Murphy's Law and Market Anomalies

Journal of Portfolio Management, Vol. 25, No. 2, 1999, pages 53–69

35 Pages Posted: 24 Oct 1998 Last revised: 20 Mar 2016

See all articles by Elroy Dimson

Elroy Dimson

University of Cambridge - Judge Business School; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

Paul Marsh

London Business School - Institute of Finance and Accounting

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: October 1, 1998

Abstract

Many researchers have uncovered empirical regularities in stock market returns. If these regularities persist, investors can expect to achieve superior performance. Unfortunately, nature can be perverse. Once an apparent anomaly is publicised, only too often it disappears or goes into reverse. The latter seems to have happened to the small firm premium. After the UK size premium was documented and disseminated, a historical small-cap premium of six percent was followed by a small-cap discount of around six percent. This study presents evidence of and some explanations for the disappearance of the small firm premium.

Note: This abstract was published Nov. 19 with incorrect email addresses. SSRN regrets the error.

JEL Classification: G12, G14

Suggested Citation

Dimson, Elroy and Marsh, Paul, Murphy's Law and Market Anomalies (October 1, 1998). Journal of Portfolio Management, Vol. 25, No. 2, 1999, pages 53–69, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=135681 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.135681

Elroy Dimson (Contact Author)

University of Cambridge - Judge Business School ( email )

Trumpington Street
Cambridge, CB2 1AG
United Kingdom
+44 700 607 7390 (Fax)

European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) ( email )

c/o the Royal Academies of Belgium
Rue Ducale 1 Hertogsstraat
1000 Brussels
Belgium

Paul Marsh

London Business School - Institute of Finance and Accounting ( email )

Sussex Place
Regent's Park
London NW1 4SA
United Kingdom

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