Mutual Fund Survivorship

Survivorship Bias and Mutual Fund Performance: Relevance, Significance, and Methodical Differences

This paper is the first to systematically test the significance of survivorship bias using a comprehensive database and to test the significance of the differences of survivorship biases resulting from different methodical approaches. We apply the various methods most commonly used in the literature on a uniform dataset. In addition, we analyze the performance of closed funds as the driver of s...

The MUTUAL FUND INDUSTRY

Mutual Fund Objective Misclassification∗

Mutual funds are usually classified based on their stated objectives. If the stated objectives are not the actual objectives the funds pursue, conclusions drawn by investors and researchers based on the stated objectives will be misleading. This study classifies funds based on their attributes (characteristics, investment style, and risk/return measures). We find that the stated objectives of m...

Evaluating Mutual Fund Performance

We study standard mutual fund performance measures, using simulated funds whose characteristics mimic actual funds. We find that performance measures used in previous mutual fund research have little ability to detect economically large magnitudes ~e.g., three percent per year! of abnormal fund performance, particularly if a fund’s style characteristics differ from those of the value-weighted m...

Mutual Fund Tax Clienteles

Mutual funds are held by investors in taxable and tax-qualified retirement accounts. We investigate whether the characteristics, investment strategies, and performance of mutual funds held by these diverse tax clienteles differ. Examining both mutual fund distributions and mutual fund holdings, we find that funds held primarily by taxable investors choose investment strategies that result in lo...