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Are enhanced index funds enhanced?

Edwin J. Elton, Martin J. Gruber, André de Souza

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Abstract

Abstract One of the major trends in the mutual fund industry is the rising importance of passive investing. One of the responses of the investment community to this challenge has been the creation of enhanced return index funds. In this paper, we examine the performance of enhanced index funds and find that they outperform index funds when we analyze both pre‐expense performance (management ability) and post‐expense performance (investor returns). However, when we use any of several criteria that have been proposed for picking the best fund from among those following some index, index funds outperform enhanced index funds.

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What this paper is about

Abstract One of the major trends in the mutual fund industry is the rising importance of passive investing. One of the responses of the investment community to this challenge has been the creation of enhanced return index funds. In this paper, we examine the performance of enhanced index funds and find that they outperform index funds when we analyze both pre‐expense performance (management ability) and post‐expense performance (investor returns). However, when we use any of several criteria that have been proposed for picking the best fund from among those following some index, index funds outperform enhanced index funds.

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Available abstract

Abstract One of the major trends in the mutual fund industry is the rising importance of passive investing. One of the responses of the investment community to this challenge has been the creation of enhanced return index funds. In this paper, we examine the performance of enhanced index funds and find that they outperform index funds when we analyze both pre‐expense performance (management ability) and post‐expense performance (investor returns). However, when we use any of several criteria that have been proposed for picking the best fund from among those following some index, index funds outperform enhanced index funds.

Key concepts: Index fund, Passive management, Index (typography), Fund of funds, Business, Closed-end fund, Open-end fund, Investment (military)

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