---
title: Welcome to the Factor Zoo: Where Mutual Fund Alpha Hides
url: https://www.ml-quant.com/papers/ssrn/7508299/
site: ML-Quant (https://www.ml-quant.com)
updated: 2026-09-26
license: Summaries CC BY 4.0; links go to the original sources
index: https://www.ml-quant.com/llms.txt
identifier: SSRN 7508299
source_url: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=7508299
featured: 2026-09-25
citations: unknown
topic: Portfolio & Allocation
---


# Welcome to the Factor Zoo: Where Mutual Fund Alpha Hides

Using factor selection, the study finds mean active alpha of plus 9 basis points monthly for mutual funds, reversing the no-alpha conclusion when benchmarks are tailored to each fund.

- Source: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=7508299
- Identifier: SSRN 7508299
- Released: 2026-09-23
- First featured: Quant Letter No. 132 (2026-09-25): https://www.ml-quant.com/issues/2026-09-25/
- Citations (Semantic Scholar): not tracked
- Published in: not yet
- Topic: Portfolio & Allocation
- Authors: Dmitry Malakhov

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