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Breaking into the blackbox: Trend following, stop losses and the frequency of trading – The case of the S&P500

Author

Listed:
  • Andrew Clare
  • James Seaton
  • Peter N Smith
  • Stephen Thomas

    (Cass Business School)

Abstract

In this article, we compare a variety of technical trading rules in the context of investing in the S&P500 index. These rules are increasingly popular, both among retail investors and CTAs and similar investment funds. We find that a range of fairly simple rules, including the popular 200-day moving average (MA) trading rule, dominate the long-only, passive investment in the index. In particular, using the latter rule we find that popular stop-loss rules do not add value and that monthly end-of-month investment decision rules are superior to those which trade more frequently: this adds to the growing view that trading can damage your wealth. Finally, we compare the MA rule with a variety of simple fundamental metrics and find the latter far inferior to the technical rules over the last 60 years of investing.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrew Clare & James Seaton & Peter N Smith & Stephen Thomas, 2013. "Breaking into the blackbox: Trend following, stop losses and the frequency of trading – The case of the S&P500," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 14(3), pages 182-194, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:assmgt:v:14:y:2013:i:3:d:10.1057_jam.2013.11
    DOI: 10.1057/jam.2013.11
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    Cited by:

    1. Andrew Clare & James Seaton & Peter N. Smith & Stephen Thomas, 2019. "The Rehabilitation of Glidepath Investing," Discussion Papers 19/17, Department of Economics, University of York.
    2. Zakamulin, Valeriy & Giner, Javier, 2022. "Time series momentum in the US stock market: Empirical evidence and theoretical analysis," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    3. Valeriy Zakamulin & Javier Giner, 2020. "Trend following with momentum versus moving averages: a tale of differences," Quantitative Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(6), pages 985-1007, June.
    4. Almira Biglova & Sergio Ortobelli & Frank J Fabozzi, 2014. "Portfolio selection in the presence of systemic risk," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 15(5), pages 285-299, October.
    5. Zakamulin, Valeriy & Giner, Javier, 2023. "Optimal trend-following with transaction costs," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).

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