Decoding mutual fund performance: current pathways and new avenues

Nehal Joshipura (), Mayank Joshipura () and Tanvi Joshi ()
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Nehal Joshipura: Chetana’s Institute of Management and Research
Mayank Joshipura: NMIMS Deemed to be University
Tanvi Joshi: NMIMS Deemed to be University

Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, 2025, vol. 59, issue 4, No 7, 3113-3135

Abstract: Abstract The global mutual fund industry is growing and is expected to reach $100 trillion by 2027. However, the performance of actively managed mutual funds has remained lacklustre, resulting in a flow toward passive funds over the past one-and-a-half decades. Against this backdrop, the mutual fund performance debate has taken centre stage. This study combines bibliometric and content analyses of 708 Scopus-indexed journal articles published in A or A* category journals according to the Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) classification between 2014 and mid-2024. This study consolidates contemporary knowledge, identifies and analyses significant research clusters, elicits trends, and establishes a future agenda for research on mutual fund performance. This study identifies four research clusters: (a) Socially Responsible Investments (SRI), Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and contemporary studies; (b) Fund flows and institutional ownership; (c) Active vs passive and fund managers’ skills; (d) Investors’ preferences, behavioural dimensions and institutional settings. The impact of fund flows, portfolio churn, portfolio concentration, expense ratio, active share, investment style, fund managers’ skills on fund performance alongside SRI and ESG funds’ performance and active vs passive fund management remain the focus areas of research and need further examination. Asset pricing, market efficiency, human capital efficiency, social trust, performance-chasing behaviour and overconfidence are the dominant theories that explain mutual fund performance. The study benefits portfolio managers, investors, policymakers, regulators, and scholars by helping them understand mutual funds’ performance nuances.

Keywords: Equity; Debt; Investment; Investor; Fund manager; Index fund; Asset pricing; Bibliometric (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G11 G12 G23 G4 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s11135-025-02104-y

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