Quantitative Strategies
First Half Factor Performance: Sentiment And Momentum Drive Returns
Looking at year-to-date factor performance, Sentiment is the best performing; Momentum and Growth have also performed well.
Factor Performance: Bounce In Oil Drives Momentum Reversal
Factor performance reversed course again in April, with the spike in oil driving most of the volatility.
Factor Performance: Most Factors Reverse Course
Factor performance reversed course in February, with most factors performing the opposite of how they have over the last six months.
Momentum Strong, Value Weak
Factor performance in January was very similar to how the year ended, with Momentum doing very well and Value struggling.
Factors Work In Rough Environment
Size produced the biggest differential, followed by Profitability, Quality, and Momentum factors.
Choppy Factor Performance Is Cousin To Volatility And Suggests Caution.
We additionally compare factor results YTD to that of 2013 YTD; shift to Large Caps should have staying power.
Market Value Impacting Returns
Small Cap stocks significantly underperformed Large Cap stocks since late March.
Factor Performance: A Month Divided
Factor performance over the first three weeks of July was very different than the last week, which produced a challenging month-end for quantitative investors.
A Top Down View Of REITs
Although Valuations are a headwind for the asset class, at the stock level our disciplined multi-factor model indicates best opportunities are Small/Mid Caps, and Hotel & Resort-oriented names.
Momentum & Growth Factors Regain Footing
But Momentum turnover of constituents has altered its characteristics – names are now slightly more defensive, cheaper, and larger.
Sector Short Interest Ratios Reviewed
We look at Short Interest Ratios within the S&P 1500 sectors for clues on future market prospects. The Materials sector is one where it has paid to monitor what short sellers are doing (or not doing).
Factor Rotation Continues
While Momentum continued to struggle and Value surged, the Size factor played a much larger role as Small Caps were hit hard in April.
Quantitative Strategies: Factor Performance Reverses
Momentum suffered across almost every sector, but it was particularly bad for Health Care and Info Tech. Value factors finally rebounded after losing over the past year.
The State Of Momentum
Momentum has easily been the best quantitative factor over the last year. The only other factor with notable positive performance is Sentiment. Can this continue?
2013 Factor Performance Review
2013 ended up being a good year for quantitative strategies, particularly those that focus on using Momentum
Correlations Staying Steady
The decrease in correlations has been helpful for investors, but the lack of volatility in the measure has arguably been more important.
Sector Performance – Finding Discrepancies
Our Tech sector outpaced the S&P 500 Tech sector by 1400 bps and our Materials sector lagged the S&P 500 Materials by 2300 bps. Here’s why…
Trading Volume Nothing To Worry About
We take a detailed look at the decline in trading volume and conclude the trend might be a positive going forward.
Sector Performance and Beta Comparisons
There are some substantial deviations in sector performance depending on your constituents and weighting scheme while, simultaneously, betas are converging toward one another.