Leaning for the Tape: Evidence of Gaming Behavior in Equity Mutual Funds

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of Finance
Year: 2002
Volume: 57
Issue: 2
Pages: 661-693

Authors (4)

Mark M. Carhart Ron Kaniel (University of Rochester) David K. Musto (not in RePEc) Adam V. Reed (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

1.005 = (α=2.01 / 4 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

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

Abstract

We present evidence that fund managers inflate quarter‐end portfolio prices with last‐minute purchases of stocks already held. The magnitude of price inflation ranges from 0.5 percent per year for large‐cap funds to well over 2 percent for small‐cap funds. We find that the cross section of inflation matches the cross section of incentives from the flow/performance relation, that a surge of trading in the quarter's last minutes coincides with a surge in equity prices, and that the inflation is greatest for the stocks held by funds with the most incentive to inflate, controlling for the stocks' size and performance.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:bla:jfinan:v:57:y:2002:i:2:p:661-693
Journal Field
Finance
Author Count
4
Added to Database
2026-01-25