Academic and practitioner research evaluates portfolio performance using size and value/growth attributes or factors. We assess the merits of popular evaluation procedures based on matched-characteristic benchmark portfolios or time-series return regressions by applying them to a sample of...

Most mutual funds adopt investment styles that cluster around a broad market benchmark. Few funds take extreme positions away from the index, but those who do are more likely to favor growth stocks and past winners. The bias toward glamour and the tendency of poorly performing value funds to...

We evaluate the performance of models for the covariance structure of stock returns, focusing on their use for optimal portfolio selection. We compare the models' forecasts of future covariances and the optimized portfolios' out-of-sample performance. A few factors capture the general covariance...

We examine insider trading activities of all companies traded on the NYSE, AMEX, and Nasdaq during the 1975-95 period. In general, very little market movement is observed when insiders trade and when they report their trades to the SEC. Insiders in aggregate are contrarian investors. However,...