Company: elb_research
Categories: Finance, Macro Economics, Quantitative Analysis

Kaya Regime Index since 2014

We believe that the biggest problem with current quantitative research—and finance research in general—is the significant lack of objectivity in the analysis, with far too much subjectivity and emotion involved. We have never seen a single analysis for retail investors that includes a valid machine learning approach to eliminate any emotional bias in trading decisions. The goal of our work is for you to receive the latest report from us every morning, providing a clear answer to the central question for every investor or trader: What is more likely: that a market will go up or down? Below, you can find our approach to provide a quantitative answer to this question.

Interpretation

  • Bullish Regime:
    • Every score above the mean threshold of 40 signals a bullish macroeconomic environment at the start of the trading day.
    • Therefore, the optimal position in equities is long.
  • Bearish Regime:
    • Every score below the mean threshold of 40 signals a bearish macroeconomic environment at the start of the trading day.
    • Therefore, the optimal position in equities is neutral.
  • IMPORTANT
    • A bearish regime does not indicate a short position in equities!
    • If you do so, you will significantly increase the risks and volatility in your portfolio.

Regime Analysis

Returns and Drawdown

Mean Score Performance Metrics
Metric Value
Sharpe Ratio 1.1245
Sortino Ratio 0.1026
Max Drawdown 0.1637
Annualized Return 0.1058
Win Rate 0.2075
Loss Rate 0.1459
Profit Factor 1.3858

If you had followed the trading signals of the index, you would have achieved a remarkable return of 4x without any significant drawdowns. From our perspective, you should once again follow Jim Simons’ advice:

“Past performance is the best predictor of success.” – Jim Simons

Kaya Regime Index since 2002

The interpretation of every metric in this section is the same as above. As you can see in the figures below, the index provides a robust estimation of the current macroeconomic environment in any market context, protects our portfolio against significant drawdowns, and delivers excellent buying opportunities.

Mean Score Performance Metrics
Metric Value
Sharpe Ratio 0.7805
Sortino Ratio 0.0729
Max Drawdown 0.2344
Annualized Return 0.0832
Win Rate 0.2007
Loss Rate 0.1499
Profit Factor 1.2711

Method

“The best decisions are often made with data and evidence, not just gut feelings” – Jim Simons

This section remains the same every day. If we change or add additional information or introduce a new index, we will note this at the top of the daily paper. We calculated this index using multiple machine learning methods and simulate it on a daily basis with out-of-sample data in a so-called “online simulation.” We were very careful to avoid any look-ahead bias, randomness, or overfitting, and we produce reproducible and deterministic results. We create this paper with R Studio in R Markdown. Please understand that we do not share the code with the public nor delve deeply into our methodology. The potential for more advanced analysis is huge. Currently, we are working on an add-on called the “Short Macro Index,” which is designed to generate more consistently significant outperformance during bear markets when used in combination with the Kaya Regime Index. In addition, we are developing a Stock Regime Index to identify price movements that are not driven by macroeconomic factors.

Data

The index contains a sample of every major US macroeconomic data series from the FRED database. In this section, we show you which data is used for the calculation and simulation of the index. You will recognize most of these data series.

All data is from the FRED database.

  • NASDAQ COMPOSITE Index (NASDAQCOM)
  • NASDAQ 100 Index (NASDAQ100)
  • Nikkei Stock Average, Nikkei 225 (NIKKEI225)
  • CBOE NASDAQ 100 Volatility Index (VXNCLS)
  • CBOE Volatility Index: VIX (VIXCLS)
  • Moody’s Seasoned Aaa Corporate Bond Minus Federal Funds Rate (AAAFF)
  • Moody’s Seasoned Aaa Corporate Bond Yield (DAAA)
  • Moody’s Seasoned Baa Corporate Bond Yield (DBAA)
  • 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Minus 3-Month Treasury Constant Maturity (T10Y3M)
  • Moody’s Seasoned Aaa Corporate Bond Yield Relative to Yield on 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity (AAA10Y)
  • Federal Funds Effective Rate (DFF)
  • 3-Month Treasury Bill Secondary Market Rate, Discount Basis (DTB3)
  • Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 2-Year Constant Maturity, Quoted on an Investment Basis (DGS2)
  • Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 1-Year Constant Maturity, Quoted on an Investment Basis (DGS1)
  • Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 3-Month Constant Maturity, Quoted on an Investment Basis (DGS3MO)
  • Bank Prime Loan Rate (DPRIME)
  • 7-Day AA Financial Commercial Paper Interest Rate (RIFSPPFAAD07NB)
  • 90-Day AA Financial Commercial Paper Interest Rate (RIFSPPFAAD90NB)
  • Fitted Instantaneous Forward Rate 1 Year Hence (THREEFF1)
  • Term Premium on a 2 Year Zero Coupon Bond (THREEFYTP2)
  • Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 10-Year Constant Maturity, Quoted on an Investment Basis (DGS10)
  • Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 30-Year Constant Maturity, Quoted on an Investment Basis (DGS30)
  • ICE BofA CCC & Lower US High Yield Index Option-Adjusted Spread (BAMLH0A3HYC)
  • ICE BofA US High Yield Index Option-Adjusted Spread (BAMLH0A0HYM2)
  • ICE BofA US Corporate Index Option-Adjusted Spread (BAMLC0A0CM)
  • ICE BofA US Corporate Index Effective Yield (BAMLC0A0CMEY)