Quantile Tracking Errors (QuTE)
32 Pages Posted: 22 Feb 2020 Last revised: 21 Oct 2021
Date Written: October 18, 2021
Abstract
The tracking error is a ubiquitous tool among active and passive portfolio managers, used widely for fund selection, risk management, and manager compensation. In this paper, we show that traditional measures of tracking error are incapable of detecting variations in higher-order moments (e.g. skewness and kurtosis). As a solution, we introduce a new class of Quantile Tracking Errors (QuTE), which measures deviations in the quantile of return distributions between a tracking portfolio and its benchmark. Through an extensive simulation study, we show that QuTE can detect variations in higher-order moments. We also offer guidance on the granularity of the quantile grid and weighting schemes for the relative importance of various quantiles. A case study illustrates the benefits of QuTE during the Dot Com Bubble and the Great Recession.
Keywords: tracking error, index tracking, portfolio tracking, index fund, quantile
JEL Classification: G11
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation