IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jimfin/v67y2016icp147-171.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Scale economies in pension fund investments: A dissection of investment costs across asset classes

Author

Listed:
  • Broeders, Dirk W.G.A.
  • van Oord, Arco
  • Rijsbergen, David R.

Abstract

Using a unique dataset of 225 Dutch occupational pension funds with a total of 928 billion euro of assets under management, we provide a comprehensive cross-sectional analysis of the relation between investment costs and pension fund size. Our dataset is free from self-reporting biases and decomposes investment costs for 6 asset classes in management costs and performance fees. We find that a pension fund that has 10 times more assets under management on average reports 7.67 basis points lower annual investment costs. Economies of scale differ per asset class. We find significant economies of scale in fixed income, equity and commodity portfolios, but not in real estate investments, private equity and hedge funds. We also find that large pension funds pay significantly higher performance fees for equity, private equity and hedge fund investments.

Suggested Citation

  • Broeders, Dirk W.G.A. & van Oord, Arco & Rijsbergen, David R., 2016. "Scale economies in pension fund investments: A dissection of investment costs across asset classes," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 147-171.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jimfin:v:67:y:2016:i:c:p:147-171
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jimonfin.2016.04.003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261560616300274
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jimonfin.2016.04.003?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. Steven N. Kaplan & Antoinette Schoar, 2005. "Private Equity Performance: Returns, Persistence, and Capital Flows," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(4), pages 1791-1823, August.
    2. David T. Robinson & Berk A. Sensoy, 2013. "Do Private Equity Fund Managers Earn Their Fees? Compensation, Ownership, and Cash Flow Performance," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 26(11), pages 2760-2797.
    3. Ludovic Phalippou & Oliver Gottschalg, 2009. "The Performance of Private Equity Funds," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(4), pages 1747-1776, April.
    4. Dirk Broeders & Eduard H.M. Ponds, 2012. "Dutch Pension System Reform. A Step Closer to the Ideal System Design," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 10(03), pages 65-76, November.
    5. Jonathan B. Berk & Richard C. Green, 2004. "Mutual Fund Flows and Performance in Rational Markets," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 112(6), pages 1269-1295, December.
    6. Bikker, Jacob A. & De Dreu, Jan, 2009. "Operating costs of pension funds: the impact of scale, governance, and plan design," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 8(1), pages 63-89, January.
    7. 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.
    8. Donald B. Keim & Ananth Madhavan, "undated". "The Cost of Institutional Equity Trades," Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research Working Papers 08-98, Wharton School Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research.
    9. 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.
    10. Murat Binay, 2005. "Performance Attribution of US Institutional Investors," Financial Management, Financial Management Association, vol. 34(2), Summer.
    11. Gordon L Clark & Paul Bennett, 2001. "Dutch Sector-Wide Supplementary Pensions: Fund Governance, European Competition Policy, and the Geography of Finance," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 33(1), pages 27-48, January.
    12. repec:fth:pennfi:68 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Danilo Drago & Valter Lazzari & Marco Navone, 2010. "Mutual Fund Incentive Fees: Determinants and Effects," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 39(1), pages 365-392, March.
    14. Dirk Broeders & Eduard H.M. Ponds, 2012. "Dutch Pension System Reform. A Step Closer to the Ideal System Design," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 10(3), pages 65-76, November.
    15. William N. Goetzmann & Jonathan E. Ingersoll & Stephen A. Ross, 2003. "High‐Water Marks and Hedge Fund Management Contracts," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(4), pages 1685-1718, August.
    16. Kenneth R. French, 2008. "Presidential Address: The Cost of Active Investing," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(4), pages 1537-1573, August.
    17. Broeders, D. & Ponds, E.H.M., 2012. "Dutch pension system reform – A step closer to the ideal system?," Other publications TiSEM 9d057b0e-edd6-48a5-b67d-c, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    18. 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.
    19. Dirk Broeders & Paul Hilbers & David Rijsbergen & Ningli Shen, 2014. "What Drives Pension Indexation in Turbulent Times? An Empirical Examination of Dutch Pension Funds," De Economist, Springer, vol. 162(1), pages 41-70, March.
    20. Ajay Khorana & Henri Servaes & Peter Tufano, 2009. "Mutual Fund Fees Around the World," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(3), pages 1279-1310.
    21. Thapa, Chandra & Poshakwale, Sunil S., 2010. "International equity portfolio allocations and transaction costs," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(11), pages 2627-2638, November.
    22. J.A. Bikker, 2013. "Is there an optimal pension fund size? A scale-economy analysis of administrative and investment costs," Working Papers 13-06, Utrecht School of Economics.
    23. Franklin Allen, 2001. "Do Financial Institutions Matter?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 56(4), pages 1165-1175, August.
    24. Joseph Chen & Harrison Hong & Ming Huang & Jeffrey D. Kubik, 2004. "Does Fund Size Erode Mutual Fund Performance? The Role of Liquidity and Organization," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(5), pages 1276-1302, December.
    25. 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.
    26. repec:ces:ifodic:v:10:y:2012:i:3:p:19069676 is not listed on IDEAS
    27. Daniel N. Deli, 2002. "Mutual Fund Advisory Contracts: An Empirical Investigation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(1), pages 109-133, February.
    28. An, Heng & Huang, Zhaodan & Zhang, Ting, 2013. "What determines corporate pension fund risk-taking strategy?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 597-613.
    29. Bikker, Jacob A. & Spierdijk, Laura & van der Sluis, Pieter Jelle, 2007. "Market impact costs of institutional equity trades," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 26(6), pages 974-1000, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. 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.
    2. Ravit Rubinstein-Levi, 2021. "Disadvantaged Employees in the Trap of Defined Contribution Pension Plans," International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), vol. 0(4), pages 55-76.
    3. Jacob A. Bikker & Jeroen J. Meringa, 2022. "Have scale effects on cost margins of pension fund investment portfolios disappeared?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(39), pages 4501-4518, August.
    4. Broeders, Dirk W.G.A. & van Oord, Arco & Rijsbergen, David R., 2019. "Does it pay to pay performance fees? Empirical evidence from Dutch pension funds," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 299-312.
    5. Jansen, Kristy, 2021. "Essays on institutional investors, portfolio choice, and asset prices," Other publications TiSEM fd998408-d282-4e0f-b542-4, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    6. Hollanders, David, 2016. "Asset Management Costs and Financial Performance of Dutch Pension Funds in 2011-2014," Other publications TiSEM db6a1950-5d81-4e41-b035-f, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    7. Lučivjanská, Katarína & Lyócsa, Štefan & Radvanský, Marek & Širaňová, Mária, 2022. "Return adjusted charge ratios: What drives fees and costs of pension schemes?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    8. Lanying Sun & Changhao Su & Xinghui Xian, 2020. "Assessing the Sustainability of China’s Basic Pension Funding for Urban and Rural Residents," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-17, April.
    9. Cumming, Douglas & Khan, Muhammad Zubair & Khan, Naimat U. & Khan, Zafir Ullah, 2024. "Size matters: Unpacking the relationship between institutional investor size and private equity asset allocation within diverse institutional contexts," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    10. Broeders, Dirk W. G. A. & Jansen, Kristy A. E. & Werker, Bas J. M., 2021. "Pension fund's illiquid assets allocation under liquidity and capital requirements," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(1), pages 102-124, January.
    11. Dirk Broeders & Kristy Jansen & Bas Werker, 2017. "Pension fund's illiquid assets allocation under liquidity and capital constraints," DNB Working Papers 555, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department.
    12. Hlobil, T.M. & van Leuvensteijn, M., 2020. "Combining investment advice and asset management," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).

    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. Mauro Mastrogiacomo & Yue Li & Rik Dillingh, 2022. "The displacement effect of compulsory pension savings on private savings. Evidence from the Netherlands, using pension funds supervisory data," Working Papers 474, DNB.
    2. Broeders, Dirk W.G.A. & van Oord, Arco & Rijsbergen, David R., 2019. "Does it pay to pay performance fees? Empirical evidence from Dutch pension funds," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 299-312.
    3. Buchner, Axel & Wagner, Niklas F., 2017. "Rewarding risk-taking or skill? The case of private equity fund managers," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 14-32.
    4. Andonov, Aleksandar & Eichholtz, Piet & Kok, Nils, 2015. "Intermediated investment management in private markets: Evidence from pension fund investments in real estate," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 73-103.
    5. Jacob A. Bikker & Jeroen J. Meringa, 2022. "Have scale effects on cost margins of pension fund investment portfolios disappeared?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(39), pages 4501-4518, August.
    6. F. Douglas Foster & Geoffrey J. Warren, 2015. "Why Might Investors Choose Active Management?," Journal of Behavioral Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(1), pages 20-39, January.
    7. Xu, Ruihui & Zhang, Xuliang & Gozgor, Giray & Lau, Chi Keung Marco & Yan, Cheng, 2023. "Investor flow-chasing and price–performance puzzle: Evidence from global infrastructure funds," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    8. 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.
    9. 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.
    10. Servaes, Henri & Sigurdsson, Kari, 2022. "The Costs and Benefits of Performance Fees in Mutual Funds," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    11. Lerner, Josh & Mao, Jason & Schoar, Antoinette & Zhang, Nan R., 2022. "Investing outside the box: Evidence from alternative vehicles in private equity," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(1), pages 359-380.
    12. 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.
    13. J.A. Bikker, 2013. "Is there an optimal pension fund size? A scale-economy analysis of administrative and investment costs," Working Papers 13-06, Utrecht School of Economics.
    14. Nicolae Gârleanu & Lasse Heje Pedersen, 2018. "Efficiently Inefficient Markets for Assets and Asset Management," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 73(4), pages 1663-1712, August.
    15. Phalippou, Ludovic & Rauch, Christian & Umber, Marc, 2018. "Private equity portfolio company fees," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(3), pages 559-585.
    16. James R. Cummings & David Gallagher, 2016. "Effect of fund size on the performance of Australian superannuation funds," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 56(3), pages 695-725, September.
    17. David T. Robinson & Berk A. Sensoy, 2012. "Do Private Equity Managers Earn Their Fees? Compensation, Ownership, and Cash Flow Performance," NBER Working Papers 17942, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Jansen, Kristy, 2021. "Essays on institutional investors, portfolio choice, and asset prices," Other publications TiSEM fd998408-d282-4e0f-b542-4, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    19. Pástor, Ľuboš & Stambaugh, Robert F. & Taylor, Lucian A., 2015. "Scale and skill in active management," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(1), pages 23-45.
    20. Arcot, Sridhar & Fluck, Zsuzsanna & Gaspar, José-Miguel & Hege, Ulrich, 2015. "Fund managers under pressure: Rationale and determinants of secondary buyouts," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(1), pages 102-135.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Pension funds; Asset management; Management costs; Performance fees;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:jimfin:v:67:y:2016:i:c:p:147-171. 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/30443 .

    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.