Smart beta
Investors find smoother path with smart beta
In the face of evolving volatility, investors are demanding a smarter approach to strategic asset allocation
Asia’s ETF assets on the rise – HKEX presents the results of Asia ETF survey 2019
Asia’s total ETF assets surged by 23.9% in the first half of 2019 thanks to an increasing adoption of ETFs into investment portfolios. According to a survey conducted by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), asset expansion in Asia’s ETF market is set…
Factor investing: get your exposures right!
This paper is devoted to the question of optimal portfolio construction for equity factor investing. The authors discuss the question of multifactor portfolio construction and show that the simplistic approaches often used by practitioners tend to be…
ETF investing – Building better portfolios
At the Asia ETF Forum 2019, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) welcomed industry experts from around the region to six key Asian exchange-traded fund (ETF) cities, offering attendees an updated view on the growing ETF market in Asia. This article…
Capturing alpha in Asia’s ETF market – Trends to watch in 2019
As the inclusion of China A-shares into major indexes could potentially lead to record inflows into China, 2019 is set to be an exceptional year for the Asian exchange-traded funds (ETFs) market. Meanwhile, investors in the region are increasingly eyeing…
Fundamentals fuelling smart beta in China
As Chinese equity markets mature and become increasingly driven by fundamentals, the time is right for international investors to invest in smart beta strategies, say Vincent Yam, head of trading, and Weiwei Wang, senior derivatives trader at Guotai…
Extending the ETF frontiers: Institutions are finding new ways to use ETFs
Growing institutional adoption of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has been an undeniable trend over the past few years. In this article, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) explains why institutions are increasingly using ETFs to gain targeted exposure,…
What’s in the box? Bad year reveals alt premia’s gaps
Average fund is down almost 5%, but gap between best and worst performers is 14%
Python – Is the buzz justified?
Python is rapidly becoming the world’s most popular programming language and its versatility and ease of use has enabled it to achieve widespread adoption in finance, becoming the multipurpose tool of choice for quantitative analysts and other financial…
Pensions and insurers give new impetus to Asia’s ETFs
Cost-conscious institutional investors are embracing exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to lower transaction fees and achieve higher returns. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) explores the theme of yield‑chasing among insurers in Asia’s expanding ETF…
Machine learning study points way to smarter beta
‘Boosted trees’ method uses same metrics as conventional factor investing but mixes them in new ways
Funds seek ways to stay clear of factor flows
Gyrations in momentum and value are a reminder that investors can be swept up in factor reversals
Academic shines light on data mining in alternative beta
Sharpe ratios on complex products fall 73% compared with backtests
Is there still life in the low-vol bet?
Quant analysts disagree on rate sensitivity of $150 billion strategy
Full up already? Industry divided over smart beta capacity
Research Affiliates argues trading costs will wipe out returns; critics say assumptions overblown
Smart beta managers face fixed-income paradox
The extension of smart beta ideas to fixed income is posing questions about how well risk factors are really understood
‘Great rotation’ highlights clash over unseen risks in factor investing
Gaps in performance of apparently similar products rekindle debate on index construction
Factor investors wary about rush into value stocks
Buy side warned to stay diversified as quality and low-vol falls from favour
Synth City: how synthetic dividends could save autocallables
New indexes promise higher coupons and lower dealer hedging costs