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Using a unique database of daily trading activity, the present study examines the ability of active Australian equity managers to earn superior risk-adjusted returns. We find evidence of superior trade performance, where performance is a function of stock size. Our findings indicate that active equity managers are able to successfully exploit private information more readily in stocks ranked 101-150 by market-cap, where the degree of analyst coverage, information flows and market efficiency are lower than for large-cap stocks. We also find evidence of manager specialization. Our evidence provides further support of the value of active investment management in Australian equities. Copyright The Authors Journal compilation (c) 2006 AFAANZ.

Abstract:This study examines the relationship between investment performance and concentration in active equity portfolios. Active management is dependent on the success of two important components in the investment process -stock selection skill and portfolio management. Our study documents a positive relationship between fund performance and portfolio concentration. The relationship is stronger for stocks in which active managers hold overweight positions, as well as for stocks outside the largest 50 stocks listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). We find more concentrated funds tend to be those implementing growth styles, having smaller aggregate assets under management, being institutions which are not affiliated with a bank or life-office entity, whose funds experience past period outflows, and who are benchmarked to narrower indexes than the S&P/ASX 300. JEL classification: G23Keywords: Portfolio concentration, investment performance, tracking error, active funds _____________________________________________________________________ Abstract:This study examines the relationship between investment performance and concentration in active equity portfolios. Active management is dependent on the success of two important components in the investment process -stock selection skill and portfolio management. Our study documents a positive relationship between fund performance and portfolio concentration. The relationship is stronger for stocks in which active managers hold overweight positions, as well as for stocks outside the largest 50 stocks listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). We find more concentrated funds tend to be those implementing growth styles, having smaller aggregate assets under management, being institutions which are not affiliated with a bank or life-office entity, whose funds experience past period outflows, and who are benchmarked to narrower indexes than the S&P/ASX 300. JEL classification: G23

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We study the informativeness of trades via discount and full-service retail brokers. We find that trades via full-service retail brokers are statistically and economically more informative than are trades via discount retail brokers. This finding holds in every year over the 12-year sample period and in various subsamples. We also find that past returns, volatility, and news announcements positively relate to the net volume of discount retail brokers, but these variables are unrelated to the net volume of full-service retail brokers. Our results suggest that broker type selection bias is an important consideration in studying individual investors’ trades.

The study examines the pervasiveness of eight well-documented anomalies in global equity markets for the Australian stock market. After partitioning stocks into three size categories (micro, small and big), we find that none of the eight anomalies are pervasive across size groups in either sorts or cross-sectional regressions. The existence of size, value, profitability, asset growth and accruals anomalies is primarily attributable to micro-cap stocks. Momentum and asset growth predict the expected returns of big stocks, but momentum does not predict the returns on micro stocks, and asset growth does not matter for small stocks. Contrarian returns are largely explained by stock size and value dimensions. Evidence for the earnings growth anomaly contradicts the growth extrapolation hypothesis. By looking at the hedge portfolio returns of anomalies in different regimes, we also show that many anomalies tend to exist in bear markets rather than bull markets. This evidence contradicts the risk-based explanations for the existence of anomalies.

This paper evaluates the market timing and security selection capabilities of Australian pooled superannuation funds over the eight-year period from January 1991 to December 1998. Evaluation of both components of investment performance is surprisingly scarce in the Australian literature despite active investment managers engaging in both market timing and security selection. The paper also evaluates performance for the three largest asset classes within diversified superannuation funds and their contribution to overall portfolio return. The importance of an accurately specified market portfolio proxy in the measurement of investment performance is demonstrated. This paper employs performance benchmarks that account for the multi-sector investment decisions of active investment managers in a manner that is consistent with their unique investment strategy. Consistent with U.S. literature, the empirical results indicate that Australian pooled superannuation funds do not exhibit significantly positive security selection or market timing skill.