We show that investors derive utility from non-pecuniary characteristics of investments by studying impact funds, defined as venture or growth equity funds with dual objectives of generating financial returns and positive externalities. Impact funds earn internal rates of return that are 4.7% less than traditional VC funds in reduced form regressions. Based on estimates of a willingness to pay ...

In this paper we analyze the source and level of the marketing gains when structured debt securities are sold at yields that reflect only their credit ratings, or specifically at the yield on an equivalently rated reference bond. We distinguish between credit ratings that are based on probabilities of default and ratings that are based on the expected default losses. We show that the marketing ...

This paper investigates underwriters’ treatment of public information throughout the IPO pricing process. Two key findings emerge. First, public information is not fully incorporated into the initial price range. While the economic magnitude of the bias is small, it is puzzling because it is not clear who benefits from it. Further, it indicates that the filing range midpoint is not an unbiased ...

Many investors purchase mutual funds through intermediated channels, paying brokers or financial advisors for fund selection and advice. This article attempts to quantify the benefits that investors enjoy in exchange for the costs of these services. We study broker-sold and direct-sold funds from 1996 to 2004, and fail to find that brokers deliver substantial tangible benefits. Relative to dire...

We provide direct evidence regarding the risk and reputational capital implications of commercial bank securities underwriting activities. Using a large sample of commercial bank underwritten initial public offerings (IPOs) and comparisons with investment bank underwritten issues, we find that (1) commercial banks are no more likely to misprice IPOs than are traditional investment banks, and (2...

We present a new method to measure the intraday relationship between movements of implied volatility smiles and stock index returns. It exploits a specific characteristic of the smile profile in high-frequency data. Using transaction data for EuroStoxx 50 options from 2000 to 2011 and DAX options from 1995 to 2011 (14 million transactions), we find that the intraday evolution of volatility smil...

We develop a model in which cash-constrained entrepreneurs seek a venture capitalist (VC) to finance a new firm. Costly monitoring is employed by VCs to reduce entrepreneurial moral hazard. When monitoring reveals poor performance, VCs want to punish the entrepreneur with liquidation. However, when assets are specific and liquidation would lead to a loss, VCs choose to renegotiate the terms of ...

Using an experimental design that exploits exogenous reductions in coverage resulting from brokerage house mergers, we find that a reduction in coverage causes a deterioration in financial reporting quality. The effect of coverage on disclosure is more pronounced for firms with weak shareholder rights, consistent with a substitution effect between analyst monitoring and other corporate governan...

The aim of this paper is to examine what has been the role of information provision to the market throughout the crisis. We consider two main sources of information to the market, financial statements and information provided by credit rating agencies. We examine how these sources of information work and the effectiveness of their disclosure process during the crisis. Contrary to the commonly h...

This paper measures the mean, standard deviation, alpha, and beta of venture capital investments, using a maximum likelihood estimate that corrects for selection bias. The biascorrected estimation neatly accounts for log returns. It reduces the estimate of the mean log return from 108% to 15%, and of the log market model intercept from 92% to 7%: The selection bias correction also dramatically ...