We study how changes in the structure of a brokers' transaction network affect the probability with which the returns and volume of the traded financial assets change significantly. We analyze how the dynamics of the brokers' transaction network are associated with the returns and volume observed in the Chilean stock market. To do this, we construct and validate an index that synthesizes the daily changes of the brokers' transaction network structure of equity market transactions. We find that the changes of this structure are significantly correlated with variables that describe the local and international economic-financial environments. In addition, changes in the brokers' transaction network structure are associated with a greater probability of positive shocks of more than two standard deviations in the stock exchange index return and total traded stock volume. These results suggest that the structure of the brokers' trading relations plays a role in determining the returns and volume of transactions in the Chilean stock market.

In the context of greater demand for corporate transparency, there is a growing pressure on boards to produce and communicate information to their investors and stakeholders. The current literature on integrated reporting shows that the provision of ESG information is a crucial factor that improves corporate governance by reducing agency problems. This issue is also critical in emerging economies, and particularly among Latin American firms. The concentration, opacity, and lack of evidence about ESG disclosure in less developed financial markets provide a promising environment to study the implications of board heterogeneity and ownership structure on strategic corporate decisions such as the disclosure of ESG indicators in developing economies. Using Tobit panel data models, we study how these factors affect the extent of ESG disclosure by Chilean listed firms. Our main results suggest that a board’s independence and gender diversity positively influence the extent of disclosure of ESG indicators. Our evidence helps firms concerned with strengthening their board’s features, investors that require screening firms’ ESG risk factors, and supports regulators’ decisions on setting norms regarding the extent of disclosure of ESG information by firms.

This paper studies the topology of the Chilean mutual fund industry using networks methods. With the physical positions of the local equity portfolios managed during 2003.01-2017.4, we analyze their connectivity structure in both the mutual funds’ bipartite network and their one-mode projection. We estimate network measures to examine the potential effects on the topology arising from changes in the industrial environment and changes in the mutual funds’ investment strategies in their overlapped portfolios. Our main results show that changes in the bipartite network and its one-mode projection are correlated with variables related to funds’ investment strategies and with industry-specific variables. In consequence, these elements are a new potential of disturbance in the financial network conformed by stocks and mutual funds. We contribute to the existing literature, improving the understanding of the aggregate behavior of a financial sector which despite its economic importance has attracted little attention from a systemic risk perspective.

This paper improves the understanding of heuristics in the choice of mutual funds. We analyze the effect of price‐quality relationship and anchors as heuristics on the evaluation of the willingness‐to‐invest. We perform two studies with graduate students who possess a medium–high level of financial literacy in Chile. In the first study, we find that willingness‐to‐invest increases (decreases) when subjects observe (do not observe) in the market a positive relationship between expense ratios (price) and service quality. In the second study, in the presence of an anchor, the reference price obtained by individuals from the market information loses relevance and the anchor effect predominates. Our results confirm that participants, as consumers of financial services, apply heuristics as groundwork for their investment decisions. These heuristics as a decision making process are useful but do not always lead to the choice of the lowest cost alternative with the highest possible service quality.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify elements of intentional herd behavior (HB), differentiating it from spurious, or unintentional HB. Design/methodology/approach Using a panel of 50 stocks belonging to 18 Chilean equity mutual funds between December 2002 and October 2009, with manually collected data regarding physical positions of monthly purchases and sales, the authors calculate the level of HB and, by applying panel regressions with fixed and random effects, analyze the factors that determine this behavior, classifying them as agency, information, efficiency and behavioral problems. Findings The research establishes that among Chilean equity mutual funds, there is a herding of 2.8 percent, implying that for 100 funds trading a certain stock, 53 go in the same direction and 47 in another. This effect increases during widespread market dips and when stocks become fashionable, attracting market attention. This behavior is not merely spurious, associated with variables that predict returns, but also has an intentional component, related to agency problems and information, and a behavioral component, related to investors’ biases and beliefs. Originality/value The paper is original because, despite existing evidence of herding in international markets, it has been little quantified or studied in emerging markets. In addition, the literature does not distinguish between spurious and intentional HB, nor does it test different hypotheses jointly to explain the phenomenon.