Investment Style Misclassification and Mutual Fund Performance

42 Pages Posted: 20 Aug 2015 Last revised: 22 Mar 2017

See all articles by Dennis Bams

Dennis Bams

Maastricht University - Department of Finance; Open University Heerlen

Rogér Otten

Maastricht University - Limburg Institute of Financial Economics (LIFE); ABP Pensionfund

Ehsan Ramezanifar

Maastricht University - Department of Finance

Date Written: March 1, 2017

Abstract

We present a novel measure to declare a magnitude of the difference between fund’s prospectus investment styles and the fund’s actual investment styles on a long- term basis. Our measure incorporates parameter uncertainty in its measurement and through a sequence of pair-wise comparisons of the style exposures determines both the number of misclassified mutual funds and their style deviation levels. We also examine the relation between the level of style deviation and fund performance on a long- term basis. Using a sample of 1,866 US equity funds over the 2003-2016 period we document that: (i) about 14% of individual funds are significantly misclassified, (ii) in the long run misclassified funds significantly underperform well-classified funds by 0.92% per year based on alpha from the Carhart model, and (iii) misclassified funds appear to be younger, smaller in size and charge higher expense ratios. We also find strong persistence in the style deviation for up to 7 years into the future, which suggests that the style deviation is not driven by fund manager’s negligence. The results of this study are substantially important for investors who follow a buy- and- hold approach rather than a short-term performance chasing strategy and suggest that maintaining a consistent style is a crucial ingredient for achieving good long-term risk-adjusted performance.

Keywords: Mutual Funds, Style Analysis, Fund performance

JEL Classification: C61, G11, G23

Suggested Citation

Bams, Dennis and Otten, Rogér and Ramezanifar, Ehsan, Investment Style Misclassification and Mutual Fund Performance (March 1, 2017). 28th Australasian Finance and Banking Conference, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2648375 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2648375

Dennis Bams

Maastricht University - Department of Finance ( email )

Maastricht, 6200 MD
Netherlands

Open University Heerlen ( email )

Netherlands

Rogér Otten

Maastricht University - Limburg Institute of Financial Economics (LIFE) ( email )

P.O. Box 616
Maastricht, 6200 MD
Netherlands
+31 43 388 3838 (Phone)
+31 43 388 4875 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.fdewb.unimaas.nl/finance/faculty/Otten

ABP Pensionfund

Amsterdam
Netherlands

Ehsan Ramezanifar (Contact Author)

Maastricht University - Department of Finance ( email )

Maastricht
Netherlands

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