Swing pricing and fragility in open-end mutual funds

How to avert fragility in open-end mutual funds? In recent years, markets have observed an innovation that changed the way open-end funds are priced. Alternative pricing rules (known as swing pricing) adjust funds’ net asset values to pass on funds’ trading costs to transacting...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jin, D, Kacperczyk, M, Kahraman, B, Suntheim, F
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: Oxford University Press 2021
Description
Summary:How to avert fragility in open-end mutual funds? In recent years, markets have observed an innovation that changed the way open-end funds are priced. Alternative pricing rules (known as swing pricing) adjust funds’ net asset values to pass on funds’ trading costs to transacting shareholders. Using unique data on investor-level transactions in U.K. corporate bond funds, we show that swing pricing eliminates the first-mover advantage arising from the traditional pricing rule and significantly reduces outflows during market stress. Swing pricing also reduces concavity in the flow-performance relationship and dilution in fund performance.