Geography, Informal Information Flows and Mutual Fund Portfolios

AFA 2008 New Orleans Meetings Paper

Financial Management, Forthcoming

52 Pages Posted: 20 Mar 2007 Last revised: 15 Aug 2013

See all articles by Richard Fu

Richard Fu

San Jose State University - Accounting & Finance

Swasti Gupta-Mukherjee

Loyola University Chicago - Department of Finance

Date Written: April 22, 2010

Abstract

Previous papers have uncovered the existence of different information flows linked to the geographical location of portfolio investors. Yet, the potentially crucial interactions of multiple information flows linked to geographical location have not received much empirical scrutiny. The primary focus of this study is on the value and interaction of two types of information flows linked to the location of mutual fund managers: information transfers among fund managers (fund-fund flows), and between the holding companies and the fund managers (fund-company flows). We show that while these informal information flows can increase risk-adjusted returns from holdings, the relationship depends critically on the interactions between the two types of information channels considered. Empirical results support the notion of a counter-effective rather than reinforcing relationship between the different information channels. Specifically, we find that (1) fund-fund (fund-company) information flows help in generating positive risk-adjusted returns from holdings in the absence of fund-company (fund-fund) flows; (2) any informational advantages are reversed when the two information flows cumulate. The stocks selected in the more beneficial information environments (defined ex-post) during a portfolio quarter also exhibit positive future returns beyond the quarter, alluding to the ability of these information flows to aid in picking undervalued assets.

Keywords: Mutual Funds, Portfolio Management, Information Flows, Geography, Performance

JEL Classification: G11, G14, G20, G29, D82, D83

Suggested Citation

Fu, Richard and Gupta-Mukherjee, Swasti, Geography, Informal Information Flows and Mutual Fund Portfolios (April 22, 2010). AFA 2008 New Orleans Meetings Paper, Financial Management, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=972616 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.972616

Richard Fu

San Jose State University - Accounting & Finance ( email )

United States

Swasti Gupta-Mukherjee (Contact Author)

Loyola University Chicago - Department of Finance ( email )

820 North Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611
United States

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