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The smart money effect in mutual funds: the Portuguese case

Abstract:

In this article we analyze the investors' ability to select mutual funds, a phenomenon that is known as the smart money effect. The sample used concerns funds domiciled in Portugal for the 2003-2011 period. The empirical evidence suggests that investors had good skills when selecting mutual funds. When the market is in an upward (downward) phase, investors have the ability to select the funds in which to invest (disinvest) but they do not show the ability to choose the best funds to sell (buy). The intensity of the smart money effect seems also to depend on fund category and on the size of the funds.

Keywords:
smart money effect; mutual funds; financial markets efficiency; Portugal

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