Selectivity in Mutual Fund Trades

Abstract

We examine fund-by-fund whether managers tilt their portfolios by purchasing stocks that appreciate while disposing stocks that depreciate. Using a unique method we identify statistically whether these managers exhibit selectivity in their trades. We find proportions of funds exhibiting good or perverse selectivity, while significant, are only marginally above random expectation, suggesting that luck rather than skill drives the result. As expected, funds which exhibit good selection outperform those that make poor stock selection, but the magnitude of this advantage varies according to investment style. Statistically, stock selection is only weakly persistent challenging selectivity based on skill as a widespread phenomenon.

Keywords: Mutual Fund, Selectivity

JEL Classification: G2, G11, G14, G23