Survivorship Bias in Performance Studies
Abstract
Survivorship bias distorts results of virtually all current performance studies based on time series. Thus, researchers need to recognize and adjust for the presence of this bias. Not only does the bias affect the absolute performance measures; it also affects the relative rankings of managers over time.This presentation comes from the Blending Quantitative and Traditional Equity Analysis conference held in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 30-31, 1994.
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The study may be affected significantly by survivor bias, namely that successful cases are more likely to be reported and accepted for publication.
“Thus, our study may be affected significantly by the so-called “Survivor bias”, namely, successful cases are more likely to be reported and accepted for publication by the academic community, should be noted [71].”
From Outcomes of dental implant treatment in 3–18 year old children with ectodermal dysplasia: a systematic review spanning three decades (2025) · cites this paper as [71]
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On Persistence in Mutual Fund Performance
Carhart, M. M. (1997) · The Journal of Finance · doi:10.1111/j.1540-6261.1997.tb03808.x · Cited by 17,283 · see citing works
(Hans) Korteling, J. E., & Toet, A. (2022) · Encyclopedia of Behavioral Neuroscience, 2nd edition · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-809324-5.24105-9 · Cited by 65 · see citing works
Zhu, S., Chen, R., Zhang, S., Wang, Z., & Xie, Z. (2025) · BMC Oral Health · doi:10.1186/s12903-025-07230-5 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“Thus, our study may be affected significantly by the so-called “Survivor bias”, namely, successful cases are more likely to be reported and accepted for publication by the academic community, should be noted [71].”
- Authors
- Brown, S. J., Goetzmann, W., Ibbotson, R. G., & Ross, S. A.
- Affiliations
- New York University (US)
- Venue
- Review of Financial Studies
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 1992-10
- Volume
- 5
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 553-580
- ISSN
- 0893-9454 (ISSN-L)
- 1465-7368
- OpenAlex
- W1992897607
- Cited by
- 1,121
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 30 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 77 · 2023: 29 · 2022: 27 · 2021: 29 · 2020: 31 · 2019: 26 · 2018: 34 · 2017: 33 · 2016: 33 · 2015: 38 · 2014: 33 · 2013: 48 · 2012: 47
- FWCI
- 24.34
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Review of Financial Studies (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Finance › Financial Markets and Investment Strategies
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Accounting › Financial Analysis and Corporate Governance
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Accounting › Corporate Finance and Governance
- Keywords
- survivorship bias, performance studies, time series, manager performance evaluation, equity analysis, bias correction
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