Mutual Funds

An authoritative, must-read guide to making more informed decisions about mutual funds

Providing a balance of theory and application, this authoritative book will enable you to evaluate the various performance and risk attributes of mutual funds. It covers a broad range of topics, including understanding the advantages and disadvantages of mutual funds, evaluating stock/bond allocations within fund portfolios, assessing fund diversification risk, measuring fund returns and risk, and making fund buy/sell decisions.

While informative chapters combine clear summaries of existing research with practical guidelines for mutual fund analysis, step-by-step decision checklists guide you through the selection of various mutual funds.

• Puts the risks and rewards of mutual fund investing in perspective
• Skillfully examines how to select and evaluate the best mutual funds
• Outlines mutual fund service advantages and disadvantages
• Discusses the long- and short-term effectiveness of mutual funds

Covering major theoretical and management issues in mutual fund analysis and portfolio management, this book is an authoritative guide.

I. Mutual Funds: Nature, Regulation, and Costs.

Chapter One: The Nature of Mutual Funds by (Conrad Ciccotello).

Attributes of the Open-End Mutual Fund.

The Board of Directors.

Liquidity.

All Equity Capital Structure.

Portfolio Diversification.

Professional Management.

Investor Services.

Mutual Funds and the Competitive Environment.

Employer Sponsored Retirement Plans.

After-Tax Accounts.

References.

About The Author.

Chapter Two: Mutual Fund Regulation and Issues by (Conrad Ciccotello).

Historical Perspective.

Regulation of Open-End Funds.

Recent Regulatory Issues in Open-End Funds.

NAV Pricing and Trading Policies.

Fund Pricing and the (Late) Trading Scandal.

Current Regulatory Issues in Funds.

Board Governance.

Fees.

Performance Reporting.

References.

About The Author.

Chapter Three: The Economics of Mutual Funds by (David M. Smith).

Size and structure of the mutual fund industry.

Mutual fund creation and mortality.

Scale economies: Expenses and fees.

Scale Diseconomies: Fund Returns.

Benefits of mutual fund investing to fund shareholders.

Diversification.

Professional portfolio management.

Ready access to asset classes and market sectors.

Drawbacks of mutual fund investing.

Persistent high fees in some families.

Underperformance relative to index funds.

Tax inefficiency.

Inadequate disclosure.

Financial barriers to mutual fund investing and redemption.

Mutual fund governance and agency problems.

Fund family marketing and cross-subsidization.

Conclusions.

References.

About The Author.

Chapter Four: Mutual Fund Fees and Expenses by (David M. Smith).

Loads.

Expenses.

Management Fees.

Rule 12b-1 Fees.

“Other” Expenses within the Expense Ratio.

The Load Versus Expense Relation.

Distribution Channel.

ETFs and Closed-End Mutual Funds.

Taxes.

Fees and Expenses Internationally.

Charges Not Included in the Expense Ratio.

Partitioning Actively Managed Mutual Fund Fees Based on Alpha and Beta. Separation.

Conclusions.

References.

About The Author.

II. The Realities and Analogies of Investing.

Chapter Five: How Financial Markets Work by (Larry E. Swedroe).

How Markets Set Prices.

Point Spreads and Random Errors.

Examining the Evidence.

An Efficient Market.

How Stock Prices Are Set.

Battle of the Discount Stores.

The Financial Equivalent of the Point Spread.

Individual Investors.

Institutional Investors.

The Moral of the Tale.

Great Companies Do Not Make High-Return Investments.

Small Companies versus Large Companies.

Why Great Earnings Don’t Translate Into Great Investment Returns.

The Moral of the Tale.

For Every Buyer There Must Be a Seller.

The Moral of the Tale.

References.

About The Author.

Chapter Six: Active Versus Passive Investing by (Larry E. Swedroe).

Whose Interests Do They Have at Heart?

When Even the Best Aren’t Likely to Win the Game.

The Evidence.

Lots of Counterproductive Activity.

The Moral of the Tale.

Why Is Persistent Outperformance So Hard to Find?

Conclusions.

Investment Graffiti.

The Death of Equities.

The Great Depression of 1990.

Dow 36,000.

The Value of Stock Market Forecasts.

Even if Your Crystal Ball Was Clear.

Conclusions.

Outfoxing the Box.

The Moral of the Tale.

Appendix: Investment Vehicle Recommendations.

References.

About The Author.

III. Fund Types and Comparative Performance, Efficient Markets, Asset Allocation, and Morningstar Analysis.

Chapter Seven: Efficient Markets and Mutual Fund Investing: The Advantages of Index Funds by (Burton Malkiel).

The Justification for Using Index Funds.

The Evidence from U.S. Index Funds.

The Evidence in Favor of Passive Management in World Financial Markets.

Active vs. Passive Management in the Bond Market.

Costs are Important Determinants of Net Returns.

Mutual Funds vs. ETFs.

Stock Market Returns vs. Investor Returns.

Style or Factor Tilts in Mutual Funds.

Conclusions.

References.

About The Author.

Chapter Eight: Asset Allocation: Design and Care of Portfolios by (William J. Bernstein).

