Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-03T01:24:46.588Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Day Trading International Mutual Funds: Evidence and Policy Solutions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

Abstract

Daily pricing of mutual funds provides liquidity to investors but is subject to valuation errors due to the inability to observe synchronous, fair security prices at the end of the trading day. This mayhurt fund investor if speculatior strategiclly seek to exploit mispricing or if the net flow of money into funds is correlated with these pricing eerrors. We show that mutual funds are exposed to speculative traders by using a simple day trading rule that yields large profits in a sample of 391 U.S.-based open-end international mutual funds. We propose a simple “fair pricing” mechanism that alleviated these concerns by correcting net asset values for stale prices. We argue that fund companies and regulatiors should look at alternatives that allow funds to offer fair prciing to investors, which, in turn, decreases the need to resort to monitoring for day traders and redemption penalties.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © School of Business Administration, University of Washington 2001

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

About Mutual Fund Investing at Schwab. available at http://www.schwab.com (1999).Google Scholar
Chalmers, J. M. R.; Edelen, R. M.; and Kadlec, G.. “Predictable Changes in NAV: The Wildcard Option in Transacting Mutual Fund Shares”. Working Paper, Univ. of Oregon (1999).Google Scholar
Chance, D., and Hemler, M.. “The Perfomance of Professional Market Timers: Daily Evidence from Executed Strategies”. Working Paper, Virginia Tech (1999).Google Scholar
Craig, A.; Dravid, A.; and Richardson, M.. “Market Efficienty around the Clock: Some Supporting Evidence Using Foreign Based Derivatives.” Journal of Financial Economices, 39 (1995), 161180.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edelen, R. M., and Warner, J.. “Aggregate Price Effects of Institutional Trading: a Study of Mutual Fund Flow and Market Returns”. Jounal of Financial Economics, 59 (2001), 195220.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eun, C. S., and Shim, S.. “International Transmission of Stock Market Movements”. Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 24 (1989), 241256.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
French, K., and Roll, R.. “Stock Return Variances: the Arrival of Information and the Reaction of Traders”. Jounal of Financial Economices, 17 (1986), 526.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Giudice, J.Custodians Meeting New Challenges: Foreign Markets Present Problems”. Pensions and Investments, 22 (1994), 1934.Google Scholar
Greene, J. T., and Hodges, C. W.. “The Dilution Impact of Daily Fund Flows on Open-End Mutual Funds”. Working Paper, Georgia State Univ. (2000).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hamao, Y.; Masulis, R. W.; and Ng, V.. “Correlations in Price Changes and Volatility Across Internationa Stock Markets”. Review of Financial Studies, 3 (1990), 281307.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hilliard, J. E.The Relation Between Equity Indices on World Exchanges”. Journal of Finance, 34 (1979), 103114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Investment Company Act. 17 C.F.R. §270 (1940).Google Scholar
Karolyi, A., and Stulz, R.. “Why Do Markets Move Together? An Investigation of U.S.-Japan Stock Return Co-Movements”. Journal of Finance, 51 (1996), 951986.Google Scholar
King, M. A., and Wadwhani, S.. “Transmission of Volatility Between Stock Markets”. Review of Financial Studies, 3 (1990), 533.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lo, A. W., and MacKinaly, A. C.. “Stock Market Prices Do Not Follow Random Walks: Evidence From a Simple Specification Tesst.” Review of Financial Studies, 1 (1988) 4166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Neumark, D.; Tinsley, P. A.; and Tosini, S.. “After-Hours Stock Prices and Post-Crash Hang-Overs”. Journal of Finance, 46 (1991), 159178.Google Scholar
Newey, W., and West, K.. “A Simple, Positive Semi-Definite, Heteroskedasticity and Autocorrelation Consistent Covarinance Matrix”. Econometrica, 55 (1987) 703708.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vanguard International Value Fund Prospectua, available at http://www.vanguard.com (1999)Google Scholar
Wyatt, E. “The Market Turmoil: The Funds; Fidelity Invokes Fine Print and Angers Some Customers”. New York Times (10 31, 1997), D6.Google Scholar
Zitzewitz, E.Daily Mutual Fund Net Asset Value Predictability and The Associated Trading Profit Oportunity”. Woking Paper, Sloan School of Management, MIT (2000).Google Scholar