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Past performance may be an illusion: performance, flows, and fees in mutual funds


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Authors

Phillips, B 
Pukthuanthong, K 

Abstract

Mutual funds report performance in the form of a holding period return (HPR) over standardized horizons. Changes in HPRs are equally influenced by new and previously reported stale returns which enter and exit the horizon. Investors appear unable to differentiate between the joint determinants, reacting with equal strength to both signals. Stale performance chasing is amplified for funds which promote performance via advertising and is more pronounced during periods of uncertainty in financial markets. Fund managers exploit this behavior by preferentially timing fee increases to align with periods of heightened investor demand resulting from stale performance chasing.

Description

Keywords

limited attention, behavioral finance, investor psychology, capital markets, horizon effects, mutual fund fee-setting

Journal Title

Critical Finance Review

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2164-5744
2164-5760

Volume Title

6

Publisher

Now Publishers
Sponsorship
Phillips gratefully acknowledges financial support from the School of Accounting and Finance at the University of Waterloo, PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
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