Factor investing has emerged as the new paradigm for long-term investment. This paper organizes a multi-trial contest opposing factor investing and sector investing. The results suggest that factor investing is the best strategy when short sales are permitted. It also outperforms industry-based allocation during expansion and bull periods. In contrast, sector investing offers defensive opportunities to asset managers since it delivers better risk-return trade-offs for long-only portfolios during recessions and bear periods. Overall, factor investing keeps its promises, but it still has a long way to go before it can oust sector investing.
First version: June 2015
Updated on: October 2016
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