Scientific Beta

This paper provides a formal empirical analysis of the benefits of strategic and tactical allocation to multiple equity smart factor indices in a context where relative risk with respect to the cap-weighted indices needs to be explicitly controlled for. The focus of this paper is to provide a quantitative assessment of the benefits expected from the three sources of added-value (which come from time-varying strategic, time-varying tactical or time-varying core-satellite allocation decisions) in the design of equity benchmarks with superior risk and return characteristics.

This paper provides a formal empirical analysis of the benefits of strategic and tactical allocation to multiple equity smart factor indices in a context where relative risk with respect to the cap-weighted indices needs to be explicitly controlled for.

The focus of this paper is to provide a quantitative assessment of the benefits expected from the three sources of added-value (which come from time-varying strategic, time-varying tactical or time-varying core-satellite allocation decisions) in the design of equity benchmarks with superior risk and return characteristics.

The authors show the benefits that active managers and asset owners can expect from dynamically allocating to smart factor indices, with a focus on efficiently reacting to changes in market conditions, as well as efficiently spending relative risk budgets with respect to a cap-weighted reference portfolio.