This paper explores the hypothesis that the returns of asset classes can be predicted using common, systematic risk factors represented by the level, slope, and curvature of the US interest rate term structure. These are extracted using the Nelson-Siegel model, which effectively captures the...

Previous research finds that machine learning methods predict short-term return variation in the cross-section of stocks, even when these methods do not impose strict economic restrictions. However, without such restrictions, the models' predictions fail to generalize in a number of important...

We identify a component of monetary policy news that is extracted from high-frequency changes in risky asset prices. These surprises, which we call "risk shifts", are uncorrelated, and therefore complementary, to risk-free rate surprises. We show that (i) risk shifts capture the lion's share of...

This paper investigates mean reversion properties of real effective exchange rates (REERs) using a semi-parametric quantile autoregression approach. This method accounts for non-normality and captures asymmetric and dynamic adjustments towards the REER's long run equilibrium, conditional on the...

In 2008, the S&P 500 experienced a drawdown of about 50% from peak to trough. Many assets which are typically considered effective equity diversifiers also faced precipitous losses. In stark contrast, volatility levels as measured by VIX experienced significant increases and in 2008 repeatedly...

The specter of rising interest rates in the US has caused many to consider the impact this will have on the traditional “anchor” to the portfolio: US Treasury bonds. From a mathematical point of view, rising interest rates unambiguously reduce the value of long duration bond holdings,...

The US economy is often referred to as the “banker to the world,” due to its unique role in supplying global reserve assets and funding foreign risky investment. This paper develops a general equilibrium model to analyze and quantify the contribution of this role to rising wealth...

In prior research we highlighted the diversity of real assets in terms of their sensitivities to the equity and bond markets and to macroeconomic factors such as growth and inflation. We now extend our analysis to real asset portfolios. Do portfolios exhibit similar characteristics and...

In this paper we apply Random Matrix Theory (RMT) to study daily returns correlations of 83 companies that are part of the Chilean stock market during the period 2000 to 2011. We find that using RMT to identify statistically significant correlations within our sample of stocks significantly...

This paper considers a link between momentum profitability and firm ratings. Credit risks for naïve momentum strategies present a U-shaped pattern across momentum portfolios. Due to firms ratings containing valuable information and predicting the cross-sectional stock returns, firm ratings...