Sep 18, 2020

Holding Steady…

The market has recovered most of the losses from March’s uproar, with the S&P/TSX Composite Index down 4.8% in 2020 through Sept. 17. Volatility, though off its March peak, continues to be high but has been evenly distributed across all sectors of the market. Since all sectors experienced similar increases in volatility, it’s not surprising…

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Sep 17, 2020

What Would Emerging Markets Be Without China?

In the first decade of the 2000s, the U.S. and other developed countries fell behind emerging market equities by a wide margin, and they lagged China’s markets in particular: the S&P China BMI grew by 600% in the first decade of the new millennium. The 2010s saw a reversal of fortunes for broad-based emerging market…

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Sep 17, 2020

Comparing Defensive Factors During the Last 3 Bear Markets

In the factor world of investing, Low Volatility and Quality have been commonly referred to as defensive factors.  The following is an examination of the performance of the S&P 500 Quality Index and the S&P 500 Low Volatility Index compared to the S&P 500 during the last 3 equity bear markets.  The graphs and data…

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Sep 15, 2020

Why S&P 500 and DJIA Futures Could Be Useful for Asian Investors during the COVID-19 Selloff

The co-movement of returns that emerged from the interconnection of global markets has important consequences in terms of portfolio hedging and risk management. In our paper, Regional Relevancy of S&P 500® and Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures® in Asia, we highlighted three characteristics of S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA®) futures could potentially…

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Sep 15, 2020

Courage vs. Comfort

Philosophers have long argued that courage is the most essential human virtue, because without courage, all other virtues lie in jeopardy. Remarkably, the theorizing of ethicists has an implication for practical portfolio management. We can illustrate this with a simple example in Exhibit 1. It’s Dec. 31, 1999, and a professional investor is considering buying…

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Sep 15, 2020

The S&P Global REIT QVM Multi-Factor Index Part II – Performance, Country Composition, and Factor Exposure

In the previous blog, we introduced the construction process of the S&P Global REIT Quality, Value & Momentum (QVM) Multi-Factor Index. In this blog, we look into the empirical results of the strategy. Performance Rebasing the two indices to 100 on June 30, 1999, the S&P Global REIT QVM Multi-Factor Index reached 999.42 on Aug….

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Sep 14, 2020

Not Your Father’s Tech Sector

As of the end of August 2020, the S&P 500® Information Technology sector had risen a remarkable 36% over the past 12 months. Such outstanding relative performance of course reminds us of the late 1990s, when the markets experienced a technology bubble and subsequent bust. One notable resemblance to the late 1990s is Information Technology’s…

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Sep 14, 2020

The S&P Global REIT QVM Multi-Factor Index Part I – Strategy Construction Process

In this blog (and in a subsequent post), we will introduce the S&P Global REIT Quality, Value & Momentum (QVM) Multi-Factor Index. This index integrates individual quality, value, and momentum factor scores into one composite and is designed to capture multi-factor equity premia. In essence, the strategy seeks to include companies with the following characteristics:…

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Sep 10, 2020

Explore the Fast-Growing S&P Composite 1500 Internet & Direct Marketing Retail Index

Technological advancements and resulting social transformations have changed our daily lives. Traditional retailers have increased their usage of business channels such as the internet, mail order, and TV home shopping to attract their customers. The trend of this business transition has been reflected in the stock market. Among all the 68 industry indices in the…

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Sep 8, 2020

Even Smarter Beta in South Africa? – Diversifying and Optimizing

The equity risk premia from factors (such as quality, momentum, and low volatility) have been widely accepted and adopted by investment practitioners across the globe and South Africa alike. The belief by many is that exposure to these risk factors, in addition to the market, could reward investors over the long term. While the long-term…

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