We demonstrate that firm-specific momentum profits are predictable across a wide range of international equity markets when combining information given in a multitude of stock characteristics. This predictor is comparatively simple to compute and can yield significant positive out-of-sample...

Prior research has proposed numerous variables to differentiate between well-performing and poorly performing active equity funds. We combine eight prominent representatives of these measures to obtain a composite, aggregate fund predictor. While only three of the eight individual variables are...

We examine the out-of-sample performance of 240 stock market anomalies enhanced by 49 machine learning algorithms and over 260 individually trained models across an international data sample of nearly 1.9 billion stock-month-anomaly observations from 1980 to 2019. We demonstrate significant...

We examine the value of analyst recommendations across 45 countries and 3.8 million firm-month observations from 1994 to 2019. Recommendation-based portfolio strategies lead to highly significant (insignificant) abnormal returns in international markets (in the U.S.). In line with...

We analyze whether the diversification discount is driven by the book value bias of corporate debt. Book values of debt may be a more downward biased proxy of the market value of debt for diversified firms, relative to undiversified firms, as diversification leads to lower firm risk. Thus,...

Previous research indicates that a lack of financial sophistication might explain the past strong growth in active management. We construct an objective financial literacy score and analyze the relation between financial literacy and mutual fund investment behavior. We show that there is a...

Relying on 2.2 million articles from 45 national and local U.S. newspapers between 1989 and 2010, we find that firms particularly covered by the media exhibit ceteris paribus significantly stronger momentum. The effect depends on article tone, reverses in the long-run, is more pronounced for...