The Policy Allocation.

Rebalancing.

Strategic Asset Allocation.

References.

About The Author.

Chapter Nine: The Morningstar Approach to Mutual Fund Analysis – Part I by (Don Phillips and Paul D. Kaplan).

The Cycle of Fear and Greed.

Risk Management.

Approaches to Portfolio Construction.

Tools for Analyzing Funds.

Morningstar Category.

Mutual Fund Analysis Tools.

Returns-Based Analysis.

Total Returns.

Sample Fund Comparison—Historical Performance.

Risk and Risk-Adjusted Performance Measures.

Modern Portfolio Theory Statistics.

Beta.

Alpha.

R-Squared.

Best-Fit Index.

Sample Fund Comparison – Risk and Risk-Adjusted Performance Measures.

The Morningstar Rating^TM for Funds.

Risk- and Cost-Adjusted Performance.

Overall and Period-Specific Ratings.

How to Use the Star Rating.

How Not to Use the Star Rating.

Sample Fund Comparison – Star Rating.

Conclusions.

About The Authors.

Chapter Ten: The Morningstar Approach to Mutual Fund Analysis – Part II by (Don Phillips and Paul D. Kaplan).

Holdings-Based Analysis.

Asset Allocation.

Stock Portfolio Analysis.

Income, Costs, and Taxes.

Yield.

Loads.

Expense Ratio.

Tax Analysis.

Qualitative Analysis.

Stewardship Grade^SM.

Morningstar Fund Analyst Picks^SM.

Analyst Research Report.

Conclusions.

About The Authors.

Chapter Eleven: Building a Portfolio of Mutual Funds: A Morningstar Approach by (Don Phillips and Paul D. Kaplan).

Approaches to Portfolio Construction.

Fund Selection.

Domestic Large-Cap Stocks.

Domestic Small/Mid-Cap Stocks.

Foreign Stocks.

Domestic Bonds.

Portfolio 1 – A Less-Diversified Approach.

Portfolio 2 – A Well-Balanced Approach.

Analysis of the Portfolios.

Asset Allocation.

Style Diversification.

Stock Sector.

World Regions.

Stock Stats.

Fees & Expenses.

Ongoing Maintenance.

Conclusions.

About The Authors.

Chapter Twelve: Performance of Actively Managed Versus Index Funds: The Vanguard Case by (Edward Tower).

Introduction.

Methodology.

In Defense of Geometric Alpha.

The Tracking Indexes for the Old Funds.

Prowess of Style Jumping and Equity Choice for the Old Funds.

Prescient Style Jumping?

Alpha Fell.

How have the young funds performed?

Did R² Predict Performance (Including Young Funds)?

Is the Past Prologue? Did Past Performance Predict Future Performance?

Did a Combination of R² and Past Alpha Predict Performance?

Did Morningstar Stars Predict?

Did Dan Wiener's Ratings Predict?

The Best Prediction Equation.

Is Wiener Right That Vanguard's Managed Funds are Better Than its Index Funds?

Conclusions.

References.

About The Author

Chapter Thirteen: Classic and Enhanced Index Funds: Performance and Issues by (Edward Tower).

Vanguard.

Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA).

DFA's Feeder and Master Funds.

DFA's Core Portfolios.

DFA: Other Aspects.

WisdomTree's Approach to Fundamental Indexation.

Some Evaluations of Fundamental Indexation.

Style Analysis to Compare Vanguard and DFA.

Recent Performance of DFA Funds.

The Tracking Portfolio with Long and Short Positions in Tracking Index.

Domestic DFA Over the Entire CRSP Horizon.

International DFA over the entire CRSP horizon.

DFA's Core Portfolios.

Additional DFA Costs.

DFA Summary.

How Do These Alphas Differ from Tower and Yang Alphas?

WisdomTree Versus Vanguard: Which is Better?

WisdomTree Summary.

Conclusions.

Note.

References.

About The Author.

Chapter Fourteen: Mutual Funds Versus Exchange-Traded Funds by (Gary L. Gastineau).

A Brief History of ETFs.

Portfolio Trading and Stock Index Future Contracts.

Index Participation Shares (IPS).

Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE) Index Participations (TIPs).

Supershares.

Standard & Poor's Depository Receipts (SPDRS).

World Equity Benchmark Shares (WEBS) – Renamed iShares MSCI Series – and Other Products Called ETFs.

How Open End Portfolio ETFs Work.

Shareholder Protection.

Tax Efficiency.

Improving ETFs.

ETF and Mutual Fund Comparative Economics.

Conclusions.

References.

About The Author.

IV. Mutual Funds at the Crossroads.

Chapter Fifteen: The Challenge to Mutual Fund Stewardship by (John C. Bogle).

Challenge to Stewardship.

Industry Structure and Scandals.

Misaligned Interests.

Market Timing.

Conflict of Interest in Fund Fees.

Asset Growth.

Marketing Focus—We Make What Will Sell.

Market Returns versus Fund and Investor Returns.

Fund Stewardship.

