Finance
The Key Information Hiding Behind ‘Consensus’ Target Stock Prices
Ordinary investors generally can only see an average of analysts’ target prices for a given stock. In a new study, Yale SOM’s Thomas Steffen and Frank Zhang find that when the degree of variation within that “consensus” figure is large, it’s a bad sign for future returns.
Did Finance Make Civilization Possible?
Prof. William Goetzmann traces the millennia-long relationship between finance and the growth of civilization.
Should Investors Look for Stocks with Momentum?
Research by Yale SOM’s Roger Ibbotson suggests that accelerating stocks are prone to sharp reversals.
How Are Hedge Funds Changing?
Putnam Coes ’94 of Paulson & Co. says that starting a new fund is harder than ever.
Can Financial Markets Move Beyond Politics?
Once you start pulling at the strands, the intertwined political and financial systems can prove very difficult to separate. A panel of financial veterans at Yale SOM’s Future of Finance conference considered recent government interventions in markets across a number of countries, and what they mean for investors.
Can Research Generate Returns?
Andrea Frazzini, a principal at research-oriented hedge fund AQR Capital Management, discusses what it takes to put an academic idea to work creating investment advantage.
The Housing Market Still Isn’t Rational
In a New York Times op-ed, Robert J. Shiller explains why the housing market “is far less rational than even the often irrational stock market.”
The Mirage of the Financial Singularity
The financial singularity, a hypothetical state in which powerful computers direct all investment decisions and financial markets become perfect, will never become reality, according to Robert Shiller.
How Should Nonprofits Invest?
Sandra Urie ’85 of Cambridge Associates talks about helping clients find the right level of risk.
Can You Get Higher Returns from Low-Risk Stocks?
The concept of high-risk, high-return is a bedrock belief in finance, confirmed by decades of empirical data. But when Prof. Roger Ibbotson dug deeper into the data, things started to look a little different.
Coworkers Affect Retirement Savings Rates
Investment companies including Fidelity, Putnam Investments, and Voya Financial are rolling out tools that tell investors how their retirement savings compare to those of their peers. This social comparison is intended to motivate investors to increase their savings; however, new research shows that it can have the opposite effect.
