IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ememar/v23y2015icp46-67.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The case against active pension funds: Evidence from the Turkish Private Pension System

Author

Listed:
  • Gökçen, Umut
  • Yalçın, Atakan

Abstract

Using data on private Turkish pension funds we show that most active managers are not able to provide performance beyond what could be achieved by passive indexing. The average fund beats its benchmark by only 26 basis points, before fees. We also observe herding behavior among managers' asset allocation decisions which can potentially explain their lack of overperformance. Our results strongly support the need for low-cost index funds in emerging market countries that are reforming their pension schemes. We further recommend regulatory oversight on the “activeness” of funds and introduction of default plans with more balanced asset allocations.

Suggested Citation

  • Gökçen, Umut & Yalçın, Atakan, 2015. "The case against active pension funds: Evidence from the Turkish Private Pension System," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 46-67.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ememar:v:23:y:2015:i:c:p:46-67
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ememar.2015.04.007
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1566014115000199
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ememar.2015.04.007?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michel Aglietta & Marie Brière & Sandra Rigot & Ombretta Signori, 2012. "Rehabilitating the Role of Active Management for Pension Funds," Post-Print hal-01493326, HAL.
    2. Bali, Turan G. & Brown, Stephen J. & Caglayan, Mustafa Onur, 2011. "Do hedge funds' exposures to risk factors predict their future returns?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(1), pages 36-68, July.
    3. Jerry Parwada & Robert Faff, 2005. "Pension Plan Investment Management Mandates: An Empirical Analysis of Manager Selection," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 27(1), pages 77-98, February.
    4. Huij, Joop & Verbeek, Marno, 2007. "Cross-sectional learning and short-run persistence in mutual fund performance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 973-997, March.
    5. repec:bla:jfinan:v:43:y:1988:i:2:p:309-25 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Luis Ferruz & Luis Vicente & Laura Andreu, 2009. "Performance persistence and its influence on money and investor flows into Spanish pension plans," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 85-100, January.
    7. Katja Funke & Georg Stadtmann, 2004. "Operations of a Pension Fund after the Asian Crisis: The Thai Experience," Asian Economic Journal, East Asian Economic Association, vol. 18(4), pages 439-470, December.
    8. Claudio Raddatz & Sergio Schmukler, 2013. "Deconstructing Herding: Evidence from Pension Fund Investment Behavior," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 43(1), pages 99-126, February.
    9. Jeffrey A. Busse & Amit Goyal & Sunil Wahal, 2010. "Performance and Persistence in Institutional Investment Management," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(2), pages 765-790, April.
    10. Jackowicz, Krzysztof & Kowalewski, Oskar, 2012. "Crisis, internal governance mechanisms and pension fund performance: Evidence from Poland," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 493-515.
    11. K. J. Martijn Cremers & Antti Petajisto, 2009. "How Active Is Your Fund Manager? A New Measure That Predicts Performance," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(9), pages 3329-3365, September.
    12. Blake, David & Lehmann, Bruce N & Timmermann, Allan, 1999. "Asset Allocation Dynamics and Pension Fund Performance," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 72(4), pages 429-461, October.
    13. Zbigniew Kominek, 2012. "Regulatory induced herding? Evidence from Polish pension funds," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 97-119, February.
    14. Nicolas P. B. Bollen, 2005. "Short-Term Persistence in Mutual Fund Performance," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 18(2), pages 569-597.
    15. Martijn Cremers & Antti Petajisto, 2006. "How Active is Your Fund Manager? A New Measure That Predicts Performance," Yale School of Management Working Papers amz2370, Yale School of Management, revised 01 May 2009.
    16. Bekaert, Geert & Harvey, Campbell R., 2002. "Research in emerging markets finance: looking to the future," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 429-448, December.
    17. repec:dau:papers:123456789/10219 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Ian Tonks, 2005. "Performance Persistence of Pension-Fund Managers," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 78(5), pages 1917-1942, September.
    19. Wayne Ferson & Kenneth Khang, 2002. "Conditional Performance Measurement Using Portfolio Weights: Evidence for Pension Funds," NBER Working Papers 8790, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Josef Lakonishok & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1992. "The Structure and Performance of the Money Management Industry," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 23(1992 Micr), pages 339-391.
    21. Coggin, T Daniel & Fabozzi, Frank J & Rahman, Shafiqur, 1993. "The Investment Performance of U.S. Equity Pension Fund Managers: An Empirical Investigation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 48(3), pages 1039-1055, July.
    22. John M. Griffin & Patrick J. Kelly & Federico Nardari, 2010. "Do Market Efficiency Measures Yield Correct Inferences? A Comparison of Developed and Emerging Markets," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 23(8), pages 3225-3277, August.
