Title: The importance of information technologies in the ability of fund managers to time the market

Authors: Luis Ferruz, Maria Vargas

Addresses: Faculty of Economics and Business Studies, Department of Accountancy and Finance, University of Zaragoza, C/ Gran Via, 2 – 50.005, Zaragoza, Spain. ' Faculty of Economics and Business Studies, Department of Accountancy and Finance, University of Zaragoza, C/ Gran Via, 2 – 50.005, Zaragoza, Spain

Abstract: This paper compares the performance results of Spanish mutual fund managers and the market timing results obtained using traditional measures and those obtained using measures that consider time variations in returns and risks by incorporating macroeconomic variables representative of Spanish business cycle. We demonstrate that the incorporation of such variables improves the explanatory power of the different models analysed, thus confirming the existence of a relationship between said variables and expected investment fund returns. We, therefore, emphasise and analyse the importance of using information systems, such as the balanced scorecard, which permit a management in real time of that relationship.

Keywords: information technology; performance; Spanish mutual funds; time variations; returns; risks; Spain; business cycle; macroeconomic variables; investment fund returns; balance scorecard; real time management; electronic finance.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEF.2008.016885

International Journal of Electronic Finance, 2008 Vol.2 No.1, pp.70 - 81

Published online: 26 Jan 2008 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article