Positive Portfolio Factors

22 Pages Posted: 23 Apr 1998

See all articles by Stephen J. Brown

Stephen J. Brown

New York University - Stern School of Business

William N. Goetzmann

Yale School of Management - International Center for Finance; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Mark Grinblatt

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Finance Area; Yale University - International Center for Finance; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: January 9, 1997

Abstract

We use an iterative relocation algorithm to identify factors in common stock returns. The benefit of the approach is that factors are portfolios of assets with non-negative weights. As a result, they are readily interpretable in terms of the characteristics of the underlying securities. The positive portfolio factors have comparatively high explanatory power in sample and out of sample. We find evidence of a size factor and factors identified with certain industries. Factors extracted from the mutual fund universe perform marginally better than factors from the universe of equities.

JEL Classification: G1

Suggested Citation

Brown, Stephen J. and Goetzmann, William N. and Grinblatt, Mark, Positive Portfolio Factors (January 9, 1997). Yale School of Management Working Paper No. F-57, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=79373 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.79373

Stephen J. Brown

New York University - Stern School of Business ( email )

Stern School of Business
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William N. Goetzmann (Contact Author)

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Mark Grinblatt

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Finance Area ( email )

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310-206-5455 (Fax)

Yale University - International Center for Finance

Box 208200
New Haven, CT 06520-8200
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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