The evidence for the existence of a distinct low-volatility effect is mounting. However, implicit exposures to the Fama-French value factor (HML) seem to explain the performance of straightforward U.S. low-volatility strategies since 1963. In this paper I show that the value effect can neither...

We compare the ownership characteristics of tobacco stocks with their peers in the same country and industry group. We find lower reported ownership for stocks in the tobacco industry, which suggests that anonymous investors are larger owners of these sin stocks. Compared to peer stocks, U.S....

Investors tend to focus on harvesting the risk premiums offered by traditional asset classes when making their strategic investment decisions. Some recent papers, however, argue that investors should also consider various other premiums for possible inclusion in the strategic asset allocation....

Investors tend to focus on harvesting the risk premiums offered by traditional asset classes when making their strategic investment decisions. Some recent papers, however, argue that investors should also consider various other premiums for possible inclusion in the strategic asset allocation....

We examine the impact of excluding sin stocks on expected portfolio risk and return. Exclusions involve risk relative to the market and peers. We show how this tracking error can be translated into an equivalent loss in expected return, which is negligible at low tracking error levels, but not...