality/value The study adds new evidence as to applicability of established asset pricing models as performance benchmarks in emerging market India. It examines role of higher order moments in explaining mutual fund returns which is an under researched area.

Do mutual fund managers' possess style liquidity timing abilities?

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahfooz Alam ◽  
Valeed Ahmad Ansari
Keyword(s):  
Mutual Fund ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Market Timing ◽  
Market Liquidity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Fund Managers ◽  
Indian Context ◽  
Equity Mutual Funds ◽  
Equity Funds ◽  
Style Timing

PurposeThis paper investigates the style timing and liquidity style timing vis-à-vis the market, size, value and momentum factors of the actively managed Indian equity mutual funds.Design/methodology/approachWe examine the style timing of the funds using the augmented Carhart four-factor model by incorporating timing measures (Treynor and Mazuy; Henriksson and Merton). Based on this, the study explores the four-factor liquidity and volatility style timing exhibited by fund managers. The sample is from April 2000 to March 2018 and spans the volatile 2008 subprime economic crises. The sample comprised 182 actively managed equity funds from various sizes and was considered to be a well-diversified sample.FindingsThe results of our study provide strong evidence of market liquidity timing in India. No other style timing skills are observed in our analysis. Our results also imply that the fund managers might misidentify size timing as market timing if integrated liquidity timing measures are not employed, leading to false conclusions.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings of our study imply that the fund managers might misidentify size timing as market timing if integrated liquidity timing measures are not employed, leading to false conclusions.Originality/valueThis study, to our knowledge, is the first attempt to investigate the portfolio-based style timing in the Indian context.

Mutual fund manager turnover: an empirical investigation of performance

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Avinash Ghalke ◽  
Shripad Kulkarni
Keyword(s):  
Mutual Fund ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Investment Strategy ◽  
Fund Performance ◽  
Fund Manager ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Fund Managers ◽  
Fund Families ◽  
Study Methodology ◽  
Factor Alpha

PurposeWhen a fund manager leaves, the investment strategy of the fund changes or remains the same. The departing fund manager's resignation is either forced or voluntary. The study investigates the relationship between the portfolio manager's transition and the fund's investment strategy and how the change affects the mutual fund returns in the subsequent period.Design/methodology/approachThe authors examine 148 fund manager changes in India between April 2005–March 2018 using three performance measures: abnormal return (fund return minus benchmark return), Jensen's alpha and Carhart four-factor alpha. The analysis includes an event study methodology, followed by a two-step Fama–MacBeth regression approach.FindingsContrary to the previous studies conducted in the developed markets, the authors find that fund performance improves irrespective of whether the fund manager change is forced or voluntary. The outperformance after the fund manager's exit is significant for funds belonging to the larger fund families.Originality/valueIn the context of investment management, the authors provide a conceptual framework to understand the effect of fund manager exit on mutual fund performance. The authors substantiate their arguments with empirical evidence. To the best of the authors' understanding, this is the first research to examine the effect of changing mutual fund managers in an emerging market setting.

Characteristics of Successful Hedge Fund Managers

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashrafee T. Hossain ◽  
Samir Saadi ◽  
Maxim Treff
Keyword(s):  
Mutual Funds ◽  
Mutual Fund ◽  
Hedge Fund ◽  
Fund Performance ◽  
Managerial Skills ◽  
Fund Managers ◽  
Key Characteristics ◽  
Strong Relation ◽  
History Of ◽  
Hedge Fund Performance

Managerial skill is a key determinant of a hedge fund’s success. Identifying the key characteristics of successful managers is important because of a strong relation between hedge fund performance and managerial skills. This chapter provides a brief history of some highly successful hedge fund managers as well as a discussion of the different demands of the hedge fund industry versus other pooled investments, such as mutual funds. Furthermore, the chapter examines the differences between hedge fund and mutual fund managers involving return expectations, performance measures, and compensation. Next the chapter explores the key characteristics that hedge fund managers should possess to be successful. Although some characteristics are easy to identify and measure, others are less so. The chapter also includes a detailed discussion of social versus human capital.

Individual investors' responses to mutual fund fire sales and sell-side analysts' price-correcting revisions

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinglin Jiang ◽  
Weiwei Wang
Keyword(s):  
Mutual Fund ◽  
Individual Investors ◽  
Earnings Forecast ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Forecast Revisions ◽  
Fire Sales ◽  
Informed Traders ◽  
Trading Decisions ◽  
Information Event ◽  
New Evidence

PurposeThis paper investigates individual investors' responses to stock underpricing and how their trading decisions are affected by analysts' forecasts and recommendations.Design/methodology/approachThis empirical study uses mutual fund fire sales as an exogenous source that causes stock underpricing and analysts' forecasts and recommendations as price-correcting information. The study further uses regression analysis to examine individual investors' responses to fire sales and how their responses vary with price-correcting information.FindingsThe authors first show that individual investors respond to mutual fund fire sales by significantly decreasing net buys, and this effect appears to be prolonged. Next, the authors find that the decrease of net buys diminishes following analysts' price-correcting earnings forecast revisions and stock recommendation changes. Hence, the authors suggest that individual investors are not “wise” enough to recognize flow-driven underpricing; however, this response is weakened by analysts' price-correcting information.Originality/valueThere is an ongoing debate in the literature about whether individual investors should be portrayed as unsophisticated traders or informed traders who can predict future returns. The authors study a unique information event and provide new evidence related to both perspectives. Overall, our evidence suggests that the “unsophisticated traders” perspective is predominant, whereas a better information environment significantly reduces individual investors' information disadvantage. This finding could be of interest to both academic researchers and regulators.

Brand resonance score for CBBE model: an application in financial services

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 1490-1507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raja Ambedkar Ande ◽  
Angappa Gunasekaran ◽  
Punniyamoorthy Murugesan ◽  
Thamaraiselvan Natarajan
Keyword(s):  
Brand Equity ◽  
Mutual Fund ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
First Century ◽  
Analytic Hierarchy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Fund Managers ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Brand Resonance

Purpose Brand resonance will significantly improve the profits of the services industry in the twenty-first century. The purpose of this paper is to find the resonance score for modified customer-based brand equity (CBBE) model in mutual fund financial services and improve the conceptualization of customer-based mutual fund services’ brand equity through brand resonance. Design/methodology/approach The path values of SEM model was used to estimate the relative weights of criteria and sub-criteria in analytic hierarchy process (AHP) model and it was empirically tested with a sample of 240 mutual fund investors. Findings The brand resonance using AHP has been quantified. The resonance quantification of each brand has been demonstrated using two renowned Indian mutual fund services brands State Bank of India and Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. Research limitations/implications The interdependency of the factors which influence the resonance score is not explored. Practical implications Research findings provide useful guidelines for fund managers/analysts of mutual fund services companies while improving the brand equity and strong brand’s resonance with investors. Originality/value The paper examines quantification of resonance for modified CBBE model in mutual fund services using data from a sample of investors in India with two mutual fund brands. The AHP structure model helps firms effectively quantify the resonance score.

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