Another Look at Portfolio Turnover and Mutual Fund Performance

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the factors that correlated with mutual fund portfolio turnover using the variables that are associated with studies on portfolio turnover. Most studies on portfolio turnover considered it as an independent variable in explaining the performance of mutual funds. We take a different approach and treat turnover as the dependent variable. Our regression analysis show that the portfolio manager’s tenure explains the variability in portfolio turnover. We also find that the one-year portfolio returns and assets under management strongly correlates with portfolio turnover.