Style Research

Monthly Style Summary to End April 2012

Outside of Pacific ex Japan, during April markets gave back some of their first quarter gains, and especially in the Eurozone, where economic, and increasingly, political uncertainty resurfaced.  Against this backdrop of retrenchment, Value continued to underperform on a broad basis, well beyond the traditional Value sectors. And Growth, whether based on historic, current or forecast measures, performed strongly in the most coherent display of factor returns for many months.   Momentum and (low) Beta strategies were also rewarded.

Read more »

Author: Peter | Categories: Monthly Style Summary

Financial Times Interview with Style Research – Investing with Style

Value investors are faring poorly, despite market conditions that usually favour them. Why? John Authers, Long View Columnist and Robert Schwob, Principal at Style Research, dig into the factors behind value’s under performance.

FT Investing with Style

Some of the ideas discussed within this interview relate to research detailed within the Global Style Perspectives (GSP) and Monthly Style Summary .  For more information, please contact Style Research at london@styleresearch.com.

Author: Robert | Categories: News

Style Performance Focus – Global Equities – Q1 2012

The Global Equity region performed strongly in Q1 2012, recovering almost all losses from 2011. Against this backdrop, and with much of the market sentiment seemingly driven by “risk on, risk off” type considerations, it was not surprising that High Beta stocks outperformed the market in Q1 2012. This was a partial reversal of the very strong underperformance of High Beta stocks in 2011.  In addition, High Momentum stocks underperformed in the first quarter.

Read more »

Author: admin | Categories: Research Topics

Global Equity Fund Performance 2011 Study

This study examines the sources of performance for Global Equity mutual funds over calendar 2011.   It is derived from a series of holdings based performance attribution analyses which are used to determine the most important contributors to performance across funds.

Style Research has been collecting mutual fund holdings data for several years and has now built up a database  covering in excess of 15,000 products worldwide.  This is used extensively in our Style Research Funds Analyzer service, and we have employed this data in our fund performance research.

In this investigation we separate out the fund returns due to country positioning from that due to stock selection within countries.  And we also look at a similar decomposition using the sectors and Styles that were most interesting over the year.

Click here to download the study - Global Equity Fund Performance 2011 Study

Author: Peter | Categories: Research Papers, Research Topics

Monthly Style Summary to End March 2012

While the US and Japanese equity markets gained, most other market regions experienced volatile and marginally negative returns during March.  Against this mixed background, there was, however, a generally consistent pattern of Style Returns. Curiously, high Beta stocks underperformed, even in the rising markets; but, more strikingly, in all but the UK, Value stocks are again underperforming while a wide range of Growth characteristics are outperforming. Read more »

Author: Robert | Categories: Monthly Style Summary

Style versus Sector Investing in Asia Pacific ex Japan

Author: Larry | Categories: Blog, Research Topics

Under the Bonnet: In Conjunction with Citywire Global

In conjunction with Citywire Global (www.citywireglobal.com), Style Research analyses the driving force behind popular managers in the monthly ‘Under the Bonnet’ feature.   In the March edition, we look at the Oyster European Opportunities fund managed by Banque Syz’s widely followed manager, Eric Bendahan.

Click here to view article

Author: Andrea | Categories: News

New Macro Economic factors to be added to Style Research

Style Research will be adding six new Macro Economic factors with the March 2012 month-end update.

The factors are as follows:

1. Exposure to GDP Growth Shock
2. Exposure to Currency Gain
3. Exposure to Inflation
4. Exposure to Short Rate
5. Exposure to Oil Return
6. Exposure to Gold Return

These will be available to everyone to use freely, however, they are not included in the charts by default and need to be selected specifically from the factors list.

Author: Andrea | Categories: News

A Brief Look into the UK Income Sector

Executive Summary

• Strong performance for peer group as a whole with large variations between individual managers
• Making the right sector bets was key to good performance during 2011, stock picking more problematic
• High degree of stock concentration and correlation between funds, but diversification can be found

Read more »

Author: Andrea | Categories: Research Topics

SRPA February 2012 Month End Update

With this month-end update we are making further sets of pre-loaded benchmarks available. The following index series are being added:

• STOXX – 14 indices
• Russell Microcap – 3 indices
• MSCI Smallcap Emerging – 39 indices
• MSCI Smallcap All Country – 9 indices

These are in addition to the FTSE, MSCI, Russell, S&P and TSX benchmarks we currently provide.

Author: Andrea | Categories: Style Research Portfolio Analyzer

Monthly Style Summary to End February 2012

As European governments finally were seen to confront the region’s debt issues and a few signs of tentative economic recovery appeared in Western economies, equity markets continued to gain during February. Nonetheless, the Style signals emerging from the month’s returns do not suggest that investors believe that the current bull phase is based on expectations of strengthening economic activity and encouraging profits growth.

Read more »

Author: Robert | Categories: Monthly Style Summary

UK Equity Funds Study 2011

This study examines the sources of performance for UK focused mutual funds (UK All Companies and UK Equity Income IMA sectors) over calendar 2011.  We investigate which themes were the primary drivers of fund returns, and how the best performing managers were positioned to benefit from them.   Against a backdrop of economic uncertainty and increasing tensions over the Euro and the  attendant sovereign debt crisis, 2011 witnessed major swings in sector and Style return patterns.  We look at how managers navigated through these difficult waters.

