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Paper profits or real money? Trading costs and stock market anomalies in country ETFs

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  • Zaremba, Adam
  • Andreu, Laura

Abstract

Are the quantitative equity strategies for country selection robust to implementation costs? To answer this question, we conduct a comprehensive examination of the country-level strategies so far. We review, classify, and replicate 120 equity anomalies within a sample of 42 country equity indices for the years 1996–2017. Next, using ETF price and spread data, we test the effect of real-life conditions and trading costs on the anomaly performance. We also examine three cost-mitigation strategies: infrequent rebalancing, capitalization-based weighting, and focus on low-cost securities. We find that 46% of the long-only monthly rebalanced anomaly portfolios display significant alphas, concentrated strongly among strategies based on value, momentum, and liquidity. The effect of transaction costs proves largely lethal to returns, leaving only a handful of anomalies profitable. Less frequent rebalancing (annually) helps to regain the effectiveness of the strategies, increasing the monthly alphas on the long-only anomaly portfolios to 0.44% on average.

Suggested Citation

  • Zaremba, Adam & Andreu, Laura, 2018. "Paper profits or real money? Trading costs and stock market anomalies in country ETFs," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 181-192.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finana:v:56:y:2018:i:c:p:181-192
    DOI: 10.1016/j.irfa.2018.01.007
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Trading costs; Exchange traded funds; Country equity indices; Quantitative strategies; International investment; Return predictability; Equity anomalies; Cross-section of returns;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G15 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - International Financial Markets

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