Ben Zacks: The Zacks Way
We evaluate here the market commentary of Ben Zacks over the period June 2002 through January 2005. Ben Zacks is a co-founder of Zacks Investment Research and Senior Strategist and Portfolio Manager at Zacks Wealth...
Investing Research Articles
3847 Research Articles
Can You Learn Anything from Stock Message Boards?
...stock message boards accelerate information dissemination and maybe analysis, but they do not reliably reveal new information (lots of opinions and little or no private information). Message board sentiment does not predict stock returns.
Are the Returns for IBD’s New America Index for Real?
...the claimed past performance of the New America Index is probably overstated with respect to realistic expectations for actual trading of the stocks in it.
Holding Court with Stock Market Gurus
...investors/traders should consider a courtroom-like discipline in determining the value of a guru's advice. It may be that very few stock market gurus would qualify as expert witnesses.
A Warm Embrace or Cold Shoulder for Hot Hands?
...even sophisticated hedge fund investors could improve their returns by relying more on homework and less on gurudom.
The Turn-of-the-Month Effect
...the significant concentration of excess stock market returns around the turns of calendar months is a long-standing and persistent effect.
Stock Picking in a “Fruit Fly Lab”
...knowledgeable humans applying sophisticated programming techniques may be able to beat the market.
A Short-term VIX Trading Strategy That Works?
...VIX signals are useful for short-term switching between small-capitalization and large-capitalization stock indexes, especially when VIX is historically high.
Another Test of Hedge Fund Returns
...even though they outperform in aggregate, less than half of equity hedge funds outperform broad stock market indexes.
Worldwide Equity Returns in the 21st Century
...the author forecasts annual worldwide equity returns in the high single digits over the coming decade.
Testing the Indicators of Barchart.com
...Barchart.com generally leans a little the wrong way with respect to near term aggregate stock market action. This tendency is probably too weak to be tradable. Its indicators appear to overweight (underweight) the trend-following (reversal)...
Indicators of Persistent Fund Manager Outperformance
...persistent outperformance in investing depends on the hard work of developing and applying valuable private information, not on reacting to what everyone else knows.
Hedge Fund Industry: Declining Performance and Increasing Risk?
...hedge fund industry net risk-adjusted returns are unremarkable and declining. The flow of new money to hedge funds may pressure hedge fund managers to take greater risks.
Classic Research: Separating Cash Flow and Discount Rate Contributions to Stock Returns
...separating stock returns into those driven by changes in cash flow and those driven by changes in the discount rate helps explain the size effect and the value premium.
Global Diversification: By Country or Industry?
...global integration is rapidly shifting the balance of diversification power from countries to industries (for investors who adhere to modern portfolio theory).
Earnings, Inflation and Stock Returns
...neither change in aggregate earnings nor the inflation rate alone is a good concurrent indicator for the overall stock market returns on a quarterly basis. However, because earnings growth and inflation are interrelated, they may...
The Odds of Winning as an Active Trader
...this evidence suggests that the average day trader breaks even and that the most active traders may be the most successful.
Diversification for “Peak” Performance
...diversification produces "peak" performance by collapsing the probability of performance around the mean. With it, you will seldom fly high, or crash and burn.
Training for the Investor/Trader Hurdles
Investors and traders face three hurdles on the track to success...
Why Highly Volatile Stocks Tend to Underperform
...the idiosyncratic volatility premium is closely related to the value premium, with low volatility and high value stocks tending to outperform. Insensitivity to discount rate (inflation, interest rates) shocks is the common underlying factor.
Capturing the Value Premium by Avoiding Institutional Ownership
...capturing the value premium means focusing on stocks with the lowest institutional ownership.
Market-Leading Industries
...some industries (such as financial and retail positively, and petroleum and metals negatively) lead the overall stock market. However, the indications are not economically significant for traders.
Do What the Company Does?
...firms sell (buy back) company financial assets when their stocks are overvalued (undervalued), and analysts misinterpret or underreact to these actions. Investors should focus on the actions of corporate executives and not the forecasts of...
Combining Momentum and Value for Industry Rotation
...investors can enhance returns by combining value and momentum styles, leaning toward momentum when the yield curve is normal and value when the yield curve is inverted.
Scared by Randomness?
...investors/traders who check investment performance frequently should make mental adjustments for pain-avoidance bias.