The performance and market timing ability of Chinese mutual funds

We examine the performance and market timing ability of actively managed Chinese stock mutual funds and investigate how fund characteristics and fund flows relate to performance and market timing ability. Based on daily return data and several four-factor models, only about 7.5% of these funds have statistically significant risk-adjusted abnormal returns and even fewer demonstrate market timing ability. After controlling for fund size, management fees, average amount, and volatility of fund flows, older funds show higher Sharpe ratios. Our evidence also reveals the volatility of fund flows has an inverted-U shape relationship with fund performance.