Market Behavior of Institutional Investors Around Bankruptcy Announcements
26 Pages Posted: 25 Feb 2014
Date Written: January/February 2014
Abstract
This paper examines, using proprietary ASX data containing institutional holdings, if institutional investors exit en mass prior to announcements of financial distress. Evidence indicates that while some institutional investors exit the stock, the withdrawal is gradual, commencing approximately 115 days prior to event. This is driven by active institutional investors reacting to the release of the financially distressed companies’ last publicly released financial reports. There is no significant decline in institutional holdings before announcements; most institutional investors hold financially distressed shares through to failure. There is evidence that the lack of disclosure drives the increase in information asymmetry prior to company failure.
Keywords: bankruptcy, financial distress, institutional investors, information asymmetry, market behavior
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation