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Value investing or investing in illiquidity? The profitability of contrarian investment strategies, revisited

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  • Aron A. Gottesman

    (Pace University)

  • Gady Jacoby

    (University of Manitoba)

  • Huijing Li

    (University of Manitoba)

Abstract

Background We investigate whether the success of contrarian investment strategies can be attributed to differences in the relative illiquidity of stocks categorized as value investments versus those categorized as glamour portfolios. Methods Following Lakonishok et al. (J Financ 49:1541–1578, 1994), we assess the illiquidity characteristics of portfolios that underlie contrarian investment strategies that are based on the level of stock’s book to market. Results We find strong evidence that those portfolios characterized as value investments are associated with dramatically greater levels of illiquidity than glamour portfolios. We further demonstrate that strategies based on the illiquidity in the year prior to portfolio formation result in return characteristic of ostensibly contrarian strategies. Conclusions These results suggest that the higher returns associated with contrarian investment strategies are the result of the higher illiquidity associated with value portfolios and represent compensation that the investor receives for accepting illiquidity. They also suggest that researchers should be cautious before attributing apparent anomalies to behavior-driven expectational errors rather than to other attributes unrelated to behavior, such as illiquidity.

Suggested Citation

  • Aron A. Gottesman & Gady Jacoby & Huijing Li, 2017. "Value investing or investing in illiquidity? The profitability of contrarian investment strategies, revisited," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 3(1), pages 1-12, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:fininn:v:3:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1186_s40854-017-0082-9
    DOI: 10.1186/s40854-017-0082-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Xuebing Yang & Huilan Zhang, 2023. "Evolution of short-term contrarian profits," Studies in Economics and Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 41(1), pages 1-27, July.
    2. Xiaoxia Huang & Xuting Wang, 2019. "Portfolio Investment with Options Based on Uncertainty Theory," International Journal of Information Technology & Decision Making (IJITDM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 18(03), pages 929-952, May.

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