Final published version
Licence: CC BY: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Bear Factor and Hedge Fund Performance
AU - Ho, Thang
AU - Kagkadis, Anastasios
AU - Wang, George
PY - 2025/3/26
Y1 - 2025/3/26
N2 - We find that hedge funds that have low (negative) return covariance with the return of a bear spread portfolio (i.e., Bear factor) after controlling for the market factor, earn significantly higher returns in the cross-section. The return spread does not reflect bear risk premia; instead, it represents a low risk-high return relation. We decompose the Bear factor into different components to identify the one driving the bear beta effect on fund performance and show that the return spread can be attributed to the differential ability of low bear beta funds to reduce their market exposures when the market declines and the VIX increases (i.e., downside timing). Further analysis suggests that these fund managers are more skilled at selling overpriced insurance during volatile market periods. Overall, we propose a simple option-implied predictor of hedge fund returns and unravel a novel economic mechanism that associates the Bear factor exposure with fund performance.
AB - We find that hedge funds that have low (negative) return covariance with the return of a bear spread portfolio (i.e., Bear factor) after controlling for the market factor, earn significantly higher returns in the cross-section. The return spread does not reflect bear risk premia; instead, it represents a low risk-high return relation. We decompose the Bear factor into different components to identify the one driving the bear beta effect on fund performance and show that the return spread can be attributed to the differential ability of low bear beta funds to reduce their market exposures when the market declines and the VIX increases (i.e., downside timing). Further analysis suggests that these fund managers are more skilled at selling overpriced insurance during volatile market periods. Overall, we propose a simple option-implied predictor of hedge fund returns and unravel a novel economic mechanism that associates the Bear factor exposure with fund performance.
U2 - 10.1016/j.jempfin.2025.101611
DO - 10.1016/j.jempfin.2025.101611
M3 - Journal article
VL - 82
JO - Journal of Empirical Finance
JF - Journal of Empirical Finance
SN - 0927-5398
M1 - 101611
ER -