Tag Archives: smart beta
Three-Year Live Performance Review of the S&P QVM Top 90% Indices
Three years ago, S&P DJI launched the S&P Quality, Value, and Momentum Top 90% Multi-factor Indices (the S&P QVM Top 90% Indices) across the large-, mid- and small-cap U.S. equities segments. These indices have enriched our factor lineup, offering a differentiated approach that selects a high percentage of the universe, while excluding only the lowest-ranked…
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Expressing Views with Indices
Whether it’s growth vs. value, large vs. small, or Information Technology vs. the Utilities sector, there’s no shortage of opinions on where alpha can be uncovered. S&P DJI’s Ed Ware and Hamish Preston sit down with Astoria Advisors’ John Davi to explore how market participants are using indices to help them make more informed decisions…
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The S&P 500 Low Volatility Index: Currently Valued at the 99th Percentile of Cheapness Relative to the S&P 500
Investor enthusiasm for AI and mega-cap technology stocks has propelled the S&P 500® to a gain of more than 30% over the past 12 months. As the S&P 500 has been reaching new highs on a regular basis, it is understandable if low volatility stocks have not been at the top of investors’ minds. This…
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S&P 500 Low Volatility Index August 2023 Rebalance
The S&P 500® performed well from the last rebalance for the S&P 500 Low Volatility Index on May 19, 2023, through the most recent rebalance on Aug. 18, 2023. As Exhibit 1 shows, the S&P 500 was up 4.7% during this period versus a decline of 1.5% for the S&P 500 Low Volatility Index. This…
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Why Multi-Factor Indices in South Africa?
Burton Malkiel, author of the book A Random Walk Down Wall Street, asserted, “The facts suggest that successful market timing is extraordinarily difficult to achieve.”1 Multi-factor indices may be a way of ensuring you are “in the right place at the right time,” participating throughout market cycles without compromising timing or returns. The S&P DJI…
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Balancing Defense with Growth: The S&P Quality Indices
Thus far this year, about two-thirds of the S&P 500®’s rally has been driven by growth stocks and the so-called “Magnificent Seven” tech stocks. While the quality factor is traditionally viewed as defensive, it has kept pace with the market while many other factor strategies have underperformed (see Exhibit 1). Part of the reason for…
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Introducing the S&P SmallCap 600 QVML Top 90% Multi-Factor Index
For market participants seeking to measure small-cap, multi-factor equity premia with greater diversification and historically lower tracking error (TE), S&P DJI has recently launched the S&P SmallCap 600® Quality, Value, Momentum and Low Volatility (QVML) Top 90% Multi-Factor Index. In this blog, we will examine the index construction methodology, historic performance, sector composition and factor…
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S&P 500 Low Volatility Index May 2023 Rebalance
Since the last rebalance for the S&P 500® Low Volatility Index on Feb. 17, 2023, the S&P 500 finished up 3.2% despite briefly dropping in mid-March during the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Exhibit 1 shows that during this period, the S&P 500 Low Volatility Index underperformed the S&P 500 by 4.3%. This divergence is…
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The Same, Only Different
In the first quarter of 2023, the best performing of the 17 factor indices featured in our monthly factor dashboard was S&P 500® High Beta (up 12.5%), while the worst performer was S&P 500 Momentum (-3.2%). This may seem odd at first blush, since both indices are, in some sense, performance chasers—Momentum in absolute and…
2023 Has Already Been Trepidatious
A sizzling start for Canadian equities in 2023 found itself fizzling as March began. Despite having a return of as much as 7% in late January/early February, through March 17, 2023, the S&P/TSX Composite Index was up 0.7% YTD. In line with historical trends, the S&P/TSX Composite Low Volatility Index underperformed, declining 0.1%. Volatility rose…






