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Do financial experts make better investment decisions?

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  • Bodnaruk, Andriy
  • Simonov, Andrei

Abstract

We provide direct evidence on the effect of financial expertise on investment outcomes by analyzing private portfolios of mutual fund managers. We find no evidence that financial experts make better investment decisions than peers: they do not outperform, do not diversify their risks better, and do not exhibit lower behavioral biases. Managers do much better in stocks for which they have an information advantage over other investors, i.e., stocks that are also held by their mutual funds. More experienced managers seem to be aware of the limitations to their investment skills as they increase their holdings of mutual fund-related stocks following poor performance of their portfolios. Our results suggest that there are limits to the value added by financial expertise.

Suggested Citation

  • Bodnaruk, Andriy & Simonov, Andrei, 2015. "Do financial experts make better investment decisions?," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 514-536.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfinin:v:24:y:2015:i:4:p:514-536
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jfi.2014.09.001
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    13. Oscar A. Stolper & Andreas Walter, 2017. "Financial literacy, financial advice, and financial behavior," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 87(5), pages 581-643, July.
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    17. Francisco Silva, 2020. "An informational Ponzi-scheme," Documentos de Trabajo 539, Instituto de Economia. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile..
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    20. Kalugala Vidanalage Aruna Shantha, 2019. "Individual Investors’ Learning Behavior and Its Impact on Their Herd Bias: An Integrated Analysis in the Context of Stock Trading," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-24, March.
    21. Talpsepp, Tõnn & Liivamägi, Kristjan & Vaarmets, Tarvo, 2020. "Academic abilities, education and performance in the stock market," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
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