What a difference a (birth) month makes: The relative age effect and fund manager performance

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Bai, John (Jianqiu); Ma, Linlin; Mullally, Kevin A.; Solomon, David H.
• 署名单位: Northeastern University; Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School (PKU Shenzhen); Peking University; University of Alabama System; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa; Boston College; State University System of Florida; University of Central Florida
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF FINANCIAL ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-405X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2018.10.003
• 发表日期: 2019
• 页码: 200-221
• 关键词: Relative age effect; Mutual funds; FUND PERFORMANCE; confidence

摘要

Many US states have a single cutoff date for school entry, meaning that some children are older than others when they begin kindergarten. We show that this variation in birth months is associated with differences in adult labor market outcomes in the mutual fund industry. Relatively older managers (i.e., those born just after the cutoff) make better stock selections, and their funds outperform their younger peers' funds by 0.48% per annum. This difference is linked to increased confidence. Survey respondents judge relatively older managers as appearing more confident in photographs, and these managers display more confident behavior: making larger bets, window dressing their holdings less, and securing more fund flows conditional on performance. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.