O EFEITO SMART MONEY NO SEGMENTO DE FUNDOS MULTIMERCADOS

The aim of this paper was to investigate the occurrence of the Smart Money Effect on the Brazilian hedge funds segment. It was operationalized through the comparison between the average return of funds and their net flow. For this purpose, we performed a descriptive analysis with quantitative approach, using the statistical method Student's t test, based on a sample of 20 hedge funds in the period from May 2009 to July 2011. The results showed the occurrence of the Smart Money Effect, as the average performance was higher in funds with higher net inflows. We assumed, therefore, evidences of selection skills of funds from investors; in other words, on average, investors were able to identify funds that had the best return in the next period.