In this paper we examine a momentum strategy based on residual stock returns. We find that residual momentum exhibits risk-adjusted profits that are about twice as large as those associated with total return momentum. Moreover, we find that the main arguments that have been put forward in the...

In this paper we examine a momentum strategy based on residual stock returns. We find that residual momentum exhibits risk-adjusted profits that are about twice as large as those associated with total return momentum. Moreover, we find that the main arguments that have been put forward in the...

European index funds and exchange-traded funds underperform their benchmarks by 50 to 150 basis points per annum. The explanatory power of dividend withholding taxes as a determinant of this underperformance is at least at par with fund expenses. Dividend taxes also explain performance...

European index funds and exchange-traded funds underperform their benchmarks by 50 to 150 basis points per annum. The explanatory power of dividend withholding taxes as a determinant of this underperformance is at least at par with fund expenses. Dividend taxes also explain performance...

We examine the performance of passively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that provide exposure to global emerging markets equities. We find that the tracking errors of these funds are substantially higher than previously reported levels for developed markets ETFs. ETFs that use statistical...

In empirical tests of the CAPM, the theoretical risk-free asset is typically assumed to be 1-month Treasury bills. This paper examines the implications of a mis-specified risk-free asset, i.e. the possibility that the ‘true' risk-free asset is a longer-maturity Treasury bond. A simple...

Many believe that investors can contribute to a more sustainable world by divesting from firms with the worst sustainability profiles. However, exclusion comes down to a transfer of ownership from sustainability-minded investors to other investors, and it is not obvious how this is supposed to...

Many investors do not want to finance morally objectionable activities with their money, such as smoking. But is investing in the shares of tobacco companies the same as financing the tobacco business? Analyzing two decades of data we find that investors in tobacco shares have not provided any...

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are commonly regarded as an efficient, low-cost alternative to actively managed mutual funds, yet their perceived superiority is largely anecdotal. We evaluate the performance of a comprehensive, survivorship bias-free sample of US equity ETFs following the same...

The factors in the widely used Fama-French model experienced a negative average return over the 2010-2019 period. Perhaps surprisingly, such a lost decade is not unprecedented in history, as factor performance in the 2010s is, in fact, remarkably similar to factor performance in the 1990s. By...