No Place Like Home: Familiarity in Mutual Fund Manager Portfolio Choice

50 Pages Posted: 24 May 2011 Last revised: 1 Mar 2018

See all articles by Veronika Krepely Pool

Veronika Krepely Pool

Vanderbilt University - Finance

Noah Stoffman

Indiana University - Kelley School of Business - Department of Finance

Scott E. Yonker

Cornell University - SC Johnson College of Business

Date Written: April 22, 2012

Abstract

We show that familiarity affects the portfolio decisions of mutual fund managers. Controlling for fund location, funds overweight stocks from their managers' home states by 12% compared to their peers. In team-managed funds, home-state overweighting is 37% larger than the fund location effect. The home-state bias is stronger if the manager is inexperienced, is resource-constrained, or spent more time in his home state. Home-state stocks do not outperform other holdings, confrming that home-state investments are not informed. The overweighting also leads to excessively risky portfolios.

Keywords: Mutual Funds, familiarity bias, behavioral finance

JEL Classification: G11, G29

Suggested Citation

Pool, Veronika Krepely and Stoffman, Noah and Yonker, Scott E., No Place Like Home: Familiarity in Mutual Fund Manager Portfolio Choice (April 22, 2012). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1844464 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1844464

Veronika Krepely Pool

Vanderbilt University - Finance ( email )

United States
615-343-0277 (Phone)

Noah Stoffman

Indiana University - Kelley School of Business - Department of Finance ( email )

1309 E. 10th St.
Bloomington, IN 47405
United States
(812) 856-5664 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://kelley.iu.edu/nstoffma/

Scott E. Yonker (Contact Author)

Cornell University - SC Johnson College of Business ( email )

201J Warren Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853
United States
14853 (Fax)

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