Style chasing by hedge fund investors

Jenke ter Horst, Galla Salganik

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This paper examines whether investors chase hedge fund investment styles. We find that better-performing and more popular styles are rewarded with higher inflows in subsequent periods. This indicates that investors compare hedge fund styles in terms of recent performance and popularity, and they subsequently reallocate funds from less successful to more successful styles. Furthermore, we find evidence of competition between individual hedge funds of the same style. Funds outperforming the other funds in their styles and funds whose inflows exceed the average flows in their styles experience higher inflows in subsequent periods. One of the reasons for competition among same-style funds is investors' search for the best managers. The high minimum investment required to invest in a hedge fund limits investors' diversification opportunities and makes this search particularly important. Finally, we show that hedge fund investors' implementation of style chasing in combination with intra-style fund selection represents a smart strategy.

Original languageAmerican English
Pages (from-to)29-42
Number of pages14
JournalJournal of Banking and Finance
Volume39
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Feb 2014

Keywords

  • Hedge funds
  • Investment decisions
  • Investment styles
  • Money flows

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Finance
  • Economics and Econometrics

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Style chasing by hedge fund investors'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this