Skewness Consequences of Seeking Alpha

Kerry Back, Alan D Crane and Kevin Crotty

The Review of Financial Studies, 2018, vol. 31, issue 12, 4720-4761

Abstract: Mutual funds seek alpha, but coskewness is also an important performance attribute. Coskewness of fund returns is associated with market timing, liquidity management, and derivative use. Measures of active management associated with positive alphas are also associated with undesirable coskewness. When controlling for other characteristics, coskewness is positively associated with activity measures related to market timing and negatively associated with activity measures related to stock picking. In the cross-section of funds, the latter effect dominates, so funds generate undesirable coskewness in the pursuit of alpha. Money flows to funds with desirable coskewness. Received October 25, 2016; editorial decision January 29, 2018 by Editor Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh. Authors have furnished an Internet Appendix, which is available on the Oxford University Press Web Site next to the link to the final published paper online.

Date: 2018
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