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The benefits of option use by mutual funds

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  • Natter, Markus
  • Rohleder, Martin
  • Schulte, Dominik
  • Wilkens, Marco

Abstract

Based on comprehensive regulatory data on equity mutual fund option use from the SEC's N-SAR filings, we are the first to present consistent evidence that equity funds' option use generates higher risk-adjusted performance. We further show that this is a direct effect of option use and not an indirect effect of other fund characteristics. Option use also directly results in lower systematic risk, as funds show significantly lower market betas during periods of options usage. Finally, mutual funds use options mainly for hedging as they primarily use protective puts and covered calls. These results are independent of known phenomena, such as the low beta anomaly, and robust to tests for endogeneity and a novel 5-factor model including an investable option strategy factor (IOS). Overall, our findings show that mutual fund option use is beneficial to investors and does not pose risk to the financial system as feared by the SEC. Our results are thus important for investors as well as regulators.

Suggested Citation

  • Natter, Markus & Rohleder, Martin & Schulte, Dominik & Wilkens, Marco, 2016. "The benefits of option use by mutual funds," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 142-168.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfinin:v:26:y:2016:i:c:p:142-168
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jfi.2016.01.002
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Molestina Vivar, Luis & Wedow, Michael & Weistroffer, Christian, 2023. "Burned by leverage? Flows and fragility in bond mutual funds," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 354-380.
    2. Amir Ahmad Dar & Mohammad Shahfaraz Khan & Imran Azad & Amit Kumar Pathak & Gopu Jayaraman, 2024. "Literature review: options and its applications," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 4(8), pages 1-26, August.
    3. Markus Natter, 2018. "Options‐based benchmark indices—A review of performance and (in)appropriate measures," Journal of Futures Markets, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 38(2), pages 271-288, February.
    4. Haoyi Yang & Shikong Luo, 2023. "A dark side to options trading? Evidence from corporate default risk," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 60(2), pages 531-564, February.
    5. Meng, Qingchun & Kao, Zhiping & Guo, Ying & Bao, Chunbing, 2023. "An emergency supplies procurement strategy based on a bidirectional option contract," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 87(PA).
    6. Da‐Hea Kim, 2022. "Investment horizon and option market activity," Journal of Futures Markets, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(5), pages 923-958, May.
    7. Sherrill, D. Eli & Shirley, Sara E. & Stark, Jeffrey R., 2020. "ETF use among actively managed mutual fund portfolios," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    8. Markus Natter & Martin Rohleder & Dominik Schulte & Marco Wilkens, 2017. "Bond mutual funds and complex investments," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 18(6), pages 433-456, October.
    9. Fulkerson, Jon A. & Hong, Xin, 2021. "Investment restrictions and fund performance," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 317-336.
    10. Lukas Benz & Martin Rohleder & Janik Syryca & Marco Wilkens, 2019. "Shedding light on the exposure of mutual funds: Which investments drive mutual fund characteristics?," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 20(7), pages 534-551, December.

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