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Smart beta

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 Anita Hawser, Freelance Editor & Journalist

 Friday, August 8, 2014

I've been commissioned to write an article on smart beta, considered to be a half way between active and passive investment strategies. Hearing mixed things about it with some just calling it "dumb alpha". Just wondering if anyone in the group has any thoughts on smart beta that they care to share.


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5 comments on article "Smart beta"

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 Alexander von York, CFA, Portfolio Manager & Quantitative Strategist at Catalyst Partners Management, LLC

 Thursday, August 28, 2014



I learned about this piece from a post in another group. Perhaps you will find it helpful as you conduct your research.



http://www.researchaffiliates.com/Our%20Ideas/Insights/Fundamentals/Pages/292_What_Smart_Beta_Means_to_Us.aspx


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 Fausto Ortega, Complex Securities Team Lead at Franklin Templeton Investments

 Thursday, August 28, 2014



From an operational perspective, this smart beta products definitely add another layer of complexity related to the monitoring of the dynamic constituents within these customized strategies. To illustrate this concept, one can think of the different channels to get exposure to these smart beta indexes: structured products, swaps (TRS/ERS),etc. Using a swap as an example, once this swap is structured with one of these smart beta strategies, the inherit risk is not only attached to the swap but also to the actual strategy used to construct this customized index. Therefore for business entities reviewing market/operational risk achieving a high level of transparency to view the constituents of these strategies is critical and in many cases a very manual intensive process.


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 Smruti Behera, Portfolio Manager, Alternative Investments

 Friday, August 29, 2014



Hi Anita, attaching a 'smart' tag to something all but ensures a 'dumb' retort! Your initial intuition is of course correct. Smart beta or as I like to call it alternate beta is indeed something between beta and alpha - in terms of complexity not necessarily return.

By definition, alpha should be difficult to achieve and hence should be expensive not just because it's rare but also because it's costly to produce (more research, more machines etc.). However, what became apparent during the financial crisis was that what passes as alpha was in fact more often than not smart beta + leverage + illiquidity premium.

So, we have this rush towards smart beta by big institutions and retail is along for the ride. As time goes by and familiarity with the concept increases, the distinction between smart and normal beta should blur. After all a valuation weighted index is not all that more complicated than a market cap weighted index.

In fact as technology improves more of what is considered 'alpha' should also become smart beta but my opinion is that will take much longer.


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 Tarun J., MBA Student at University of Toronto - Rotman School of Management

 Friday, August 29, 2014



Anita,

I am sure that the reason you are being asked to do an article on "smart beta" is because of the explosive growth in smart beta ETFs.

Smart beta is nothing but quantitative, systematic stock picking. In a nutshell, smart beta strategies are designed to exploit "market inefficiencies" or "systematic risks" that active fund managers take to generate superior returns. E.g. Since 1900, momentum stocks have generated 15% annualized returns versus 10% that growth stocks have generated.

Read the research papers by Fama-French; It is the holy grail to start understanding smart beta. Ken French's website has amazing data to help with your research.

Best,


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 Anita Hawser, Freelance Editor & Journalist

 Sunday, August 31, 2014



Thanks everyone very helpful comments and research references

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