We document that leverage-adjusted returns on S&P 500 index call and put portfolios are decreasing in their strike-to-price ratio over 1986-2010, contrary to the prediction of the Black-Scholes-Merton model. We test a large number of plausible unconditional factor models and find that only...

We suggest a new measure to evaluate hedge funds - relative alpha. It links each hedge fund to a group of its peers in a straightforward, semi-parametric way. We allow for omitted factors, yet do not require knowledge of the true factor structure nor do we need to estimate any factor model. We...

We study the effect of discrimination against Jewish managers and owners on their firms' stock during the Third Reich. The stock of firms with Jewish managers underperformed by around 5% annually, with abnormal performance persisting on average for three years until firm "Aryanization." Firms...

We estimate short-duration dividend strip prices from 25 years-worth of S&P 500 index option data (1996-2020). We show that short-duration strips offer substantially more attractive returns than does the market, but the measurement error obscures this result at monthly holding periods. For...

Based on the typical positions of S&P 500 option market makers, we derive a funding illiquidity measure from quoted prices of S&P 500 derivatives. Our measure significantly affects the returns of leveraged managed portfolios; hedge funds with negative exposure to changes in funding illiquidity...