We construct risk-neutral return probability distributions from S&P 500 options data over the decade 2003 to 2013, separable into pre-crisis, crisis and post-crisis regimes. The pre-crisis period is characterized by increasing realized and, especially, option-implied returns. This translates...

This paper proposes a time series decomposition of book-to-market ratio (BM) into a trend component and an innovation component (I_BM). Under the framework of stock valuation with growth options, we demonstrate that I_BM is negatively related to the change of growth options and therefore...

Prior literature in accounting and financial economics measures asset growth as year-over-year growth in total assets. Such growth estimates are upward biased when firms engage in mergers and acquisitions. We decompose asset growth into merger-related and organic growth components, and find that...

Firm size is an essential factor in examining the relation between returns and idiosyncratic volatilities. This paper documents that, when the idiosyncratic volatility is specified by firm size, the size-portfolio idiosyncratic volatility is statistically significant in explaining the future...

The paper empirically investigates three different methods to construct factors and identifies some pitfalls that arise in the application of Fama-French’s three-factor model to the Pakistani stock returns. We find that the special features in Pakistan significantly affect size and value...

Within book/market quintiles, expected return from constant growth equity valuation (static growth expected return, SGER) relates positively with realized returns. However, SGER overstates realized returns for growth stocks and understates realized returns for value stocks. We investigate...

I extend financial literature by presenting a model that expresses a firm's expected stock return as a function of the expected free cash flow growth, as opposed to dividends or profits. I find empirical evidence which supports the hypothesis that realized cash flow growth and expected cash flow...

This paper documents that the increase in public debt can lead to higher dividend payout to shareholders, which suggests public debt can be a strong cash flow predictor which helps better predict future stock returns. Specifically, the higher public debt-to-GDP ratio can predict both higher...

We describe a novel currency investment strategy, the `dollar carry trade,' which delivers large excess returns, uncorrelated with the returns on well-known carry trade strategies. Using a no-arbitrage model of exchange rates we show that these excess returns compensate U.S. investors for taking...