UK Equity Funds Study 2011

Author: Peter | Categories: Research Papers, Research Topics

Monthly Style Summary to End January 2012

Markets shrugged off continuing European financial concerns and widespread risks of an economic “double dip” in major economies and, with little more that scattered house sales statistics as support, moved strongly, and broadly, higher. As Momentum abruptly reversed, Value stocks extended last month’s gains and, almost paradoxically, Higher Dividend securities noticeably underperformed, and this wasn’t just due to relative underperformance of Utilities. Read more »

Author: Robert | Categories: Monthly Style Summary

Monthly Style Summary to End December 2011

Despite the continuing political upheaval in the Gulf area, discouraging economic statistics and the running drama surrounding the euro, December was a relatively peaceful month for equity markets.  Within this window of relative calm, there looks to have been a revival of interest in Value securities. While market conditions do not yet appear to be conducive to a Value rebound, Value values are clearly attractive. Read more »

Author: Robert | Categories: Monthly Style Summary

Carbon Footprint Investing – It still pays to have a conscience, but you need to be selective – particularly over the shorter term

Research conducted in the middle of 2011 revealed some peculiar, if not awkward, truths about the success of investing in companies with low Carbon Footprints.  We thought it was now a good time to re-examine the results. Read more »

Author: Robert | Categories: Research Topics

SRPA November 2011 Month End Release

We have added 6 new markets to the SRPA database:

1- Bangladesh
2- Cambodia
3- Cameroon
4- Ghana
5- Montenegro
6- Palestine

These markets have been added to the SRPA built-in “World” region.  (Note that they have not been added to any other built-in region.)

Also, a new option has been added to the “Bonds Analysis” tab giving users the opportunity to include raw data for all benchmark stocks in the output file. The option is presented as a checkbox titled “Incl. Benchmark in Raw Data”, and by default it is not selected.

Author: Andrea | Categories: Style Research Portfolio Analyzer

The Style Research Highway

Holdings Data for Equity Funds from Style Research

We are very pleased to announce a new addition to the range of services offered to our clients.

It is now possible for users of Style Research services to access regular, comprehensive and immediately usable equity holdings data for a wide range of UK and European mutual funds, directly from our website.

Read more »

Author: Andrea | Categories: News

Monthly Style Summary to end November 2011

Equity markets fell during the first 3 1/2 weeks of November but, as central bank liquidity support was agreed and a structure for fiscal coordination across the Eurozone appeared to be taking shape, markets rebounded sharply.  It is too early to say whether such programs will be sufficient to sustain the Euro or if a currency union across such a diverse territory is fundamentally flawed but it is clear that, despite the gains, markets are still skeptical.

Read more »

Author: Robert | Categories: Monthly Style Summary

Value Investing – The Lex Column, The Financial Times

(Published Friday November 25, 2011)

Author: Andrea | Categories: News

Monthly Style Summary to end October 2011

Despite the turbulent setback towards the end of the month, markets recorded significant gains during October. Coming after a period of extended market volatility and declines, October’s gains were characterized by strong reversals in Style returns: forward-looking Growth outperformed (it was previously weak); other Growth measures weakened (they were previously strong); and high dividend companies lost ground (they were previously strong).

Read more »

Author: Robert | Categories: Monthly Style Summary

Monthly Style Summary to end September 2011

Global equity markets continued their volatile descent through September with significant losses in Financials, Basic Materials, Industrials and Energy sectors, and broad losses virtually everywhere else. Against a background of growing skepticism over European debt and debt holders, and growing concerns over faltering major economies and the viability of the euro, recent Style returns again provide evidence of investor thinking and offer clues about future opportunities.

Read more »

Author: Robert | Categories: Monthly Style Summary

Collaboration to Provide GMI Ratings for Portfolio Analysis within Style Research Services

Style Research and GMI have announced a partnership to provide in-depth corporate governance analysis of investment portfolios to professional investment institutions worldwide. Through this initiative, Style Research clients can now access high-level GMI ratings via its portfolio analysis services, allowing investment professionals to conduct consistent and wide-ranging governance analysis of global investment portfolios. Read more »

Author: Andrea | Categories: News

Monthly Style Summary to end August 2011

Markets fell sharply during early August and gyrated dramatically throughout the month, ending above their lows but with no clear direction established. The global economic outlook is again particularly unsettling, amid widespread worries of a “double dip” recession and/or a “lost decade” of economic stagnation, so it is not at all surprising that the recent Style reward patterns speak particularly clearly of investor concerns.

Read more »

Author: Robert | Categories: Monthly Style Summary

Style Research New Website / Blog

Incorporating Style Research’s new blog, the website has undergone a radical transformation!

Author: admin | Categories: News

Conferences/Webinars

Following on from our popular summer webinar series, Style Research is hosting an Autumn series with topics ranging from an overview of our risk model and the Persistence Ratio to a session on the peer group Style and Risk findings across the eVestment Alliance peer group universes. Go to the webinars page to view the full list of webinars and to register.

Author: admin | Categories: News

Introducing New Skyline and Risk Range Charts

The Style Research Portfolio Analyzer has incorporated three new charts within the snail trail facility. These are range charts for both the Portfolio Style Skyline Tilts and the Risk Attributes/ Decomposition. The charts offer an intuitive way to depict the averages and ranges of the factors over time in one simple chart.

Read more »

Author: Andrea | Categories: News, Style Research Portfolio Analyzer

SRMA Introduces Fama and French Methodology

The Style Research Markets Analyzer has been extended to include the Fama and French Portfolio construction methodology, incorporating any of the 55 style factors available on the research platform.
Read more »

Author: Jeremy | Categories: News, Style Research Markets Analyzer