Do foreign institutional investors improve price efficiency?

Abstract

We study the impact of foreign institutional investors on price efficiency withfirm-level international data. Using MSCI index inclusion and the U.S. Jobsand Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act as exogenous shocks to foreignownership, we show that greater foreign ownership increases stock priceinformativeness, especially in developed economies. This increase arises fromnew information that foreign investors bring in, and displacement of lessinformed domestic retail investors. Finally, we show that foreign ownership,particularly from active investors, increases market liquidity, reduces firms’cost of equity, and increases firms’ real investment growth. (JELG11, G12,G14, G15)