Peer Versus Pure Benchmarks in the Compensation of Mutual Fund Managers

We examine the role of peer (e.g., Lipper manager indices) versus pure (e.g., S&P 500) benchmarks in fund manager compensation. We model their impact on manager incentives and then test those predictions using novel data. We find that 71% of managers are compensated based on peer benchmarks. Con...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Evans, Richard, Ma, LinLin, Gómez, Juan Pedro, Tang, Yuehua
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:IE
Repositorio:Repositorio IE
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.ie.edu:20.500.14417/3293
Acceso en línea:https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022109023001230
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14417/3293
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Fund managers
53 Ciencias Económicas::5311 Organización y dirección de empresas ::5311.06 Estudio de mercados
ODS 8 - Trabajo decente y crecimiento económico
Descripción
Sumario:We examine the role of peer (e.g., Lipper manager indices) versus pure (e.g., S&P 500) benchmarks in fund manager compensation. We model their impact on manager incentives and then test those predictions using novel data. We find that 71% of managers are compensated based on peer benchmarks. Consistent with the model, peer-benchmarked fund managers exhibit higher effort generating higher gross performance and collect higher fee income. Analyzing advisors’ choice between benchmark types, we show that peer-benchmarking advisors cater to more sophisticated and performance-sensitive investors, and are more likely to sell through direct channels, consistent with investor heterogeneity and market segmentation.