Vassar College Economics Working Paper #69

Noise-trader Risk: Does it Deter Arbitrage, and Is it Priced?

by Sean M. Flynn (February 2005; Revised September 2005)

Abstract

        Arbitrage positions that benefit from the reversion of closed-end fund discounts to rational levels show excess returns that increase in magnitude the more funds are mispriced. At the same time, fund trading volumes and bid-ask spreads more than double as funds become increasingly mispriced. These behaviors suggest that non-diversifiable noise-trader risk increases the more funds are mispriced and that market participants are not only aware of this unique risk factor but demand a compensatory rate of return that varies with its magnitude.

JEL codes: G12, G14

Keywords: Closed-end Funds, Noise-trader Risk, Arbitrage

Working Paper (190 K)