Prior research finds that mutual fund investors have adequate ability to select funds which superior performance remains persistent. Following the work of Keswani and Stolin (2008), we use a fund netflow as a proxy for investors¡¦ preference to examine whether the smart money effect exists. Furthermore, this paper differs from prior research by combining the smart money phenomenon and fund firm¡¦s marketing activities (the advertising expenditure of mutual funds). This paper generates four empirical findings. (1) Mutual funds with positive netflow subsequently have positive Carhart four-factor alpha, that is, the ¡§smart money effect¡¨ exists in Taiwanese mutual fund market. (2) The smart money effect is caused by investors¡¦ buying decisions. (3) The smart money effect is only a short-lived phenomenon. (4) Our evidence shows that advertising of funds can explain the smart money effect in Taiwanese open-end mutual fund market.

Previous researches find that advertising expenditure and performance can significantly influence fund flows. With a unique data from Securities Investment Trust and Consulting Association (SITCA) of Taiwan, we can use monthly data of exact purchasing amounts, redemption amounts and advertising expenditures to gain more insight into investors¡¦ investment behavior. We examine the impact of advertising on mutual fund investors¡¦ behavior and the performance-flow relationship. This paper differs from the existing literature, which only concerned with the average advertising effect on fund flow. We follow the procedure of Tsay (1989) time series autoregressive processes model and modify it to cross-section variables threshold model to examine whether threshold effect of advertising on fund flows exists. We generate four empirical results. (1) Performance is significantly associated with higher fund flows. (2) Advertising is significantly associated with higher fund flows. (3) Disposition effect exists in Taiwanese mutual fund market and advertising expenditure can partially enhance the disposition effect. (4) We also measure the threshold effect of advertising on fund flows.

The subprime mortgage of America caused the global financial crisis. Most invest bankers and brokers were hurt deeply by the financial crisis. Due to the collapse of the financial system, the value of the investor¡¦s assets reduced rapidly. Those investors who invest in the mutual funds are exposed to the high risk. The mutual fund investors become the victims of the herding behavior. People invest in the hot investment market like Brazil, China, Russia etc.. The undue sales of the variable universal life (VUL) and the structure notes have destroyed the faith relationship between the investors and the financial consultants. However, the financial consultants did not show up the investment risk entirely in the process of sales. Therefore the investors neglected the risk which they could bear. For this reason, the risk of their investment behavior also exceeded the limit. Consequently, we discuss the change of the investors¡¦ investment behavior and risk preference of the mutual fund investors.

This diploma thesis is devoted to the topic of yield, risk and liquidity of investment possibilities. The thesis is divided into two parts, the theoretical and the practical one. The theoretical part is based on a thorough study of specialized literature. Attention is initially focused on the definition and the characteristics of investments, then the issue of the financial market and its segments is clarified. The following chapter discusses investment strategies and the creation of rational investment portfolios. The theoretical part concludes with the description of selected possibilities of individual and collective investment. The practical part of the thesis is initially focused on the characteristics of two different types of investors A and B and the creation of their individual risk profiles. This section is based on information gained from the unstructured interview with two independent investors. Eventually, the reader is familiarized with selected possibilities of collective investment and their assessment in terms of yield, risk and liquidity. This chapter is primarily processed by analysis of data obtained from the websites of selected investment companies. Data are processed through Microsoft Excel with the help of selected functions. The study results in recommendations of optimal investment strategies in form of the compilation and the assessment of several investment portfolios for both Investor A and Investor B.

abstract: Since the 2008 financial crisis, the total assets managed by U.S. mutual funds have frequently hit new highs and the industry has become increasingly concentrated. In the meantime, two strategies have emerged in the American mutual fund industry: active and passive management. What factors affect the market shares of firms that adopted these two different strategies? Building on strategic management theories, I suggest that mutual fund families that adopted active and passive management strategies tend to compete in different dimensions. Active management fund families tend to implement the product differentiation strategy, competing on “product quality” through excess-returns, innovative and differentiated fund products; passively managed fund families focus more on "price competition" by conducting an overall cost leadership strategy. This research examines the driven factors of fund families’ market share. The results show that: the market share of actively managed fund families is more sensitive to positive impact of fund performance, while passive management firms are more sensitive to negative effect of management fees and total loads; 12b-1 expense improves the competitiveness of active fund families and thus enhance their market shares but it has negative impact on passive fund families. In addition, high turnover decreases the market share of all fund families, especially for passively managed families. The outcome reveals the latest US mutual industry orientation: products differentiation, turnover, management fee have greater impact on market share while the competition of fund performance is diminishing. The Matthew effect in US mutual fund industry is outstanding. Industrial competition dimension expands from performance and products to cost cutting. Empirical analysis on Chinese mutual fund families is also conducted. Different from the US, there is only small number of mutual fund families targeting passive management products. The results show that the distribution channel has the largest impact on Chinese mutual fund family market share and investors are more willing to chase performance than to consider cost-efficient fund families. This study then analyses reasons behind the difference of Chinese and American mutual fund industries. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Business Administration 2018

