International Mutual Fund Performance: A Comparison

Abstract

Cumby and Glen examined the performance of a sample of fifteen internationally diversified mutual funds for the period 1982–1988. The authors state that “While considerable evidence on the behavior of mutual fund returns now exists, there is surprisingly little evidence about the performance of internationally diversified funds.” Cumby and Glen found no evidence that the funds, individually or as a whole, gave investors any advantage in performance over that of a broad, international equity index for the sample period. While they found some evidence that international fund performance exceeded the Morgan Stanley US index during the period, they felt that this was most likely due to the benefits of international diversification rather than superior performance by fund managers.