Knowledge that Transforms

Abstract This study investigates the role of passive investors in the equity lending market by utilizing the expansion of exchange-traded fund (ETF) markets due to the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) ETF purchasing program. We find that the BOJ’s purchases increase equity prices particularly for stocks with limited availability in the equity lending market. However, over the longer term, the BOJ’s cumulative purchases reduce lending fees, thus weakening the program’s effects. These findings suggest that ETF managers supply stocks that constitute ETFs to the equity lending market, and the lending behavior of ETFs, influenced by the BOJ’s program, alleviates short-selling constraints. (JEL E52, E58, G12, G14)

Abstract Internalization happens when orders submitted through the same broker are intentionally matched to each other on-exchange or off-exchange. We study the impact of allowing (modes of) internalization on trading rates, investor welfare, and payment for order flow (PFOF). Internalization affects the choice between limit orders and market orders and the participation of dealers in trading. Greater dealer participation creates a greater scope for PFOF. A crucial determinant is the size of the tick. For small ticks, compared with the absence of internalization, its presence leads to higher trading rates, lower investor welfare, and more PFOF. The opposite holds for wide ticks. (JEL G10)

Abstract We investigate intraday return dynamics in currency markets around FOMC announcements. Using comprehensive high-frequency exchange rate data, we reveal that post-FOMC announcement returns are significantly low, cancelling out approximately 65% of positive pre-FOMC announcement drifts. These post-announcement reversals mainly result from uncertainty resolution and are mostly realized between 12 and 24 hours after FOMC announcements. This return behavior is significantly related to the negative jump volatilities driven by FOMC announcements. Our findings suggest that our signed jump volatility measures capture informational shocks and uncertainty resolutions and tend to be high under illiquid market conditions. (JEL G14, G15)

Abstract We apply machine learning techniques to predict international stock returns using firm characteristics. Market-specific training is important, as neural network models (NNs) achieve stronger results when they are trained in each market separately than in a global model trained with U.S. data. NNs outperform linear models in predicting stock return rankings and forming profitable portfolios. In contrast, regression trees underperform linear models when the number of observations is low. We also show that adding variables constructed from U.S. firm characteristics, which may contain information beyond the characteristics of international stocks, further enhances the return predictability of market-specific NNs. (JEL C52, G10, G12, G15)

Abstract We reconsider the excess volatility puzzle through the lens of a model in which agents believe they can predict dividend growth when in fact they cannot. Besides excess volatility in the time series, the model explains the value premium, and the explanatory power of the value factor. In support of the model, we show that analysts’ earnings forecasts align with market valuation and that analysts are far more optimistic about growth stocks than they are about value stocks. Using both survey and price data, we show that the same mechanism can explain the excess returns earned by investing in high-interest rate currencies. (JEL G12, G15, G41)

Abstract We study nine equity markets between 1900 and 1925 to provide an out-of-sample test of some major asset pricing anomalies during a period in which anomalies had not been documented. We find strong evidence of momentum in almost every market. We find no evidence of long-term reversals, which, coupled with the limited presence of institutional investors, suggests that underreaction should be considered as a key aspect of behavioral theories of momentum. We also find evidence for the size effect, betting-against-beta, and the outperformance of low volatility stocks, whereas we find mixed evidence of short-term reversal. (JEL G12, G15, N20)

Abstract I estimate the welfare benefits of eliminating idiosyncratic consumption shocks in the United States related (unrelated) to the business cycle as 36%–39% (lower than 1%) of household utility. Estimates of the former exceed earlier ones because I distinguish between idiosyncratic shocks related/unrelated to the business cycle, estimate the negative skewness of shocks, target moments of idiosyncratic shocks from household-level CEX data, and target market moments. Benefits of eliminating aggregate shocks are lower than 1% of utility. Policy should facilitate the insurance of idiosyncratic shocks related to the business cycle, such as job layoffs, with proof that individuals diligently seek suitable employment during periods of unemployment. (JEL D31, D52, E32, E44, G01, G12)

Abstract Firms with more positive employee expectations tend to earn higher future returns, delivering annualized abnormal returns ranging from 8% to 11%. Employees’ forward-looking expectations are a stronger return predictor than employee satisfaction, which is backward-looking. Employee expectations can predict returns because they reflect information about firms’ fundamentals that has not yet been reflected in traditional data sources, such as earnings reports. Hedge funds actively trade on this information, consistent with a decay in forecasting power over longer holding horizons. Overall, this paper highlights the importance of labor in asset pricing, specifically from the perspective of employee expectations. (JEL G12, G14)

Abstract We propose a portfolio-balance model of the yield curve in which inflation is determined through an interest rate rule that satisfies the Taylor principle. Because arbitrageurs care about their real wealth, they only absorb an increase in the supply of nominal bonds if they are compensated with an increase in their real rates of return. Since the Taylor principle implies that the real return on nominal bonds positively depends on inflation, inflation increases in equilibrium when there is an increase in the supply of nominal bonds to compensate arbitrageurs for the additional supply they have to hold. (JEL E43, E52, G12, H63)

Abstract An extensive literature studies interactions of stock market anomalies using double-sorted portfolios. But given hundreds of known candidate anomalies, examining selected interactions is subject to a data mining critique. In this paper, we conduct a comprehensive analysis of all possible double-sorted portfolios constructed from 102 underlying anomalies. We find hundreds of statistically significant anomaly interactions, even after accounting for multiple hypothesis testing. An out-of-sample trading strategy that invests in the top backward-looking double-sort strategy generates equal-weighted (value-weighted) monthly average returns of 4% (2.7%) at an annualized Sharpe ratio of 2 (1.38), on par with state-of-the-art anomaly-based machine learning strategies.