Mutual fund performance: dividends do matter

This article studies the bias in mutual fund performance when a nondividend-reinvesting benchmark is used. Our empirical findings show how performance worsens when using a benchmark that includes reinvestment dividends. We also find that inferences about managers’ ability related to economic states are biased by the effect of omitting dividends when selecting a benchmark.This study is part of the research projects P11B2012-07 supported by the Universitat Jaume I and ECO2011-27227 supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación

Institutional investment management: An investor's perspective on the relation between turnover and performance

The main aim of this study is to analyse the relationship between turnover and performance in institutional investment management. For a sample of US equity mutual funds during the period January 1999–December 2014, we show that high-turnover funds do not beat low-turnover funds, since their performances are no different, or even significantly lower. Moreover, we show that investing in past high-turnover mutual funds provides investors with significantly worse results than investing in previously low-turnover funds. Investors aiming to enhance their risk-adjusted returns should therefore consider the turnover ratio level in their fund investment decisions

Investing in mutual funds: the determinants of implied and actual net cash flows

Estimating the fund investors’ demand plays an important role in the mutual fund management. In this line, mutual fund demand can be measured as the total net cash flows experienced by the fund during a period. Due to a lack of the data for inflows and outflows in some countries and databases, many authors estimate the net cash flows using fund size and return information. This rough measure, although being a good approximation, implicitly assumes an error in its calculation. For a sample of 2985 US open-end funds, we find evidence that estimating this implied fund flows, the error generated is higher for smaller funds, funds with higher returns, and for those experiencing higher levels of inflows or outflows. This lack of precision leads to a distortion in the estimation of the effect of some determinants on the mutual fund demand, especially when longer periods are considered when constructing the net cash flows

La elección del inversor entre fondos activos y fondos índice

This study compares the performance of actively-managed mutual funds and index funds. For a large sample of US domestic equity share-class funds, we analyze the relation between portfolio turnover and fund risk-adjusted return. Using gross returns, results indicate that before (after) the onset of the recent financial crisis, low-turnover active funds reach higher (similar) results than those obtained by index funds, whilst high-turnover active funds have similar (worse) returns to index funds. The same evidence is found when net returns are considered, but index funds perform comparatively better due to their lower costs. From an investors’ perspective, investing in previous high-turnover funds could lead to lower overall risk-adjusted returns.Este estudio compara el rendimiento de los fondos de inversión gestionados activamente y los fondos que replican a índice de referencia. Para una amplia muestra de fondos estadounidenses que invierten en acciones de EE. UU., se analiza la relación entre la rotación de la cartera y el rendimiento ajustado al riesgo de los fondos considerados. En términos de rentabilidades brutas, se muestra que antes (después) del inicio de la reciente crisis financiera, los fondos activos que presentan una baja rotación alcanzan resultados más altos (similares) que los obtenidos por fondos índice, mientras que los fondos activos de alta rotación tienen rendimientos similares o incluso peores. La misma evidencia se encuentra al considerar rendimientos netos, aunque los fondos índice tienen un desempeño comparativamente mejor debido a los menores gastos asociados que soportan. Desde la perspectiva de los inversores, invertir en fondos previos de alta rotación podría conducir, en promedio, a peores resultados financieros

Ethical strategy focus and mutual fund management: Performance and persistence

The aim of this study is to analyze whether managers, practitioners and individual investors could obtain higher risk-adjusted returns by allocating their investments to funds that integrate specific levels of socially responsible (SR) criteria in their portfolios. This is achieved by comparing the performance of mutual funds according to their SR characteristics: environmental, governance, social, and sustainability attributes. For a large sample of 3920 equity SR mutual funds around the world, performance is measured using a multifactor model that incorporates relevant benchmarks according to the fund investment objectives, and using Carhart's (1997) methodology to measure mutual fund performance persistence. In general, fund performance is not significant, the average being negative and close to zero. Funds achieving relatively high levels of SR attributes in their portfolios seem to experience overall worse performances. This evidence is, however, mainly driven by the behavior of worst-performing funds. Moreover, investing in the previous best SR funds could lead investors to greater overall returns in most areas and levels of SR attributes considered. This evidence highlights the role of managers in enhancing the returns of a portfolio with a well-defined SR investment policy. Therefore, there is no incompatibility between pursuing higher ethical (and sustainable) values as well as greater financial performances from investments—provided managers have the skills necessary to choose the right SR funds

Investor behavior and the demand for conventional and socially responsible mutual funds

This study analyzes the demand for conventional and socially responsible (SR) mutual funds using cash flow data from a large sample of U.S. equity funds. For both types of funds, previous results have a positive impact on inflows. However, redemptions' behavior differs. Outflows correlate negatively with past results in conventional portfolios, whereas this relationship is positive for SR funds: investors are more likely to redeem shares in the best-performing funds while holding funds that performed poorly. This behavior is compatible with a disposition effect in SR funds. These results hold even after controlling for other variables driving mutual fund demand. Hence, inflows and outflows of conventional funds were found to be positively related to past idiosyncratic risk, expenses and turnover, but negatively related to size and age. For SR funds, these relationships are stronger for size and idiosyncratic risk, and take the opposite sign for age, expenses and turnover.Funding for open access charge: CRUE-Universitat Jaume

