SPECIAL: Commodities
Commodity pricing
A new paper combines two key aspects of commodity pricing: a rational pricing model based on the present value of future convenience yields...
The latent factors behind commodity price indices
A 35-year empirical study suggests that about one third of the monthly changes in a broad commodity price index can be attributed to a...
Volatility risk premia in the commodity space
Volatility risk premia – differences between options-implied and actual volatility – are valid predictors for risky asset returns. High premia typically indicate high surcharges...
SYSTEMIC RISK
Predicting equity volatility with return dispersion
Equity return dispersion is measured as the standard deviation of returns across different stocks or...
Low rates troubles for insurances and pension funds
A CGFS report highlights the pressure of a ‘low for long’ interest rate environment on...
Update on the great public debt issue
The latest IMF fiscal monitor is a stark reminder of the public finance risks in...
How to prepare for the next systemic crisis
Systemic crises are rare. But they are make-or-break events for long-term performance and social relevance...
Modern financial system leverage
Leverage in modern financial systems arises from bank balance sheets and off-balance sheet transactions that...
SYSTEMATIC VALUE
A brief history of quantitative equity strategies
Understanding quantitative equity investments means understanding a significant portion of market positions. Motivated by the...
Predicting equity volatility with return dispersion
Equity return dispersion is measured as the standard deviation of returns across different stocks or...
Earnings yields, equity carry and risk premia
Forward earnings yields and equity carry are plausible indicators of risk premia embedded in equity...
Beta herding
Beta herding means convergence of market betas of individual stocks that arises from investors’ biased...
The scarcity of Japanese government bonds
The Bank of Japan has by now bought up more than 44% of all outstanding...
POPULAR POSTS
The four components of long-term bond yields
A BOJ paper proposes an affine terms structure model for bond yields under consideration of the zero lower bound. It estimates the contribution of...
Leverage in asset management
Asset managers can use leverage to enhance returns. Outside hedge funds, such leverage is modest as share of assets under management. However, considering the huge...
Understanding market beta in FX
The beta of an investment measures its sensitivity to “market returns”. Unlike in equity, in FX the relevant benchmark for a beta cannot be a...
Why the covered interest parity is breaking down
Deviations in the covered interest parity have become a regular phenomenon even in developed markets. Persistent gaps between on-shore and FX-implied interest rate differentials (“cross-currency...
Lessons from long-term global equity performance
A truly global and long-term (116 years) data set for both successful and failed financial markets shows that equity has delivered positive long-term performance...
Basic theory of momentum strategies
Systematic momentum trading is a major alternative risk premium strategy across asset classes. Time series momentum motivates trend following; cross section momentum gives rise...