Publication Type

Working Paper

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

11-2003

Abstract

There is ample evidence that past performance affects the trading decisions of individual investors. This paper looks at this issue using a detailed database of currency trading decisions of institutional investors. Past performance manifestly affects currency risk-taking in this group, but the sign and magnitude of the effect runs counter to much of the existing theory and evidence. There is no evidence whatsoever of disposition effects; rather, the dominant characteristic is aggressive risk reduction in the wake of losses. This effect is more prominent later in the year, and among older and more experienced funds. A modified version of the loss aversion model of Barberis, Huang and Santos (2001) offers the best hope of adequately accounting for the observed behavior.

Keywords

institutional investors, past performance, loss aversion

Discipline

Finance and Financial Management | Portfolio and Security Analysis

Research Areas

Finance

First Page

1

Last Page

40

Identifier

10.2139/ssrn.457741

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.457741

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