Hiding in Plain Sight: The Global Implications of Manager Disclosure

Abstract

We examine global variation in disclosure of fund manager(s) names. Using a global sample of mutual funds, we find that 17% of funds worldwide, excluding the United States, do not disclose the names of their management team. Anonymously managed funds significantly underperform, and are less likely to deviate from their benchmark than funds with named managers. Using changes in U.S. SEC disclosure regulation, the performance of anonymous twin funds, and anonymous manager allocation across families we find evidence that under-performance is driven by less skilled managers being kept anonymous, as well as less effort exerted by skilled anonymous managers.

Keywords: Mutual Funds; Management Teams; Anonymous Managers; Performance; Obfuscation

JEL Classification: D22, G11, G18, G23