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Fund governance contagion: New evidence on the mutual fund governance paradox

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  • Calluzzo, Paul
  • Dong, Gang Nathan

Abstract

Why is poor governance pervasive in the mutual fund industry? Researchers, practitioners and regulators have attributed this failing to a lack of director independence from fund management. This paper proposes an alternate explanation: fund governance is contagious. Fund directors act as vectors, transmitting governance attributes from their primary place of employment to the fund. Using hand-collected director employment data, the paper finds that boards dominated by directors tied to the finance industry, to shareholder unfriendly firms, and to shareholder unfriendly funds, have worse governance. Examining employment shocks, litigations and firm bankruptcies, within a quasi-experimental framework, provides causal evidence that these connections cause fund governance spillover. Overall, the results suggest that contagious governance plays a role in propagating business malpractice in the mutual fund industry.

Suggested Citation

  • Calluzzo, Paul & Dong, Gang Nathan, 2014. "Fund governance contagion: New evidence on the mutual fund governance paradox," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 83-101.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:corfin:v:28:y:2014:i:c:p:83-101
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2013.11.007
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    Cited by:

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    2. Zamri Ahmad & Haslindar Ibrahim & Jasman Tuyon, 2018. "Governance of Behavioural Biases in Asset Management Industry: Insights from Fund Managers in Malaysia," Asian Academy of Management Journal of Accounting and Finance (AAMJAF), Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia, vol. 14(2), pages 65-102.
    3. Emmanuel Mamatzakis & Bingrun Xu, 2021. "Does ownership structure affect performance? Evidence from Chinese mutual funds," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 56(4), pages 1399-1435, May.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corporate governance; Governance contagion; Director connections; Mutual fund;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance

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