Demand and management of mutual funds

This doctoral thesis proposes the evaluation of different aspects related to the efficiency and analysis of the behaviour of mutual funds and their demand. The sample analysed focuses on more than 17,000 share-classes related to 5,255 US open-end funds that invest mainly in equities of the same market. This thesis contributes to the extant literature on estimating properly the mutual fund demand and the effect of its determinants, as well as on assessing both the behaviour and the performance of the funds in relation to their level of management activity. The implications of these studies are of interest for investors and managers (in optimizing the financial results of their investments), and for regulators and other stakeholders (in order to conduct the necessary actions to facilitate and improve the publicly available information on equity mutual funds).Esta tesis doctoral propone la evaluación de diferentes aspectos relacionados con la eficiencia y el análisis del comportamiento de los fondos de inversión y de su demanda. La muestra analizada se centra en más de 17.000 compartimentos relacionados con 5.255 fondos de Estados Unidos que invierten principalmente en acciones del mismo mercado. Esta tesis contribuye a la literatura existente sobre la demanda de fondos de inversión y sus determinantes, así como a la evaluación del comportamiento y el rendimiento de los fondos en relación con el nivel de actividad de gestión de su cartera de inversión. Las implicaciones de esta tesis son de interés para inversores y gestores de fondos que deseen optimizar los resultados financieros de sus inversiones, y para reguladores y otros grupos de interés que pretendan facilitar y mejorar la información pública disponible sobre fondos de inversión de renta variable.Programa de Doctorat en Economia i Empres

Actividades Kahoot aplicadas al módulo de Técnica Contable: un ejemplo de su utilidad y de su valoración

Treball Final de Màster Universitari en Professor/a d'Educació Secundària Obligatòria i Batxillerat, Formació Professional i Ensenyaments d'Idiomes. Codi SAP229. Curs: 2018/2019.El presente trabajo, denominado “Actividades Kahoot aplicadas al módulo de Técnica Contable: un ejemplo de su utilidad y de su valoración”, describe una mejora educativa implementada mediante actividades interactivas en las sesiones docentes de un módulo de Ciclo Formativo. Por tanto, se enmarca dentro de la modalidad de mejora educativa del Máster Universitario en Formación del Profesorado de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria y Bachillerato, Formación Profesional y Enseñanzas de Idiomas (Especialidad Formación Profesional. Rama Administrativa). Tras haber detectado cierta pasividad y bajo interés en el alumnado, la mejora educativa pretende revelar y corregir dificultades de aprendizaje en relación a las Unidades Didácticas impartidas, así como amenizar el ambiente del aula y mejorar la motivación de los estudiantes. Estos son los objetivos principales de este trabajo. Para alcanzarlos, se elaboran unas actividades interactivas para ser contestadas a través de un móvil u otro aparato con conexión a internet. Kahoot es la plataforma seleccionada para diseñar y llevar a cabo las actividades en el aula. Los resultados de este estudio muestran que Kahoot es una herramienta útil para detectar necesidades de aprendizaje del alumnado. De esta forma, se observan los contenidos en los que el alumnado comete más errores, lo que se puede interpretar como una menor comprensión de esa parte del temario impartido. Por tanto, permite ofrecer una retroalimentación apropiada a los estudiantes, tanto durante la actividad Kahoot como después de haber analizado en detalle las respuestas de los alumnos. Además, se observa que estas actividades gozan de una gran acogida entre los estudiantes. Así, la encuesta elaborada muestra un alto nivel de satisfacción de los participantes en relación a diferentes aspectos: los relacionados con la plataforma, con el profesor, con el contenido utilizado y con su aprendizaje. Todo ello lleva a concluir que implementar actividades diseñadas a través de Kahoot u otra plataforma similar en las sesiones docentes es muy útil para detectar necesidades de aprendizaje y mejorar la motivación y el interés del alumnado

Kahoot! activities in the classroom and the satisfaction of the students

El presente estudio observa la relación entre la implementación de actividades basadas en herramientas TIC y la consiguiente satisfacción del alumnado participante. Específicamente, utilizamos la plataforma Kahoot! para generar preguntas relacionadas con la materia impartida, que son contestadas en línea por los estudiantes a través de smartphones u otros dispositivos digitales. Tras realizar este tipo de actividades en el aula universitaria durante varias sesiones docentes, solicitamos a los participantes que rellenaran una encuesta para medir el grado de satisfacción de los mismos. Nuestros resultados confirman que el uso de este tipo de actividades motiva al alumnado a participar activamente en la clase.The present study observes the relationship between the implementation of activities based on ICT tools and the consequent satisfaction of the participating students. Specifically, we use the Kahoot platform! to generate questions related to the subject taught, which are answered online by students through smartphones or other digital devices. After carrying out this type of activities in the university classroom during several teaching sessions, we asked the participants to fill out a survey to measure their degree of satisfaction. Our results confirm that the use of this type of activities motivates students to participate actively in the class

Actividades Kahoot! en el aula y satisfacción del alumnado

The present study observes the relationship between the implementation of activities based on ICT tools and the consequent satisfaction of the participating students. Specifically, we use the Kahoot platform! to generate questions related to the subject taught, which are answered online by students through smartphones or other digital devices. After carrying out this type of activities in the university classroom during several teaching sessions, we asked the participants to fill out a survey to measure their degree of satisfaction. Our results confirm that the use of this type of activities motivates students to participate actively in the class.El presente estudio observa la relación entre la implementación de actividades basadas en herramientas TIC y la consiguiente satisfacción del alumnado participante. Específicamente, utilizamos la plataforma Kahoot! para generar preguntas relacionadas con la materia impartida, que son contestadas en línea por los estudiantes a través de smartphones u otros dispositivos digitales. Tras realizar este tipo de actividades en el aula universitaria durante varias sesiones docentes, solicitamos a los participantes que rellenaran una encuesta para medir el grado de satisfacción de los mismos. Nuestros resultados confirman que el uso de este tipo de actividades motiva al alumnado a participar activamente en la clase