Over the last 20 years, a massive shift has occurred, with "shadow banks"- non-depository institutions like Quicken Loans -capturing nearly half of all originations. While many attribute this to new technology or post-crisis rules, recent research reveals a deeper economic catalyst: the secular decline in interest rates..
Past returns often include non-repeatable revaluation alpha. Since structural alpha is the only component likely to persist, it’s essential for investors to distinguish this from one-off valuation windfalls before placing trust—or capital—in any factor or fund.
It is well-known that box spreads offer investors the ability to lend via the options market at similar rates to Treasury Bills. But there is another, less popular side of the box spread market – borrowing money. This articles dives into the mechanics of how to use box spreads to borrow at low costs.
Retirement creates a sudden jump in leisure time. That should reduce information-processing barriers. The question is: does having more time change how people trade, and does it improve outcomes?
After years in what can be now called one of the worst (if not the worst) period for value investing, many investors have packed their bags and called it quits. We’ve heard this be said over and over again; and yet, many of their arguments look extremely compelling. So are they in the right? Let's examine.
This paper shows there is a durable, stock-specific momentum component tied to how prices react to firm news around earnings dates. The result is a cleaner, lower-risk way to capture momentum without leaning so heavily on broad factor moves.
ChatGPT and similar large language models can enhance traditional investment strategies through superior interpretation of financial news. The improvements are economically meaningful, statistically robust, and persist under realistic implementation constraints.
By reading earnings calls and analyst reports at scale, algorithms can identify who is applying pressure, who is being targeted, which instruments are used, and how firms respond. The result is a new way to observe geopolitical risk as it actually enters corporate decision making.
Leveraged ETFs function precisely as designed—they deliver leveraged exposure to daily returns, not long-term performance. Problems emerge when investors misuse these instruments for purposes they weren't built for, particularly buy-and-hold investing or long-term wealth accumulation.
Success lies not in collecting exotic anomalies like rare zoo specimens, but in understanding the economic forces that drive sustainable return patterns. Focus on strategies with solid macroeconomic foundations, maintain healthy skepticism about new discoveries, and always account for implementation costs.
This paper explores how FINRA’s efforts to discipline “bad brokers” often lead to regulatory leakage—problematic advisors leaving one firm only to resurface elsewhere.
This paper shows how return expectations are formed: largely via a common “building-block” model (dividend yields, earnings growth, inflation, P/E changes), and how they vary across asset classes, time periods, and institutions.
"Buy the dip" (BTD) has become one of the most popular investment mantras of recent years, especially since the COVID-19 market recovery in 2020. The strategy seems intuitive: when markets fall, buy at a discount and wait for the inevitable rebound. However, BTD is not foolproof. By design, it performs well when market declines are brief, but poorly when declines mark the beginning of a prolonged drawdown. A new paper from AQR Capital Management, “Hold the Dip,” examines the empirical evidence and puts this popular strategy to the test.
This paper examines how cultural biases affect high-stakes decisions in a FinTech setting, showing that even when information is the same, the social groups we prefer can lead us into worse outcomes. The result: bias isn’t just unethical, it’s expensive.
This paper builds a new measure of “equity market volatility” using newspaper articles and finds that policy-related news (fiscal, monetary, trade, regulation) explains a large share of volatility spikes.
Gold has jumped from sleepy sideshow to dominant market narrative in a short span of time. For years, owning gold did not move the needle, and only introduced unnecessary noise to investors' portfolios. Then, in 2023, things started silently shifting in the background. Today, after a parabolic mid-summer move followed by a short correction, investors are now asking themselves: is it too late to buy gold?
Momentum works, across markets, time periods, and portfolio designs. But it also has weak spots, especially during market reversals, which risk-aware construction can help manage.
Historically, the finance community (both academics and investment firms) has divided stocks into two categories: cheap and expensive. Initially, the book-to-price ratio was used to [...]
Over the past two decades, middle-class Americans have quietly changed how they invest. This paper shows that the share of investable wealth held in stocks has risen—and become systematically linked to age. The driving force? The Pension Protection Act (PPA), which made target date funds (TDFs) the default option in retirement plans.
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 [...]
© Copyright 2025 alpha architect | All Rights Reserved | Home | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Disclosures | Subscribe | Contact Us