Choosing Factors

Our goal is to develop insights about the max squared Sharpe ratio for model factors as a metric for ranking asset-pricing models. We consider nested and non-nested models. The nested models are the CAPM, the three-factor model of Fama and French (1993), the five-factor extension in Fama and French (2015), and a six-factor model that adds a momentum factor. The non-nested models examine three issues about factor choice in the six-factor model: (i) cash profitability versus operating profitability as the variable used to construct profitability factors, (ii) long-short spread factors versus excess return factors, and (iii) factors that use small or big stocks versus factors that use both.

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