Effects of Market Segmentation and Bank Concentration on Mutual Fund Expenses and Returns: Evidence from Finland
研究芬兰共同基金市场，发现银行管理的基金和成立时间较长的基金收费更高，但投资者并未获得更高的风险调整后回报，暗示存在代理问题；同时，欧盟成员资格降低了市场分割并促进了竞争，使基金费用随时间下降。
Abstract A tremendous amount of research examines US mutual funds, but fund markets also thrive in other countries. However, research about these fast growing markets is lacking. This study addresses Finnish funds. Fast growth of the Finnish fund industry, strong bank dominance in the industry and recent EU membership make it an interesting market to examine. The Finnish fund market is also of particular interest since it had the fastest growth among the EU countries during 1996–2000. We find evidence that bank‐managed and older funds charge higher expenses but investors are not compensated for paying higher expenses with higher risk‐adjusted returns, suggesting a potential agency problem. Overall, Finnish fund expenses have decreased over time, consistent with EU membership reducing market segmentation and generating competition.