We establish, under both theoretical conditions and empirical application, the separate roles of (1) market asset class exposure through index funds; (2) style factor exposure like value, momentum, and quality which have traditionally delivered higher and differentiated returns than market index...

International equity returns are characterized by episodes of high volatility and unusually high correlations coinciding with bear markets. We develop models of asset returns that match these patterns and use them in asset allocation. First, the presence of regimes with different correlations...