Essays On Private Equity And Mutual Funds

Investment manager skill is one of the most researched topics in finance, so readers may wonder why there are still theses such as this one which launches three new Essays on the topic. There are two parts to the answer. The first part lies in the fact that the issue is an extremely important one for many people, organizations, and even governments, at all levels of society and in all corners of the globe. The second part of the answer lies in the fact that, despite intensive research going back 50 years at least, investment manager skill is not yet a well understood phenomenon. Taken together, these Essays contribute to various streams of the investment management literature by taking a fresh look at skill in asset classes where it is difficult to measure (private equity), or where the topic has not previously been studied in depth (mutual fund families). These Essays also contain useful information for practitioners and investors. By identifying at least some determinants of skill, practitioners can get a sense of the behaviors which add to (or subtract from) the value of their funds. By quantifying and locating skill in different type of funds, the papers' findings can also aid investors to focus their search for skill, and at least increase the probability of finding a skilled fund manager.