    23. Aglietta, Michel & Brière, Marie & Rigot, Sandra & Signori, Ombretta, 2012. "Rehabilitating the role of active management for pension funds," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(9), pages 2565-2574.
    24. Angelidis, Timotheos & Tessaromatis, Nikolaos, 2010. "The efficiency of Greek public pension fund portfolios," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(9), pages 2158-2167, September.
    25. Ferson, Wayne & Khang, Kenneth, 2002. "Conditional performance measurement using portfolio weights: evidence for pension funds," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 249-282, August.
    26. Fama, Eugene F & MacBeth, James D, 1973. "Risk, Return, and Equilibrium: Empirical Tests," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 81(3), pages 607-636, May-June.
    27. Fama, Eugene F & French, Kenneth R, 1996. "Multifactor Explanations of Asset Pricing Anomalies," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 51(1), pages 55-84, March.
    28. Magnus Dahlquist & José Vicente Martinez, 2015. "Investor Inattention: A Hidden Cost of Choice in Pension Plans?," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 21(1), pages 1-19, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Xiaohong Huang & Ronald Mahieu, 2012. "Performance Persistence of Dutch Pension Funds," De Economist, Springer, vol. 160(1), pages 17-34, March.
    2. Artiga González, Tanja & van Lelyveld, Iman & Lučivjanská, Katarína, 2020. "Pension fund equity performance: Patience, activity or both?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    3. Akshentseva, Ksenya (Акшенцева, Ксения) & Abramov, Alexander (Абрамов, Александр) & Chernovа, Maria (Чернова, Мария), 2015. "Problems of Formation and Evaluation of Strategies for Portfolio Investment of Pension Reserves, Accruals and Collective Investments in Russia [Проблемы Формирования И Оценки Результативности Страт," Published Papers mn24, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration.
    4. Mercedes Alda, 2021. "The dilemma between fund‐style consistency and active management over the economic cycle. Evidence from pension funds," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(2), pages 2219-2240, April.
    5. Bauer, R.M.M.J. & Cremers, K.J.M. & Frehen, R.G.P., 2010. "Pension Fund Performance and Costs: Small is Beautiful," MPRA Paper 23556, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Zhang, Jinhua & Wang, Guipu & Yan, Cheng, 2020. "Can foreign equity funds outperform their benchmarks? New evidence from fund-holding data for China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 11-20.
    7. Yundan Guo & Li Shen, 2023. "Commercial Retirement FOFs in China: Investment and Persistence Performance Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-22, September.
    8. Lang, Gunnar & Shen, Yu & Xu, Xian, 2014. "Chinese pension fund investment efficiency: Evidence from CNCSSF stock holdings," ZEW Discussion Papers 14-007, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    9. David Blake & Alberto G. Rossi & Allan Timmermann & Ian Tonks & Russ Wermers, 2013. "Decentralized Investment Management: Evidence from the Pension Fund Industry," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 68(3), pages 1133-1178, June.
    10. Vidal-García, Javier & Vidal, Marta & Boubaker, Sabri & Uddin, Gazi Salah, 2016. "The short-term persistence of international mutual fund performance," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 52(PB), pages 926-938.
    11. Tanja Artiga Gonzalez & Iman van Lelyveld & Katarina Lucivjanska, 2018. "Pension fund equity performance: Patience, activity or both?," DNB Working Papers 606, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department.
    12. Matallín-Sáez, Juan Carlos & Soler-Domínguez, Amparo & Tortosa-Ausina, Emili, 2016. "On the robustness of persistence in mutual fund performance," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 192-231.
    13. Anastasia Petraki & Anna Zalewska, 2017. "Jumping over a low hurdle: personal pension fund performance," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 48(1), pages 153-190, January.
    14. Boermans, Martijn A. & Galema, Rients, 2019. "Are pension funds actively decarbonizing their portfolios?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 50-60.
    15. Wolfgang Bessler & David Blake & Peter Lückoff & Ian Tonks, 2018. "Fund Flows, Manager Changes, and Performance Persistence [Does motivation matter when assessing trade performance? An analysis of mutual funds]," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 22(5), pages 1911-1947.
    16. Bessler, Wolfgang & Blake, David & Lückoff, Peter & Tonks, Ian, 2010. "Why does mutual fund performance not persist? The impact and interaction of fund flows and manager changes," MPRA Paper 34185, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Ferson, Wayne & Mo, Haitao, 2016. "Performance measurement with selectivity, market and volatility timing," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(1), pages 93-110.
    18. Herrmann, Ulf & Rohleder, Martin & Scholz, Hendrik, 2016. "Does style-shifting activity predict performance? Evidence from equity mutual funds," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 112-130.
    19. Alda, Mercedes & Andreu, Laura & Sarto, José Luis, 2017. "Learning about individual managers’ performance in UK pension funds: The importance of specialization," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 654-667.
    20. Angelidis, Timotheos & Giamouridis, Daniel & Tessaromatis, Nikolaos, 2013. "Revisiting mutual fund performance evaluation," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 1759-1776.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ememar:v:23:y:2015:i:c:p:46-67. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620356 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.