Do foreign investors underperform or outperform domestic investors in trading activities? Evidence from Indonesia

Abstract

The performance of foreign investors relative to domestic investors has been a subject of mixed evidence. While foreign investors are often perceived to underperform due to an information disadvantage, they are also known for their aggressive trading and superior performance in initiated orders. We provide further clarity on this issue. Specifically, by analyzing over five million transactions on the Jakarta Stock Exchange, our findings reveal that foreign investors consistently outperform domestic investors in terms of both annualized returns and profit amounts. Further investigation attributes this outperformance to the higher sophistication of foreign investors, who demonstrate superior stock-picking abilities and effective growth investing strategies.