Measuring skill in the mutual fund industry

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of Financial Economics
Year: 2015
Volume: 118
Issue: 1
Pages: 1-20

Authors (2)

Berk, Jonathan B. (not in RePEc) van Binsbergen, Jules H.

Score contribution per author:

2.011 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Using the value that a mutual fund extracts from capital markets as the measure of skill, we find that the average mutual fund has used this skill to generate about $3.2 million per year. Large cross-sectional differences in skill persist for as long as ten years. Investors recognize this skill and reward it by investing more capital with better funds. Better funds earn higher aggregate fees, and a strong positive correlation exists between current compensation and future performance. The cross-sectional distribution of managerial skill is predominantly reflected in the cross-sectional distribution of fund size, not gross alpha.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:jfinec:v:118:y:2015:i:1:p:1-20
Journal Field
Finance
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-29