Recent Working Paper: Greenwashing with Style: The Effect of ESG-Related Fund Name Changes on Fund Flows, with A. Cochardt and S. Heller Main Conferences/Seminars: 2022 Financial Markets and Corporate Governance conference, University of St. Gallen, Cornell University, 2020 Davos finance research meeting. This paper examines whether mutual funds engage in greenwashing by changing their names to take advantage of the socially responsible investing styles. We study 2,292 ESG-related fund name changes and their effects on fund inflows and portfolio holdings. Following inclusion of ESG term in their name, mutual funds experience an average cumulative abnormal inflow of 13.87% over the one year period. On average, post-name-change funds’ turnover increases and ESG metrics improve, suggesting that funds deliver on their new label’s promise. Retail investors direct abnormal flows to ESG-rebranded funds irrespective of ESG score improvements, which makes them susceptible to potential greenwashing. Birth order and fund manager’s trading behavior: Role of sibling rivalry, with V. Agarwal and A. Cochardt Main Conferences/Seminars: 2022 ABFER, FIRRM Joint Finance Seminar, Geneva Finance Research Institute, University of Zürich, University of St. Gallen This paper investigates the role of birth order on managerial behavior using rich data on familial background of US mutual fund managers. We find that managers who are born later in the sibling hierarchy take on more investment risks relative to first-born managers. Later-born managers deviate more from their peers and their funds’ benchmarks, trade more actively, take extreme style bets, and report more civil or regulatory violations compared to lower-birth-order managers. Taken together, our findings suggest that birth order-induced risk-taking originates from sibling rivalry for limited parental resources during childhood, shapes trading behavior, and extends beyond portfolio management. In Military We Trust: The Effect of Managers’ Military Background on Mutual Fund Flows, with A. Cochardt and S. Heller (Revise and Resubmit in the Journal of Financial Economics) Link to paper Main Conferences: NBER SI 2019 Asset Pricing, SFI 2019, Cologne Colloquium on Financial Markets 2019
Media Coverage: citywireusa Awards: American Association of Individual Investors outstanding paper award 2019 In short: This paper shows that trust-building characteristics of fund managers affect purchase decisions of mutual fund investors. We exploit variation in fund managers' prior affiliations with the well trusted U.S. military institution and relate it to fund flows. Results show that funds with ex-military managers receive significantly higher flows and grow by 6.5% p.a. faster relative to other funds. Selected Published Papers: Solvency Risk Premia and the Carry Trades (2019) Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions & Money, 60, 50-67. (single-authored) Currency momentum, carry trade and market illiquidity (2016) Journal of Banking and Finance, 7, 1-11. (single-authored) Other publications: Google Scholar
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