Time-Series Momentum versus Moving Average Trading Rules

Time-series momentum (TSMOM) and moving average (MA) trading rules are closely related; however there are important differences. TSMOM signals occur at points that coincide with a MA direction change, whereas MA buy (sell) signals only require price to move above (below) a MA. Our empirical results show MA rules frequently give earlier signals leading to meaningful return gains. Both rules perform best outside of large stock series which may explain the puzzle of their popularity with investors yet lack of supportive evidence in academic studies