Global Portfolio Rebalancing Under the Microscope

42 Pages Posted: 16 Jul 2008 Last revised: 16 Sep 2022

See all articles by Harald Hau

Harald Hau

University of Geneva - Geneva Finance Research Institute (GFRI); Swiss Finance Institute; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Hélène Rey

London Business School; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Multiple version iconThere are 3 versions of this paper

Date Written: July 2008

Abstract

Cross border capital flows and returns on assets are two key variables in international macroeconomics. Difficult endogeneity issues plague any analysis of their correlations in aggregate data. This paper examines the dynamics of international portfolios with a unique data set on the stock allocations of approximately 6,500 international equity funds domiciled in four different currency areas during a 5 year period. The disaggregated data structure allows us to examine the effect of realized returns on portfolio adjustments. Do managers rebalance their portfolios towards their desired weights or do they increase their exposure to appreciating assets? We find strong support for portfolio rebalancing behavior aimed at stabilizing exchange rate risk and equity risk exposure around desired levels. These findings are important for the new open economy macroeconomics models featuring endogenous portfolio choice. They should also help inform the burgeoning theoretical literature in macroeconomics and in finance that aims at modeling financial intermediaries.

Suggested Citation

Hau, Harald and Rey, Helene, Global Portfolio Rebalancing Under the Microscope (July 2008). NBER Working Paper No. w14165, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1161088

Harald Hau (Contact Author)

University of Geneva - Geneva Finance Research Institute (GFRI) ( email )

40 Boulevard du Pont d'Arve
Geneva 4, Geneva 1211
Switzerland

Swiss Finance Institute

Switzerland

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, DE-81679
Germany

Helene Rey

London Business School ( email )

Sussex Place
Regent's Park
London, London NW1 4SA
United Kingdom

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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