Across numerous asset classes, momentum strategies have historically generated high Sharpe ratios and strong positive alphas relative to standard asset pricing models. However, the returns to momentum strategies are negatively skewed: they experience infrequent but strong and persistent strings...

We apply the concept of carry, which has been studied almost exclusively in currency markets, to any asset. A security's expected return is decomposed into its “carry” – an ex-ante and model-free characteristic – and its expected price appreciation. Carry predicts returns...