Investing Research Articles

…Robert Taylor’s accuracy rate probably derives not from forecasting ability but from defining targets that are very hard to miss. The accuracy rate seems high only if one ignores the peculiar way he defines trends.

Does growth in a firm’s operating costs signal trouble for its stock? In their June 2014 preliminary paper entitled “Cost Growth and Stock Returns”, Dashan Huang, Fuwei Jiang, Jun Tu and Guofu Zhou examine the relationship between growth in operating costs and future stock returns. They measure operating cost growth as the annual percentage change in costs of goods… Keep Reading

Does intensity of firm quarterly earnings releases affect stock market behaviors? A reader proposed the following stock market timing strategy based on a strictly calendar-based definition of earnings season: go short (long) the market at the close at the end of the first full week (sixth full week) of each calendar quarter, representing the beginning… Keep Reading

Do commonly used indicators reliably predict stock size, value and momentum strategy returns? In the June 2014 version of his paper entitled “A Comprehensive Look at Size, Value and Momentum Return Predictability”, Afonso Januario examines the abilities of 17 fundamental and technical indicators and indicator combinations to anticipate returns for these three factors. He defines factor portfolios… Keep Reading

“Sticky Winner Asset Class ETF Momentum Strategy” tests whether limiting the trading of the “Simple Asset Class ETF Momentum Strategy” by holding onto the winner until it drops out of the top three boosts performance of the latter by reducing trading and thereby suppressing trading frictions. A subscriber proposed a more precise approach to limit trading: continue holding a past winner… Keep Reading

Is there a practical way to apply momentum investing in a Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) framework? In his June 2014 paper entitled “Momentum, Markowitz, and Smart Beta”, Wouter Keller constructs a long-only, unleveraged Modern Asset Allocation (MAA) model in three steps Make MPT tactical by using short historical intervals to predict future asset returns (rate of return, or absolute momentum), return volatilities… Keep Reading

Are alternative mutual funds attractive for retail investors as hedge fund surrogates? In their June 2014 paper entitled “Performance of Alternative Mutual Funds: The Average Investors Hedge Fund”, Srinidhi Kanuri and Robert McLeod analyze the performance of alternative mutual funds that employ strategies similar to those of hedge funds and seek returns uncorrelated with the equity market. These funds can… Keep Reading

Does technical market analysis work? In their June 2014 paper entitled “Technical Market Indicators: An Overview”, Jiali Fang, Yafeng Qin and Ben Jacobsen examine the profitability of 93 market indicators as applied to the S&P 500. Of the 93, 50 are market sentiment indicators that attempt to predict market behavior based on the supposition that stock prices tend to rise… Keep Reading

Do new funds have the latitude to concentrate in the best opportunities while they remain small? In his June 2014 presentation package entitled “How Long Might An Active Bond ETF’s ‘Best Ideas’ Outperformance Window Last?”, Claude Erb compares the performance of the PIMCO Total Return ETF (BOND), an exchange-traded fund (ETF) introduced in March 2012, to that… Keep Reading

Does using after-tax, rather than pre-tax, returns make a big difference in allocating assets based on mean-variance optimization? In their June 2014 paper entitled “What Would Yale Do If It Were Taxable?” Patrick Geddes, Lisa Goldberg and Stephen Bianchi illustrate a three-step approach for adapting the Yale Endowment for investors obligated to pay U.S. taxes: Reverse engineer Yale Endowment allocations by applying… Keep Reading