Risk-adjusted return, fund manager efficacy, and fund characteristics – An inquiry

Abstract In this study, I examine the risk-adjusted return of mutual funds in India. A data set of 4220 mutual funds is used for the analysis. Sharpe ratio, a metric of risk-adjusted return (Sharpe, 1994) and Information ratio, a metric of outperformance than a fund’s benchmark (Goodwin, 1998) were analyzed. Regression analysis is used to estimate the impact of fund characteristics like fund category, fund type, fund access type, corpus size on the dependent variables i.e., Sharpe Ratio and the Information Ratio. All the funds underperformed in both the Sharpe ratio and Information ratio. Liquid funds found worst. Fund type and corpus size do not impact fund performance. Fund access type was found to be significant on fund performance. The results add to the literature by examining the post-pandemic period.