Skip to content

Articles by Greg Swenson Director of Equities

Apr 05 2011

Correlations: Still At Peak Levels

  • Apr 5, 2011

Our calculations show the rise and fall of equity group correlations over time. How does this impact returns both historically and going forward?

Apr 05 2011

March Performance: Factors Continue To Lack Consistency… Except For Momentum

  • Apr 5, 2011

Momentum once again has the best performance. This out-of-favor factor has continued to outperform the rest of the factors.

Mar 04 2011

February Performance: Month Ends On A Whimper

  • Mar 4, 2011

During February, the only quantitative factor producing positive performance was Momentum. All other factors produced negative returns.

Mar 04 2011

Digging Deeper With Group Level Data

  • Mar 4, 2011

This month’s “Quantitative Strategies” section presents a preliminary look at some long term trends in Valuations and Profit Margins for specific industry groups.

Feb 04 2011

January Performance: Quality and Size Take The Lead...Finally

  • Feb 4, 2011

Quantitative Factor review for January shows Large Caps, Quality, and Profitability factors finally performing well. It’s been over a year since stocks with better Profitability outperformed in an up S&P month.

Jan 05 2011

Year In Review: Inconsistency Among Traditional Factors

  • Jan 5, 2011

Factor performance during 2010: A review of traditional quantitative factors and their performance for the year.

Dec 04 2010

Market Action Signals Further Room To The Upside

  • Dec 4, 2010

Factor analysis shows that Momentum continued to be effective in November. Also, aggressive equity sectors have been outperforming the defensive ones. Both of these factors bode well for a continuation of the bull market.

Nov 04 2010

Year To Date Update: Momentum Makes A Comeback

  • Nov 4, 2010

YTD the winner is momentum! This is slowly developing to the angst of many model-tweekers. Note though that how one defines momentum can make a difference in what you see.

Sep 03 2010

Month In Review: The Quality Trade Returns

  • Sep 3, 2010

Quantitative factor performance throws yet another curve ball. Momentum works with Growth and Profitability for first time this year. 

Sep 03 2010

Market Correlation And Group Rotation Strategy

  • Sep 3, 2010

New data series confirms unprecedented correlations in equity markets.

Aug 03 2010

Irrelevant Factor Performance

  • Aug 3, 2010

During July, there were no factors that added value at a statistically significant level.

Aug 03 2010

GS Scores Fighting… But Still Struggling

  • Aug 3, 2010

Our Group Selection work continues to struggle, but there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel.

Jul 06 2010

Factor Performance Shows Flight To Quality

  • Jul 6, 2010

Momentum cannot sustain itself, as multiple trends reversed over last two months. Profitability focus has returned to the marketplace as risk aversion grows.

Sep 04 2009

New Equity Portfolio Group Additions Build Foreign Exposure

  • Sep 4, 2009

New group purchase of Integrated Telecom stocks.

Aug 05 2009

Two New Groups In Select Industries Portfolio

  • Aug 5, 2009

Two new equity groups added to Select Industries equity portfolio. Inclusion of Paper Products and Independent Power Producers pushes Materials and Utilities to small overweight positions.

Apr 04 2009

Are Earnings Estimates Ready To Surprise?

  • Apr 4, 2009

Have analysts blown through reality and swung too far, paving the road for upside surprises?

Mar 04 2009

Seeking "Normality" In Abnormal Times

  • Mar 4, 2009

Extrapolate the current state of affairs into the future at your own risk - “normalcy” is bound to return at some point.

Mar 04 2009

Disecting The Capital Indices

  • Mar 4, 2009

Identifying and comparing important characteristics of the broad sectors of the S&P 500.

May 06 2008

Technology: Applying Positive Thinking To Our 9th-Rated Sector

  • May 6, 2008

Is it time to buy Technology? This month's “Of Special Interest” examines the sector's merits and finds that while there are signs of improvement, it is too soon to make a big move here.

Jun 05 2007

LBO Screen Update

  • Jun 5, 2007

After one of the most active months ever for private equity offers, we revisit our LBO screen in “Inside the Stock Market” section. This screen has thus far outperformed the S&P 500 since we introduced it in January of 2006.