Fact, Fiction and Momentum Investing

26 Pages Posted: 12 May 2014 Last revised: 3 Oct 2014

See all articles by Clifford S. Asness

Clifford S. Asness

AQR Capital Management, LLC

Andrea Frazzini

AQR Capital Management, LLC

Ronen Israel

AQR Capital Management, LLC

Tobias J. Moskowitz

AQR Capital; Yale University, Yale SOM; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: May 9, 2014

Abstract

It’s been over 20 years since the academic discovery of momentum investing (Jegadeesh and Titman (1993), Asness (1994)), yet much confusion and debate remains regarding its efficacy and its use as a practical investment tool. In some cases “confusion and debate” is us attempting to be polite, as it is near impossible for informed practitioners and academics to still believe some of the myths uttered about momentum — but that impossibility is often belied by real world statements. In this article, we aim to clear up much of the confusion by documenting what we know about momentum and disproving many of the often-repeated myths. We highlight ten myths about momentum and refute them, using results from widely circulated academic papers and analysis from the simplest and best publicly available data.

Keywords: Momentum, Value, Market efficiency

JEL Classification: G11, G12

Suggested Citation

Asness, Cliff S. and Frazzini, Andrea and Israel, Ronen and Moskowitz, Tobias J. and Moskowitz, Tobias J., Fact, Fiction and Momentum Investing (May 9, 2014). Journal of Portfolio Management, Fall 2014 (40th Anniversary Issue), Fama-Miller Working Paper, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2435323 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2435323

Cliff S. Asness

AQR Capital Management, LLC ( email )

Two Greenwich Plaza, 3rd Floor
Greenwich, CT 06830
United States
203-742-3601 (Phone)
203-742-3101 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.aqrcapital.com

Andrea Frazzini

AQR Capital Management, LLC ( email )

Two Greenwich Plaza, 3rd Floor
Greenwich, CT 06830
United States
203-742-3894 (Phone)
203-742-3394 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.econ.yale.edu/~af227/

Ronen Israel (Contact Author)

AQR Capital Management, LLC ( email )

Greenwich, CT
United States

Tobias J. Moskowitz

Yale University, Yale SOM ( email )

493 College St
New Haven, CT CT 06520
United States

HOME PAGE: http://som.yale.edu/tobias-j-moskowitz

AQR Capital ( email )

Greenwich, CT
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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