Portfolio Managers on the Colombian Open-End Mutual Fund Industry: Performance, downside risk and persistence

Abstract

This study explores whether Colombian mutual funds deliver abnormal risk-adjusted returns and delves on their persistence. Through traditional and downside risk measures based on Modern Portfolio Theory and Lower Partial Moments, this article evaluates the performance of 146 mutual funds categorized by investment type and fund manager. This assessment suggests that mutual funds underperform the market and deliver real returns. Similarly, bond funds underperform equity funds, and investment trusts underperform brokerage firms as managers. Furthermore, bond funds and funds managed by investment trusts exhibit short-term performance persistence. These results suggest that investors may pursue passive investment strategies, and that they must analyze past performance to invest in the short-term.