In my previous post I took a look at why the momentum factor has worked historically in the markets. The past numbers are impressive, but there are some drawbacks, including high turnover, tax inefficiency, large drawdowns and high costs associated with momentum strategies. It’s also a fairly counter-intuitive approach to get comfortable with. Dual Momentum, a book by…

In a recent Q&A with Patrick O’Shaughnessy, I said the following when asked about the momentum factor: I’m a huge fan of the momentum factor, mainly for its diversification benefits. It’s also the least understood of the well-known risk factors. I’ve done a ton of work on momentum in my day job, but haven’t been…

It’s now been nine years since the Federal Reserve last raised the fed funds rate. The speculation grows by the week about when the first rate hike since 2006 will occur. Every economic data point that gets released is immediately put into terms about what it means for the potential for a rate hike.

Dissecting the monthly jobs report has turned into something of a Finance Twitter tradition. Once a month, the nonfarm payroll (NFP) numbers are released by the U.S. Department of Labor and the results receive as much attention in the finance community as the latest John Oliver segment gets from explainer journalists.

Investment strategies have a tendency to look beautiful on paper and in marketing pitch books. You get to see return numbers, risk-adjusted results and pretty looking graphs that show how great things were in the past. I’ve yet to come across a strategy that couldn’t be dressed up and made to look appealing by a…

This post is probably a little self-serving, but I’ve received a number of questions about my book from readers and wanted to address the most asked questions here. What’s the difference between the book and your blog? The general theme is very similar. The blog has been a great place for me to learn and develop…

In the past week I’ve read three different takes on the future of interest rates that really made me think about their direction over the very long-term. 1. The first comment was a tweet from venture capitalist Marc Andreessen in reference to a discussion about the current low level of short-term interest rates being set…

Watching the drama unfold over the past couple of weeks in the Greece should make a few things clear to investors. First of all, no one really knows what’s going on in the markets. I remember listening to a very well-respected European hedge fund manager give a talk in 2011 about the potential for a…

“The market is not a very accommodating machine; it won’t provide high returns just because you need them.” – Peter Bernstein

One of my favorite aspects of being involved in the financial markets is that you’re forced to continuous learn to be successful. The process never ends. My learning progression on the markets and finance goes something like this: I started out with theories from finance textbooks in school; then moved onto learning about how the…