We analyze five popular smart beta indices with a simple two risk-factor framework. Our analysis shows that majority of the return variations of these five smart beta indices can be explained by S&P 500 and Barclays Treasury index. We also demonstrate that the diversification effect is limited...

Liquidity has long been a great interest to investment professionals as well as academic researchers. The estimation of illiquidity premium for infrequently traded asset classes, such as real estate and private equity, presents a challenge to the industry because of opaque information and...