Fund management fees: the role of industry competition and investor sentiment

Abstract

Abstract This article analyzes the influence of industry competition and investor sentiment on the likelihood of change in investment fund management fees in Brazil. Due to the wide variety of existing funds, with various characteristics and objectives, there may be significant differences in the fees observed. Thus, it is worth analyzing the factors that influence the amount of fund management fees charged, since the literature highlights that the payment of fees is related to fund performance. Also, it is observed that the Brazilian fund industry, despite having a large number of available funds, is still concentrated in few management firms, which is an indication that there is a low competition level. In practical terms, this investigation may be useful to investors in the fund selection process, since the management fee represents one of the main costs an investor faces when investing in this industry. The results point out the importance of adopting greater transparency in the disclosure of fees by financial institutions, since there are indications that the amounts charged are influenced by the characteristics of funds and investors. The methodology adopted involves Logit/Probit regression models, which had changes in the management fee as an explained variable and, as explanatory variables, the proxies of competition and investor sentiment, in addition to other control variables. It was observed that the investor sentiment proxy was significant in explaining the probability of change in management fees, mainly for setting higher fees. However, no statistical significance was observed for industry competition. This research innovates by analyzing the role of industry competition and investor sentiment on the probability of changing management fees, thus contributing to fill a gap found in the Brazilian national literature.