Quant & Factor Investing: The ‘Moneyball’ Approach to Markets
Quant & Factor Investing: The ‘Moneyball’ Approach to Markets
Quant & Factor Investing” moves beyond “gut feeling” and relies on empirical evidence. This Hub organizes 18 strategies focused on the three pillars of modern financial engineering: Factor Investing (harvesting risk premia like Value and Volatility), Structural Leverage (Return Stacking), and Direct Indexing (Tax Alpha).
๐ Strategic Roadmap
Phase 1: Market Physics & Math
Establishing the mathematical baseline: Understanding Alpha, Beta, Valuations, and Rebalancing mechanics.
#363 Alpha vs. Beta
The Truth About “Beating the Market” vs. Riding it.
#373 Mean Reversion
Why Today’s Winners Are Tomorrow’s Losers.
#371 The Shiller PE (CAPE) Ratio
Predicting Market Crashes and “Lost Decades”.
#387 Shannon’s Demon (Rebalancing Bonus)
How to Create Returns Out of Thin Air using volatility.
#379 Lump Sum vs. DCA
The “Math” (LSI) vs. The “Sleep” (DCA) Dilemma.
Phase 2: Factor Investing (Value & Volatility)
Targeting specific drivers of higher expected returns: Small-Cap Value, Low Volatility, and Shareholder Yield.
#396 The Small-Cap Value Premium
The Fama-French factor that rewards size and value risks.
#365 The Low Volatility Anomaly
Why “Boring” Stocks paradoxically beat High-Flyers.
#390 Share Buybacks (Invisible Dividend)
The tax-efficient way companies return capital.
#376 The Yield on Cost Fallacy
Why your “50% Dividend” on old stocks is an illusion.
#354 Buybacks vs. Dividends (Basics)
Why “Invisible” Income Beats Cash Payouts.
Phase 3: Structural Engineering (Leverage & Indexing)
Optimizing the portfolio chassis using Direct Indexing (Tax Alpha) and Structural Leverage (Return Stacking).
#381 Direct Indexing
The “ETF Killer” that unlocks Tax-Loss Harvesting alpha.
#393 Return Stacking
How to Unlock >100% Portfolio Efficiency with structural leverage.
#358 Leveraged ETFs & Volatility Decay
Why 3x Bull Doesn’t Mean 3x Profit (The Trap).
#359 Currency Hedging
Should You Buy “Hedged” International ETFs?
Phase 4: Portfolio Robustness
Strategies designed to survive “Black Swan” events and correct behavioral biases.
#399 The Barbell Strategy (Taleb)
Avoiding the “Middle” to survive Black Swans.
#361 The Permanent Portfolio
The “Fail-Safe” Allocation for Nervous Investors.
#384 The Coffee Can Portfolio
How “Doing Nothing” beats Wall Street trading.
#364 The Behavior Gap
Why Investors Earn Less Than the Funds They Own.
COACHING DIRECTIVE
- Start Here: Master #363 Alpha vs. Beta to understand return drivers. Then evaluate #371 Shiller PE for valuation context.
- Advance to: Implement #381 Direct Indexing for tax efficiency if your portfolio exceeds $100k. Consider #393 Return Stacking to optimize asset allocation beyond 100%.