Scientific article
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English

Reassessing False Discoveries in Mutual Fund Performance: Skill, Luck, or Lack of Power? A Reply

Published inThe Journal of finance, p. 35
First online date2019
Abstract

Andrikogiannopoulou and Papakonstantinou (AP; 2019) conduct an inquiry into the bias of the False Discovery Rate (FDR) estimators of Barras, Scaillet, and Wermers (BSW; 2010). In this Reply, we replicate their results, then further explore the bias issue by (i) using different parameter values, and (ii) updating the sample period. Over the original period (1975-2006), we show how reasonable adjustments to the parameter choices made by BSW and AP results in a sizeable reduction in the bias relative to AP. Over the updated period (1975-2018), we further show that the performance of the FDR improves dramatically across a large range of parameter values. Specifically, we find that the probability of misclassifying a fund with a true alpha of 2% per year is 32% (versus 65% in AP). Our results, in combination with those of AP, indicate that the use of the FDR in finance should be accompanied by a careful evaluation of the underlying data generating process, especially when the sample size is small.

Keywords
  • False Discovery Rate
  • Multiple Testing
  • Mutual Fund Performance
Citation (ISO format)
BARRAS, Laurent, SCAILLET, Olivier, WERMERS, Russell R. Reassessing False Discoveries in Mutual Fund Performance: Skill, Luck, or Lack of Power? A Reply. In: The Journal of finance, 2019, p. 35. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.3439231
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Article (Published version)
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Additional URL for this publicationhttps://www.ssrn.com/abstract=3439231
Journal ISSN0022-1082
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