By Eugene F. Fama and Kenneth R. French
William F. Sharpe has a great article in the January/February 1991 issue of The Financial Analysts Journal (Vol. 47, No.1, pages 7-9). The title is "The Arithmetic of Active Management." It should be required reading for academics and investment professionals alike.
EFF/KRF: Our new paper, Luck versus Skill in the Cross Section of Mutual Fund Alpha Estimates, takes another look at the performance of mutual funds. Bootstrap simulations produce no evidence that any managers have enough skill to cover the costs they impose on investors. If there are managers with sufficient skill to cover costs, they are hidden among the mass of managers with insufficient skill.
KRF: If you are looking for historical returns on our three factors and many other interesting portfolios, you can find them on my web site.


Behavioral Finance (1)
Diversification (1)
Economic Policy (4)
Financial Markets (2)
Hedge Funds (2)
Investments (3)
Market Efficiency (5)
Eugene Fama and Ken French are members of the Board of Directors of the general partner of, and provide consulting services to Dimensional Fund Advisors LP.