The importance of mutual funds for individual investors has increased in recent decades. This becomes apparent when looking at the increased share of households owning mutual funds. These mutual fund investors usually want to receive a return which is above or at least close to the mutual fund’s benchmark. Consequently, investors want to invest in those funds which will show these patterns in the future. Some of these mutual funds receive much attention, since they generate extraordinary high performance. But the question that remains is whether it is possible to predict such performance before funds exhibit such outstanding performance. In the past, mutual fund investors focused extensively on performance or performance linked patterns, like the Morningstar star rating, and thus chased past performance. This seems surprising since performance persists only over a short time and is more persistent to weak mutual funds (1 and 2 star rated) than well performing mutual funds. Thus, chasing past performances seems to be a rather inferior strategy. Therefore, investors should try to identify alternative tools showing a high correlation to future mutual fund performance. In this book, mutual funds are analysed, especially open-end mutual funds and actively managed mutual funds. The main focus is on what purpose and usefulness active investments have and whether performance is persistent and what the determinants of mutual fund flows are. Moreover, some alternative measures will be introduced by explaining which attributes or methods should be used and avoided when selecting mutual funds.

The importance of mutual funds for individual investors has increased in recent decades. This becomes apparent when looking at the increased share of households owning mutual funds. These mutual fund investors usually want to receive a return which is above or at least close to the mutual fund’s benchmark. Consequently, investors want to invest in those funds which will show these patterns in the future. Some of these mutual funds receive much attention, since they generate extraordinary high performance. But the question that remains is whether it is possible to predict such performance before funds exhibit such outstanding performance. In the past, mutual fund investors focused extensively on performance or performance linked patterns, like the Morningstar star rating, and thus chased past performance. This seems surprising since performance persists only over a short time and is more persistent to weak mutual funds (1 and 2 star rated) than well performing mutual funds. Thus, chasing past performances seems to be a rather inferior strategy. Therefore, investors should try to identify alternative tools showing a high correlation to future mutual fund performance. In this book, mutual funds are analysed, especially open-end mutual funds and actively managed mutual funds. The main focus is on what purpose and usefulness active investments have and whether performance is persistent and what the determinants of mutual fund flows are. Moreover, some alternative measures will be introduced by explaining which attributes or methods should be used and avoided when selecting mutual funds.

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How to prevent runs on open-end mutual funds? In recent years, markets have observed an innovation that changed the way open-end funds are priced. Alternative pricing rules (known as swing pricing) adjust funds’ net asset values to pass on funds’ trading costs to transacting shareholders. Using unique data on investor transactions in U.K. corporate bond funds, we show that swing pricing eliminates the first-mover advantage arising from the traditional pricing rule and significantly reduces redemptions during stress periods. The positive impact of alternative pricing rules on fund flows reverses in calm periods when costs associated with higher tracking error dominate the pricing effect.

"The Mutual Fund Industry Handbook is a remarkably important work . . . I am profoundly impressed by the broad and comprehensive sweep of information and knowledge that this book makes available to industry participants, college and business school students, and anyone else with a serious interest in this industry." -- From the Foreword by John C. Bogle President, Bogle Financial Markets Research Center Founder and former chief executive, The Vanguard Group A Foreword by John C. Bogle, founder of The Vanguard Group and one of the most respected leaders in the mutual fund industry, sets the stage for this authoritative book that explains the complexities of the phenomenal industry in simple terms. Investors like the fact that mutual funds offer professional management, easy diversification, liquidity, convenience, a wide range of investment choices, and regulatory protection. Mutual Fund Industry Handbook touches on all of those features and focuses on the diverse functions performed in the day-to-day operations of the mutual fund industry. You'll learn about: Front-office functions-analysis, buying, and selling. Back-office functions, including settlement, custody, accounting, and reporting. Commission structures-front-end loads, back-end loads, or level loads. The various fund categories used by the Investment Company Institute, Morningstar, and Lipper. The roles played by fund managers, investment advisors, custodial banks, distributors, transfer agents, and other third-party service providers. If you want a definitive reference on the mutual fund industry, this is the book for you.

Author Russel Kinnel walks readers through the handful of key factors they need to pick winning funds. Armed with the quantitative data and qualitative research, they will gain the confidence to pick great funds for the long-term. This book will be accompanied by a web-based tool created by Morningstar, which will enable readers to evaluate their own funds using Kinnel's criteria. Written in a fun and accessible manner, The Fund Spy offers Kinnel's unique insight as a 14-year Morningstar fund analyst. He speaks plainly about the conflicts that can go against investors' interests, explaining how to avoid traps and push out the slick sales pitches facing today's investors. He also offers several "10 lists," which provide quick answers to investors' most common questions (e.g., the Top 10 Funds to Recommend to Relatives, the 10 Best Contrarian Managers, the 10 Most Overrated Managers).