Doctoral thesis of Philosophy: Work experience and managerial performance & styles: evidence from Chinese mutual fund market

Work experience is a key factor in hiring decision of managers. However, empirical evidence that early life experience matters is very limited. This thesis fills in the gap by examining how work experience affects managerial performance and managerial style in mutual funds. Using a sample of Chinese fund managers, we find performances and styles vary across managers of different career backgrounds. Notably, managers of research and especially government backgrounds show higher risk adjusted returns while taking on less systematic risk.