ATTRIBUTES AND PERFORMANCE OF FUND MANAGEMENT COMPANIES: EVIDENCE FROM THE LARGEST SHARIAH-COMPLIANT FUND MARKETS

Background and Purpose: The study examines the effect of fund management companies' (FMCs) attributes on FMC performance in the four countries with the largest number of Islamic funds from 2007 to 2018. Methodology: The study uses pooled regression analysis on 70 FMCs, comprising Saudi Arabia (25), Malaysia (20), Indonesia (14) and Pakistan (11). The sample is further divided into FMC with Islamic funds focused (IFFMC) and conventional funds focused (CFFMC). Findings: Only past flows are insignificantly related to performance. Both proxies for size positively relate to returns, but only in the case of Saudi Arabia. In Pakistan, performance improves with assets under management (AUM), while in Malaysia and Indonesia, an increasing number of funds negatively relate to performance. A relatively high number of better performing funds positively affect FMC and vice versa. Additionally, there are significant differences in the factors determining IFFMC and CFFMC performance, with the number of funds and AUM positively affecting the performance of IFFMC but not CFFMC. Poorly performing funds adversely affect CFFMC but not IFFMC. Contributions: This study provides useful information for investors using a top-down approach to FMC then fund selection, and for managers in evaluating the impact of factors like FMC scale and scope on performance. The impact of these attributes differs between CFFMCs and IFFMCs which lies in the performance differences commonly observed, at the FMC and fund level.