Do Security Analysts Follow the Academic Evidence?
As my co-author Andrew Berkin and I explain in our new book “Your Complete Guide to Factor-Based Investing,” there is considerable evidence of cross-sectional return [...]
Hot Topic: Does “Gamma” Hedging Actually Affect Stock Prices?
Hedging Demand and Market Intraday Momentum Guido Baltussen, Zhi Da, Sten Lammers and Martin MartensJournal of Financial Economics, ForthcomingA version of this paper can be [...]
The Quality Factor—What Exactly Is It?
The existence of a quality premium in stocks that has been persistent over time, pervasive around the globe, and robust to various definitions have been [...]
A Review of Ben Graham’s Famous Value Investing Strategy: “Net-Nets”
Benjamin Graham, often considered a strong candidate for "the father of quantitative value investing", developed an investment strategy that involved purchasing securities for less than [...]
Is the Market Getting more Efficient?
Another Alpha Opportunity Bites the Dust In 1998, Charles Ellis wrote “Winning the Loser’s Game,” in which he presented evidence that while it is possible [...]
Trend-Following Filters – Part 2/2
1. Introduction Part 1 of this analysis, which is available here, examines filters modeled on second-order processes from a digital signal processing (DSP) perspective to [...]
Global Factor Performance: January 2021
The following factor performance modules have been updated on our Index website.[ref]free access for financial professionals[/ref] Standardized PerformanceFactor PerformanceFactor ExposuresFactor PremiumsFactor AttributionFactor Data Downloads
The Definitive Study on Long-Term Factor Investing Returns
Global Factor Premiums Baltussen, Swinkels, VlietJournal of Financial Economics, forthcomingA version of this paper can be found hereHere are the slides tied to the paper.Want to [...]
Value and Momentum and Investment Anomalies
The predictive abilities of value and momentum strategies are among the strongest and most pervasive empirical findings in the asset pricing literature. (here is a [...]
A Curious Combination: Momentum Investing, Tesla, and November 9th
“The plural of anecdote is not data” I’ve used this quote to discount the validity of a single observation to explain much of anything. That observation [...]
Is Size a Useful Investing Factor or Not?
In his famous 1981 paper, "The Relationship Between Return and Market Value of Common Stocks,” Rolf Banz found that small firms have higher risk-adjusted returns [...]
Buying Quality: Is the Juice Worth the Squeeze?
Investing is never easy, but some times are easier than others. Buying US government bonds at 10%+ yields when inflation was steadily decreasing in the [...]
Global Factor Performance: December 2020
The following factor performance modules have been updated on our Index website.[ref]free access for financial professionals[/ref] Standardized PerformanceFactor PerformanceFactor ExposuresFactor PremiumsFactor AttributionFactor Data Downloads
Profitability Factor Details: Taxable Income is Tied to Future Profitability and Returns
Robert Novy-Marx’s 2013 paper “ The Other Side of Value: The Gross Profitability Premium” not only provided investors with new insights into the cross-section of [...]
A Short Research Library Outlining Why Traditional Stock Picking is Challenging
There are no "right" answers when it comes to financial markets. There are generally trade-offs to all decisions. For example, stocking picking can be incredible [...]
Using “Quality” to Separate Good and Bad Value Stocks
Trying to avoid value traps.
Trend Following Research: Breaking Bad Trends
Momentum is the tendency for assets that have performed well (poorly) in the recent past to continue to perform well (poorly) in the future, at [...]
Do Analysts Exploit Factor Anomalies when recommending stocks?
Security Analysts and Capital Market Anomalies Li Guo, Frank Weikai Li, K.C. John WeiJournal of Financial EconomicsA version of this paper can be found hereWant to [...]
Should Treasury Bills Be The Risk-Free Asset in Asset Pricing Models?
In virtually all studies on asset pricing and asset pricing models, the one-month Treasury bill is the choice as the risk-free rate. In his study [...]
Combining Value and Profitability Factors to Improve Performance
Prior Research on Value and Profitability Factors The 1997 publication of Mark Carhart’s paper “On Persistence in Mutual Fund Performance” led to the four-factor model, [...]