On timing ability in Australian managed funds

Abstract

This paper investigates the timing abilities of Australian managed fund managers. To examine timing abilities, the cross-sectional bootstrap approach is adopted to determine whether timing ability is due to skill or luck. Based on three alternative timing measures, we find that top-ranked Australian fund managers have genuine timing abilities. In addition, the poor timing ability with bottom-ranked funds is not likely to be due to luck either, implying that the market exposure of some Australian managed funds is mistakenly adjusted when the stock market improves.