Thinking of investing in QDII? Before you do, bone up on the research findings newly released by CEIBS Associate Professor of Finance Xinge Zhao.

Prof. Zhao’s paper entitled “Determinants of Flows into Retail International Equity Funds,” which has been accepted for publication in the Journal of International Business Studies, explores the factors that contribute to an investors’ choice of international equity funds.

In his research, Prof. Zhao recorded a trend among U.S. investors to show a preference for funds that are less correlated to the domestic U.S. market. In particular, he discovered American investors’ penchant for funds with portfolios built on securities from different regions of the world ? as opposed to those with a narrower geographic focus. The paper also explores the impact of risk-adjusted return versus raw return on the flows into international equity funds; and the negligible effects of costs or exchange rates on U.S. investors.

Prof. Zhao, who is also CFO Program Director at CEIBS, conducts research mainly on mutual funds, investments and portfolio management, investor behavior and protection, and the bank-structured product market in China.