Berlinda Liu
Former Director, Multi-Asset Indices, S&P Dow Jones Indices
The S&P Systematic Global Macro Index Outperformed YTD
U.S. equities rebounded in July thanks to earnings from mega-cap technology and major oil companies. The S&P 500® surged 9.2%, posting its best month since November 2020 and reversing its 8.3% loss in June. Nevertheless, the S&P 500 remains in correction territory, down 13.1% from its Jan. 3, 2022, record high. The S&P Systematic Global…
29 Years of VIX
In 1993, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe) announced the launch of the Cboe Market Volatility Index or VIX®, which provides market participants with a barometer to measure market sentiment. Since then, the index has become one of the most followed benchmarks. In commemoration for its 29th anniversary, we take a look at the evolution…
S&P 500 Weekly Options Now Expire Five Days a Week
Since their debut in 1983, S&P 500 options have grown into the most liquid index options in the market today.1 In 2005, Cboe introduced PM-settled S&P 500 weekly options (SPXW) to meet market demand for additional trading frequency. The first weekly options expired only on Fridays, with Monday and Wednesday expirations added over time. On…
S&P Risk Parity Indices Outperformed in Q1 2022
The S&P 500® lost 4.6% in the first quarter of 2022, with the market shaken by high inflation, the new variant of COVID-19 and geopolitical tensions in Europe. The S&P Risk Parity Indices, designed to offer diversified risk exposure across asset classes, stood the test and outperformed equities, as well as other active and passive…
Markets Remained Volatile, But History Shows Return to Calm
The Russia-Ukraine conflict is now in its third week and markets remain volatile. The major U.S. equity benchmarks dropped about 10% from their peaks, with the exception of the Energy sector. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX®), the so-called “fear gauge,” has been hovering above 30, which is the 90th percentile of its historical value. Its…
- Categories Equities, Strategy
- Tags CBOE Volatility Index, S&P 500, S&P SmallCap 600, strategy, VIX, volatility
Risk Parity 2.0 Performance Review
In our two previous blogs on risk parity 2.0 (see here and here), we covered the philosophy and methodological differences between the original S&P Risk Parity Indices and the newly launched S&P Risk Parity 2.0 Indices. This third and final installment of this series now looks at the performance and attribution statistics of the S&P…
S&P Risk Parity 2.0 Index Methodology Highlights
This blog is the second in a three-part series introducing the S&P Risk Parity 2.0 Indices. The first blog highlighted the differences between these new indices and the original ones. In this installment, we will take a closer look at the methodology of the newly launched S&P Risk Parity 2.0 Index Series. Constituent Changes Incorporating…
Mid- and Small-Cap Fund Managers Lost Their Advantage – SPIVA U.S. Mid-Year 2021 Scorecard
The SPIVA® U.S. Mid-Year Scorecard continues to show that active funds’ strong absolute returns do not always translate into relative success compared with their benchmarks. In 15 out of 18 categories of domestic equity funds, the majority of actively managed funds underperformed their benchmarks. Over the 12-month period ending June 30, 2021, 58% of large-cap…
Will Inflation Actually Be Transitory?
“Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon in the sense that it is and can be produced only by a more rapid increase in the quantity of money than in output.” – Milton Friedman “If we do see what we believe is likely a transitory increase in inflation … I expect that we will…
Risk-Adjusted SPIVA Year-End 2020 Scorecard: No Evidence to Support Superior Risk Management Skills of Active Managers
Modern Portfolio Theory tells us that higher returns tend to be associated with higher risk. Active managers tend to boast about their risk management skills and claim that they can generate higher returns than passive funds on a risk-adjusted basis. The Risk-Adjusted SPIVA® Scorecard assesses the risk-adjusted returns of actively managed funds against their benchmarks…