What Makes Fund Managers Leave Their Jobs Faster?

Abstract

We examine fund managers’ mobility across different funds and the factors associated with their moving to new posts. Based on a comprehensive and unique dataset of open‐ended funds of the booming Chinese mutual fund industry, we model the duration of a fund manager's service as a time‐to‐event counting process and examine how the prevailing market conditions, the manager's performance and the risk profile of the fund determine how long the manager will remain in post. Our study establishes that managerial performance and rising rather than falling markets are the two main factors that make managers less likely to remain in their posts. In contrast, the riskier the profile of the fund with respect to the market, the less likely it is that a manager will move. When all factors are considered, it appears that open‐ended fund managers leave their posts when offered better employment prospects rather than when confronted by market adversity. Our study provides a novel insight into the optimization of investment decisions and encourages regulators to scrutinize the disclosure of appropriate information to investors regarding fund manager changes.