Showing 1 - 10 of 166 results

Sort By
  • Relevance
  • Newest
  • Oldest

Perspective

In Praise of High-Volatility Alternatives

This note argues that good higher-volatility alternative investments, that are indeed often very hard to stick with, can be important tools in constructing the best overall portfolio. I think if (a big if) investors can stick with them, they are often a more effective tool than their lower-volatility cousins. Basically, I think they are underutilized

Perspective

The Less-Efficient Market Hypothesis

I argue that over the past 30+ years markets have become less informationally efficient in the relative pricing of common stocks, particularly over medium horizons

The President’s Trophy Curse

Continuing my occasional foray into sports analytics, in this post I look at the President's Trophy curse. This ubiquitous observation can be summed up as “the winner of the President’s Trophy, awarded for the best record in the regular season, usually doesn’t go on to win the Stanley Cup. Thus, winning the trophy is cursed.” The President’s Trophy winner usually doesn’t win The Cup. It’s true, and yet it’s still really dumb.

Perspective

Cognitive Dissonance

My latest covers a few things I would’ve thought were hard for investors to believe at the same time. Experience has proven me quite wrong.

Perspective

Why Not 100% Equities

Recently, a new paper has been making a big splash in our small pond of academic/quant investing. By “new,” I just mean “recently written,” as much of it ain’t new. In this piece, I offer a concise (relative to my norm) rebuttal, as this is well-trod ground.

Perspective

Opining for the 10th Time

I just published my 10th op-ed in The Wall Street Journal. This one is on the movie “Dumb Money” and, more importantly, the broader implications of the meme stock craze for today’s society as a whole. I thought it would be fun to put all ten op-eds out together. Be forewarned – if you aren’t a U. Chicago free marketer, you may not like them all.

Journal Article

Fact, Fiction, and Factor Investing: Practical Applications

This piece distills the central concepts and practical takeaways of our Fact, Fiction, and Factor Investing article, which examined many claims about factor investing, referencing an extensive academic literature and performing simple, yet powerful, analysis to address those claims.

Journal Article

International Diversification—Still Not Crazy after All These Years

International diversification has hurt US-based investors for over 30 years, but the long-run case for it remains relevant. We show that both financial theory and common sense favor international diversification, buttressed by empirical supportive evidence. Additionally we show it would be dangerous to extrapolate the post-1990 outperformance of US equities.

Perspective

Holding Our Breadth

Regular readers probably noticed I’ve been talking a lot about value lately. While I’m all for shining the spotlight onto the value dislocation, my colleagues also continue to produce a great breadth of research worth adding to your non-value-reading-list. I preview some of my recent favorites. 

Perspective

Uncorrelated Assets: An Important Dimension of an Optimal Portfolio

Recently, Dimensional Fund Advisors wrote critically on “liquid alts.” They make some good points, but they also draw some odd conclusions that if applied more generally would not be to their or our liking. Besides discussing their piece, below I also review the general rationale behind holding uncorrelated assets – in particular, equity “factors” held in a long-short manner.