2009 Presidential Address
Date recorded Jan 09, 2009
2009 Presidential Address: Jeremy C. Stein
Sophisticated Investors and Market Efficiency
Abstract
Stock-market trading is increasingly dominated by sophisticated professionals, as opposed to individual investors. Will this trend ultimately lead to greater market efficiency? I consider two complicating factors. The first is crowding-the fact that, for a wide range of "unanchored" strategies, an arbitrageur cannot know how many of his peers are simultaneously entering the same trade. The second is leverage-when an arbitrageur chooses a privately-optimal leverage ratio, he may create a fire-sale externality that raises the likelihood of a severe crash. In some cases, capital regulation may be helpful in dealing with the latter problem.