O presente trabalho teve como objetivo principal identificar quais os fatores determinantes que afetam o desempenho dos Fundos de Previdência Renda Fixa na indústria brasileira de fundos, no período de janeiro 2005 a dezembro de 2011. A pesquisa em Fundos de Previdência aberta justifica-se na categoria Renda Fixa, pelos poucos estudos publicados, pelo crescimento contínuo da indústria de previdência aberta ao longo dos anos e pela ampliação das discussões sobre análise de desempenho e estilo de gestão nos fundos de Previdência Renda Fixa. A metodologia adotada identificou diferenças estatísticas significantes entre o desempenho dos fundos de Previdência Renda Fixa e os Fundos de Renda Fixa tradicionais, medidos nesse trabalho por meio de indicadores de desempenho e análise de estilo de gestão. A avaliação do desempenho dos fundos foi realizada por meio da aplicação de modelos quantitativos clássicos: Índice de Sharpe (1966) e Índice de Modigliani (1997). Posteriormente, para determinar os fatores de risco das carteiras dos fundos, foi utilizado o modelo proposto por Sharpe (1992), que ficou conhecido como Análise de Estilo Baseada no Retorno. Os resultados obtidos demonstram que os fundos de Previdência no período tiveram seus retornos abaixo dos retornos dos fundos de Renda fixa. A análise de estilo mostrou que os fundos de Previdência não concentram seus ativos vinculados à inflação, concentram-se mais em ativos financeiros atrelados à taxa de juros Selic. O desempenho dos Fundos de Previdência Renda Fixa indicou que, em todo o período estudado, os retornos dos fundos ficaram abaixo da taxa livre de risco, representada nesta pesquisa por 96% da taxa Selic. Revelou ainda que os fundos de previdência no período tiveram seus retornos abaixo dos retornos dos fundos de Renda Fixa. Foi realizado um estudo complementar sobre taxa de administração. Para os fundos de Renda Fixa, as taxas de administração foram reduzidas, no período, em média, para menos de 50%, enquanto os fundos de Previdência tiveram no mesmo período uma queda em torno de 20%. O retorno médio mensal dos fundos de Previdência que ficaram abaixo dos retornos dos fundos de Renda Fixa pode ser explicado, em parte, pela maior taxa de administração praticada. / This paper analyzes the performance of investment funds in Brazil, that are classified in the category of Pensions Provision Funds - Fixed Income Strategy (PPF-FIS), during the period of January 2005 to December 2011. There is scarce literature on this sub-field in Brazil, and the importance of this research is related to growing importance of PPF-FIS over the last years, and also to be a pioneer study in the analysis of performance and management style of them. The adopted methodology identified significant differences between the performance of traditional Fixed Income Funds and those PPF-FIS by means of performance indicators, and management style. Performance evaluation was done through the application of standard classical models like the Sharpe Ratio Index (1966), Modigliani Index (1997), and Return Based Style. The results showed that average returns of the PPF-FIS were below the average returns of traditional Fixed Income Funds. The style analysis of PPF-FIS´s portfolios showed them not concentrated on assets linked to inflation, but mostly to financial assets linked to the Selic Rate. The performance throughout the period was below the risk-free rate (measured as 96% of the Selic Rate), and in summary, the results show that PPF-FIS performed below the traditional Fixed Income Funds in terms of return. Other important achievement is related to administration fees that were reduced during the period by 50% in traditional Fixed Income Funds and by 20% in PPF-FIS. Higher administration fees are closely related to the poor performance of PPF-FIS compared to the traditional Fixed Income funds.

