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Strategic (Inconsistent) Disclosures and Sophisticated Investors: Evidence from Hedge Funds

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Recent SEC regulations require that qualified hedge fund advisers provide their investors with narrative disclosures of their business and operations. We find that 40% of these disclosures omit or de-emphasize information regarding advisers' operational and investment risks when compared to other sources of public information. Funds with such “inconsistencies” are associated with predictably lower fund performance but do not differ in their fund flows, flow-performance relation, ownership structure, or management fees. These results are consistent with investors being subject to limited strategic thinking, which prevents them from fully unraveling the implications of strategic omissions. This, in turn, contributes to advisers' successful use of discretion to de-emphasize information with adverse performance implications. Our findings suggest that information processing frictions can facilitate nondisclosure, even in markets with sophisticated investors.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)923-978
Number of pages56
JournalJournal of Accounting Research
Volume64
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2026

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 The Author(s). Journal of Accounting Research published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Chookaszian Accounting Research Center at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  1. SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities
    SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities

Keywords

  • enforcement
  • financial regulation
  • hedge funds
  • inconsistent disclosure
  • limited strategic thinking
  • sophisticated investors

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