Mutual fund herding in response to hedge fund herding and the impacts on stock prices

We examine whether mutual funds and hedge funds herd after each other and the associated impacts on stock prices. We find strong evidence that mutual funds herd into or out of stocks following the herd of hedge funds: mutual funds' herding measure is positively related to last quarter's hedge fund herding. In contrast, hedge funds do not follow mutual funds. Mutual funds' following of hedge funds leads to a sharp price reversal in the next quarter, whereas hedge fund herding itself does not destabilize prices. Further, a mutual fund's following intensity increases with its past performance. The top 30% of mutual funds most active in following hedge funds do so persistently and drastically increase their herding subsequent to intense herding by hedge funds. They are also the group driving the above price reversals. Overall, our evidence is consistent with the reputational incentives of mutual fund herding and the associated price destabilization effects. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.