Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis Vol. 57 No. 8 2022
Private Funds for Ordinary People: Fees, Flows, and Performance
Abstract
We study private funds available to retail investors of modest wealth. Our sample covers unlisted real estate investment trusts (REITs) for superior cash flow and fee data. Fee structures are skewed toward performance-insensitive components of the compensation contract, particularly front-end loads. The average unlisted REIT underperforms the listed benchmark by 6.5% per year, 5% of which is attributable to fees. Unlisted REITs underperform institutional-grade private equity real estate funds. Fees paid to investment advisors also explain fundraising success, while past performance does not. The underperformance is consistent with the consequences of managerial conflicts of interest, inadequate governance mechanisms, opaque disclosure, and poor investment advice.
- DOI
- 10.1017/s0022109022000242
- Volume
- 57
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 3252-3280
- Language
- en
- Sources
- bibtex:phds-export.bib crossref openalex