In early 2021, several stocks receiving attention from retail traders known as “meme stocks” soared in value. A primary source of information regarding these stocks is from the social media platform Reddit, specifically from a subreddit known as WallStreetBets (WSB).This paper investigates whether a simple and easily implementable trading strategy following the WallStreetBets (WSB) subreddit can produce alpha. We document no evidence this is the case. Though we do observe a positive relation between WSB submissions and abnormal trading volume, we find that a portfolio that goes long buy recommendations and short sell recommendations each day is not profitable on a risk-adjusted basis. Holding periods from one day to one year fail to produce alpha. These findings are robust to a variety of different portfolio formation strategies. Our results provide an early look at the data following the explosion of interest in social media inspired retail investing.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to estimate the performance of 188 mutual funds relative to the risk/return frontier accounting for the transaction costs of producing a portfolio of investments. Design/methodology/approach – The directional output distance function is used to estimate mutual fund performance. The method allows the data to define a frontier of return and risk accounting for the transaction costs associated with securities management and production of risky returns. Proxies for the transaction costs of producing a portfolio of securities include the turnover ratio, load, expense ratio, and net asset value. The estimates of mutual fund performance are bootstrapped to account for the unknown data generating process. By comparing each mutual fund’s performance relative to the capital market line the authors determine how the fund should adjust their portfolio in regard to risk and return in order to maximize the inefficiency adjusted Sharpe ratio. Findings – The bootstrapped estimates indicate that the average mutual fund could simultaneously expand return and contract risk by 3.2 percent if it were to operate on the efficient frontier. After projecting each mutual fund’s return and risk to the efficient frontier the authors find that a majority of the mutual funds should reduce risk to be consistent with the capital market line. Originality/value – Many researchers have used data envelopment analysis to estimate a piecewise linear frontier of risk and return to measure mutual fund performance. To the authors’ knowledge the research is the first to use a twice-differentiable quadratic directional distance function to measure the managerial performance and risk/return tradeoff of mutual funds.

Purpose Professionals and academics alike hold polarized opinions about Bitcoin’s purpose and its fundamental value. This paper aims to describe Bitcoin’s unique features that make it such an intriguing asset and proposes a new way to consider Bitcoin and its underlying value. Design/methodology/approach In this paper the author discusses Bitcoin’s defining features that make it a unique asset. The author argues that Bitcoin should not be considered as a single purpose asset only, but rather as a new digital financial asset serving several functions, at least partially. The author discusses the role of Bitcoin in the traditional financial system, contrasts Bitcoin to gold, considers the implications of the continuance of expansionary policies on Bitcoin and discusses the impact of the emergence of cryptocurrencies as a new asset class on public policies. Findings In addition to functioning as a means of payment (at least partially) and a diversification tool, part of Bitcoin’s value proposition stems from its worth as a short position on modern expansionary monetary policies. Indeed, Bitcoin’s value should rise if expansionary monetary policies are maintained, amounting to a tool to short these policies, which should be considered in future attempts to value Bitcoin. Originality/value The author adds a new layer to the ongoing thought process by arguing of a function played by Bitcoin unaccounted for thus far by the literature. Additionally, the author describes the features and mechanisms, allowing Bitcoin to play that role.

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PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the consequences of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) on information asymmetry in the banking sector. Specifically, the authors look at whether specific firm or deal characteristic influence information asymmetry levels between insiders and investors, as well as the impact of recent regulation such as the Dodd–Frank Act.Design/methodology/approachThe authors decompose the M&A process into three periods (pre-announcement, negotiation and post-completion period) and document changes in the information asymmetry levels between insiders and investors through the M&A process. The authors capture changes in information asymmetry using six different spread-based information asymmetry measures.FindingsThe authors find evidence that information asymmetry increases following M&A announcement and decreases following deal completion. These findings are more pronounced for acquisitions involving a private target, all-cash deals and for mergers, as opposed to acquisition of assets. We find that overall, successful mergers improve the quality of the information environment, while failed deals degrade it. Additionally, the enactment of Dodd–Frank reduced the magnitude of the changes in information asymmetry during the M&A process. The results are important to regulators, policy makers and investors.Originality/valueTo authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that looks at the effect of bank M&As on information asymmetry as well as the effect of regulations on information asymmetry.