Mutual Fund Performance and Flows During the COVID-19 Crisis
42 Pages Posted: 28 Jul 2020 Last revised: 16 Aug 2020
There are 4 versions of this paper
Mutual Fund Performance and Flows During the COVID-19 Crisis
Mutual Fund Performance and Flows During the COVID-19 Crisis
Mutual Fund Performance and Flows During the Covid-19 Crisis
Date Written: July 2020
Abstract
We present a comprehensive analysis of the performance and flows of U.S. actively-managed equity mutual funds during the COVID-19 crisis of 2020. We find that most active funds underperform passive benchmarks during the crisis, contradicting a popular hypothesis. Funds with high sustainability ratings perform well, as do funds with high star ratings. Fund outflows largely extend pre-crisis trends. Investors favor funds that apply exclusion criteria and funds with high sustainability ratings, especially environmental ones. Our finding that investors remain focused on sustainability during this major crisis suggests they view sustainability as a necessity rather than a luxury good.
Keywords: COVID-19, Mutual funds, sustainability
JEL Classification: G01, G11, G12, G14, G23
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Lubos Pastor (Contact Author)
University of Chicago - Booth School of Business ( email )
5807 S. Woodlawn Avenue
Chicago, IL 60637
United States
773-834-4080 (Phone)
773-702-0458 (Fax)
HOME PAGE: http://www.ChicagoGSB.edu/fac/lubos.pastor/
Blair Vorsatz
University of Chicago - Booth School of Business ( email )
5807 S. Woodlawn Avenue
Chicago, IL 60637
United States