We investigate whether transaction costs, arbitrage risk, and short-sale constraints explain the abnormal returns of volatility-managed equity portfolios. Even using five cost-mitigation strategies, after accounting for transaction costs, volatility management of common asset-pricing factors...

Portfolio optimization often struggles in realistic out-of-sample contexts. We de-constructthis stylized fact, comparing historical forecasts of portfolio optimization inputs withsubsequent out of sample values. We confirm that historical forecasts are imprecise guidesof subsequent values but...

A direct measure of the cyclicality of momentum at a given point in time, its bottom-up beta with respect to the market, forecasts both the returns and the risk of the strategy. Challenging a potential risk-based explanation, a highly cyclical momentum portfolio forecasts both higher risk and...

We test the relevance of technical and fundamental variables in forming currency portfolios. Carry, momentum and reversal all contribute to portfolio performance, whereas the real exchange rate and the current account do not. The resulting optimal portfolio outperforms the carry trade and other...

Compared with the market, value, or size factors, momentum has offered investors the highest Sharpe ratio. However, momentum has also had the worst crashes, making the strategy unappealing to investors who dislike negative skewness and kurtosis. We find that the risk of momentum is highly...

This appendix to 'Beyond the Carry Trade: Optimal Currency Portfolios' presents supplementary results not included in the paper.The paper may be found here: 'http://ssrn.com/abstract=2041460' http://ssrn.com/abstract=2041460