O objetivo deste estudo foi responder se, entre 1995 e 2000, a captação de recursos para os fundos de investimentos em ações esteve condicionada aos crescentes ganhos de capital conseguidos na BOVESPA ou se, ao contrário, os ganhos de capital da BOVESPA foram influenciados pela crescente captação de recursos através dos fundos de investimentos em ações. Para responder a estas duas questões foi aplicado o teste de causalidade de Granger (1969) sobre os retornos dos investimentos na BOVESPA e os volumes de recursos captados pelos administradores de fundos de ações, no período estudado. / The goal of this study was to answer if, between 1995 and 2000, the flow of resources to the stock mutual funds has been conditioned to the capital market profits made by investors of the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange (BOVESPA) or, on the contrary, the capital market profits have been influenced by the ever growing resources flow from the mutual funds industry. To answer those two questions the Granger (1969) causality test was used with the rates of return of the investments in BOVESPA and the flow of resources from the asset managers, during the sample period.

This work concerns the problems of the schemes of Czech collective investment. The aim of this diploma work is to compare two established groups of selected mutual funds in terms of their performance, and taking into account the risk and expenses or fee intensity of these funds. The first part of the diploma work describes the nature of the collective investment in the Czech Republic, its development and current status of this sector. The second part describes the basic methods and indicators of measuring the funds performance. The last section is directly focused on the analysis of the selected groups' efficiency of mutual funds. The first group concentrates on the maximum return on investment whereas the second one focuses on their safety. This work gives a better understanding of the collective investment market and helps the investor to select the appropriate mutual fund.

This thesis is an attempt to advance our understanding of investor behaviour in one of the world’s largest markets, i.e. the mutual fund industry. It consists of three essays that answer the following questions: Does investor fund-selection ability explain the impressive growth of the U.K. mutual fund industry? Does the behaviour of U.S. mutual fund investors vary across the business cycle? And, how do investors react to U.S. mutual fund name changes? The first essay explores the role of investor fund-selection ability in explaining the growth of the mutual fund industry given that previous studies find that mutual funds underperform their benchmarks on average. I examine such ability in the context of the remarkable growth experienced by U.K. mutual funds during the decade of 2000-2010. Using three alternative measures of selection ability and two for performance measurement, I find that fund-selection ability is explained away by the momentum factor due to investors naively chasing recent winners. In addition, this essay is the first to examine the impact of fund visibility on selection ability. I find that fund visibility is an important factor in the investment decision-making process, and one that fund managers can potentially manipulate to their advantage. The second essay is motivated by recent findings that benchmark-adjusted returns to the fund industry are positive in periods of economic contractions. Previous literature is silent on investor behaviour in the face of superior average returns. This essay fills the gap in literature by examining investor’s fund-selection ability across the business cycle. I examine U.S. fund data from 1970-2011 and find that while genuine selection ability does not exist in any period, investors do behave differently across the business cycle. Specifically, investors no longer chase recent winners during contractions, despite no change in fund performance consistency. Instead, I find that investors are more concerned about controlling their risk exposure, especially to the market, during periods of economic downturn. The third essay examines investor reactions to U.S. mutual fund name changes, following the adoption of a new SEC ruling in 2001 to curtail misleading names. We uncover striking evidence that funds continue to undertake cosmetic name changes, and that such changes appear to mislead investors. I find that investors react more positively to cosmetic name changes than non-cosmetic ones. This result is not driven by marketing efforts. Instead, further examination reveals that this arises because cosmetic name changes frequently include industry ‘buzzwords’ in the new name, a tactic that is rewarded with higher flows to such funds. I also find that additional name changes by a fund continue to attract significant flows, although the magnitude of the flows decreases over each successive event. This essay provides compelling evidence in favour of investor irrationality and has implications for both practitioners and academics.

Active weight, active expense ratio and active alpha are measures that can be calculated with relative ease for any fund using publicly available data. However, for active weight to be truly useful to an investor the relationship between these quantities and fund performance needed to be explored in greater detail. Furthermore, the costs of South African unit trust funds had not been studied using Miller’s techniques and needed further study. Finally, active weight had not been used to study the evolution of active management over time. Using quarterly South African unit trust fund data this study delivered on the following key findings: that funds with higher active weight provide excess returns to their investors; that funds with a higher active expense ratio do not necessarily provide greater returns; and that the active alpha for South African unit trusts is negatively correlated with fund performance. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted