Recent research suggests that machine learning models dominate traditional linear models in predicting cross-sectional stock returns. We confirm this finding when predicting one-month forward-looking returns based on a set of common stock characteristics, including predictors such as short-term...

The emerging literature suggests that machine learning (ML) is beneficial in many asset pricing applications because of its ability to detect and exploit nonlinearities and interaction effects that tend to go unnoticed with simpler modelling approaches. In this paper, we discuss the promises and...