As with all things new, factor investing in China holds a special appeal. There is abundant opportunity, but there are also notable differences compared to the investment world as we know it. In particular, given the historically rapid pace of change in China, the past may be a less reliable guide to the future than elsewhere. In this issue of Risk & Reward, three of my colleagues describe how they navigate the shifting Chinese investment landscape and show that factor strategies can be effective even when there are structural breaks in the data.
Other articles in this issue address fixed income investing in times of low market yields, real estate sector investing, the merits of estimating the covariance matrix and how to capture multi-asset class factor premia.
Given the complex dynamics of a post-COVID world, we know investors have questions. Can factor strategies help fixed income investors who are seeking higher yields? Which specialty real estate sectors still hold promise when the world as we know it has changed dramatically? Is it worthwhile to forecast covariance – or are old-fashioned return forecasts sufficient? How can retirement savers benefit from a multi-asset class factor approach? This new edition of Risk & Reward offers some answers.