1. Fund Costs–Management Fees and Operating Expense Ratios.

2. Portfolio Turnover.

3. Equity Diversification.

4. Marketing Orientation.

5. Advertising.

6. Shelf Space.

7. Sales Loads.

8. Shareholder Stability.

9. Limitations on Fund Size.

10. Experience and Stability of Portfolio Managers.

11. Insider Ownership.

12. Organization of Managers.

Sources.

References.

About the Author

Chapter Sixteen: Identifying Mutual Fund Stewardship by (John A. Haslem).

Five Dimensions of Analysis.

1. Return, Risk, and Risk/Return Performance.

2. Diversification Risk.

3. Management and Culture.

4. Morningstar's Stewardship Grades.

5. Bogle's Stewardship Quotient.

Complements to Bogle's Approach.

Stewardship Fund (or Not).

Conclusions.

References.

About The Author.

Chapter Seventeen: Normative Transparency of Mutual Fund Disclosure by (John A. Haslem).

Disclosure as an Effective Regulatory Tool.

Normative Transparency of Disclosure.

Disclosure Template.

Normative Transparency and the Expense Ratio.

Current SEC Expense Ratio.

New Total Expense Ratio.

12b-1 Fees and Multiple Share Classes.

Transaction Cost Issues.

Conclusions: Normative Disclosure, the Total Expense Ratio, and Regulatory. Change.

References.

About The Author.

Chapter Eighteen: A Design for the Mutual Funds of the Future by (John C. Bogle).

The Vanguard Vision.

A Design for the Future.

1. A Fair Shake for Fund Shareholders.

2. Serving Investors for a Lifetime.

3. Long-Term Investment Horizons for Fund Managers.

4. Serving Long-Term Investors.

5. Fund Investors in the Driver's Seat.

Conclusions.

Sources.

References.

About the Author.

JOHN A. HASLEM, PHD, is Professor Emeritus of Finance at the University of Maryland. He also served as the founding academic affairs dean and founding chair of the finance department. Haslem received the Panhellenic Association's "Outstanding Teacher Award" for his mutual funds course—the first in the curriculum of a school of business. His research has appeared in numerous leading finance journals, several books, and over 100 research articles with a primary focus on mutual fund analysis, regulation, and disclosure.

Despite recent turmoil in the financial markets, the mutual fund industry continues to be one of the extraordinary growth stories in the history of American financial markets. In 1984, net mutual fund assets totaled $370 million. Today, they are at $10.1 trillion. A major reason for their popularity is that mutual funds provide even the smallest investors with investment performance and investment alternatives, objectives, and services traditionally reserved for institutional and large individual investors. However, mutual funds also have numerous shortcomings that call for fund stewardship of shareholders, trans-parency in disclosure, investor education, and investor-oriented regulation.

As part of the Robert W. Kolb Series in Finance, Mutual Funds brings together some of the finest minds in academia, investment management, and mutual fund management to provide the nature and important elements of mutual funds.

Covering major theoretical and management issues in fund analysis and portfolio management, it is an authoritative guide to understanding mutual funds and getting the most out of your investments in them. The authors first provide an overview of the nature, structure, and services of open-end mutual funds, introducing the characteristics of an open-end fund and how they compare to those of alternative investment vehicles. They then explain how the financial markets really work and how prices are set—offering some well-researched cautions about active versus passive portfolio management. The authors go on to discuss specific strategies for investing in mutual funds, making a strong case for index fund investing, and also compare the advantages and disadvantages of mutual funds versus exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The book concludes with a hard look at the recent scandals in the mutual fund industry and offers sound advice on how to evaluate whether the managers of the funds you own are truly acting as trustees of other people's money.

The open-end mutual fund offers investors a range of desirable features, including liquidity, diversification, professional management, and more. For anyone who wants to make more informed decisions about choosing funds, this collection of in-depth contributions will prove to be an essential guide.

Mutual Funds

Portfolio Structures, Analysis, Management, and Stewardship

John A. Haslem, Editor

Kolb Series In Finance

Essential Perspectives

Mutual Funds

The Robert W. Kolb Series in Finance is an unparalleled source of information dedicated to the most important issues in modern finance. Each book focuses on a specific topic in the field of finance and contains contributed chapters from both respected academics and experienced financial professionals. As part of the Robert W. Kolb Series in Finance, the goal of Mutual Funds is to provide you with an authoritative guide to making more informed decisions about this cost-effective investment vehicle.

Using a balance of theory and practical application, this book explores the approaches that will further improve, and lessen the hidden pitfalls, of mutual fund investing. Mutual Funds covers a broad range of topics, including understanding the advantages and disadvantages of mutual funds, evaluating stock/bond allocations within fund portfolios, assessing fund diversification risk, measuring fund returns and risk, and making fund buy/sell decisions. The expert authors put the risks and rewards of mutual fund investing in perspective, examining how to select and evaluate the best mutual funds, mutual fund service advantages and disadvantages, and the long- and short-term effectiveness of mutual funds.

A complete resource and authoritative guide, Mutual Funds will help make the often difficult fund decision process easier—and much more rewarding.