By |Published On: November 27th, 2013|Categories: Behavioral Finance|

Thanksgiving. Hanukkah. Why not Thanksgivukkah?

Below, one of my partners hopped on his Bloomberg and plotted out some interesting time series:

  • Turkey spot prices.
  • Hanukkah candle wax spot prices.
  • S&P 500
image (1)


[$25,000 on a Bloomberg–money well spent!] The results are hypothetical results and are NOT an indicator of future results and do NOT represent returns that any investor actually attained. Indexes are unmanaged, do not reflect management or trading fees, and one cannot invest directly in an index. Additional information regarding the construction of these results is available upon request.

The top performing asset has been Turkey spot prices. Of course. Our quantitative models have been predicting this outcome for ages. I would share the secret recipe, but it is “proprietary.”

Wax prices have been volatile and have shown little total return over the time period. Our quantitative models are predicting higher prices for Thanksgivukkah, since the event won’t occur until November 27, 2146. And unless the docs invent some really good drugs, we’ll all be dead by then.

Finally, the S&P 500. Unfortunately, this is the one asset class where our quantitative models are having the most prediction difficulty. Our advice is that you ignore this asset class over the holidays and focus on family, friends, and eating way too much food.

Happy Thanksgivukkah!

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About the Author: Wesley Gray, PhD

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.

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Important Disclosures

For informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as specific investment, accounting, legal, or tax advice. Certain information is deemed to be reliable, but its accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed. Third party information may become outdated or otherwise superseded without notice.  Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) nor any other federal or state agency has approved, determined the accuracy, or confirmed the adequacy of this article.

The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Alpha Architect, its affiliates or its employees. Our full disclosures are available here. Definitions of common statistics used in our analysis are available here (towards the bottom).

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