Wesley Gray, PhD, Author at Alpha Architect

About Wesley Gray, PhD

After serving as a Captain in the United States Marine Corps, Dr. Gray earned an MBA and a PhD in finance from the University of Chicago where he studied under Nobel Prize Winner Eugene Fama. Next, Wes took an academic job in his wife’s hometown of Philadelphia and worked as a finance professor at Drexel University. Dr. Gray’s interest in bridging the research gap between academia and industry led him to found Alpha Architect, an asset management firm dedicated to an impact mission of empowering investors through education. He is a contributor to multiple industry publications and regularly speaks to professional investor groups across the country. Wes has published multiple academic papers and four books, including Embedded (Naval Institute Press, 2009), Quantitative Value (Wiley, 2012), DIY Financial Advisor (Wiley, 2015), and Quantitative Momentum (Wiley, 2016). Dr. Gray currently resides in Palmas Del Mar Puerto Rico with his wife and three children. He recently finished the Leadville 100 ultramarathon race and promises to make better life decisions in the future.

The Ultimate Moving Average Handbook: Bringing Science into the Art of Trend Following

A Simple Guide to Using AI in Economic Analysis

The guest article below was submitted via a friend (Sailesh Radha) who develops software that helps investors analyze data (Borealis). We have no affiliation/connection to [...]

A Golden Opportunity to Upgrade a 60/40?

Our friends Corey Hoffstein and Rodrigo Gordillo over at Return Stacked have done some interesting research on the potential for gold to improve your run-of-the-mill [...]

Concentrated Stock Risk, Tax Drag, and a Smarter Path Forward.

Investors with concentrated stock positions face a frustrating paradox: stay exposed to high single-stock risk or trigger steep capital gains taxes by selling. But what if there were a third option—one that preserved wealth, enhanced diversification, and maintained tax efficiency? That’s the vision behind the strategic partnership between Alpha Architect and Cache. Together, we’re working to reshape the way sophisticated investors and advisors approach concentrated equity positions—making advanced tools more accessible, transparent, and investor-friendly.

Portfolio Tax Strategies: Section 351 vs. Exchange Funds vs. Long/Short Tax-Loss-Harvesting

Three powerful strategies may help investors diversify concentrated positions while deferring or minimizing immediate capital gains taxes: ✅ Section 351 transactions (often used to seed new ETFs) ✅ Exchange funds (offered by firms like UseCache and traditional private banks) ✅ Long/short tax loss harvesting strategies (offered by firms like AQR or Quantinno using active trading to generate offsetting losses)

Global Factor Performance: January 2025

The following factor performance modules have been updated on our Index website.[ref]free access for financial professionals[/ref] Factor Performance Factor Premiums Factor Data Downloads