Topic: Stock Returns

Illustration of a man looking at a stock chart Research Brief / Corporate Investment

How ETFs Muffle Stock Market Feedback to Managers

The rise of passive investing leaves companies mistrusting market signals on how best to deploy capital

Lettered wooden pieces arranged to spell the words "stock" and "bond". The two words share a single "O" piece. Research Brief / Corporate Investment

How Bond and Stock Prices Combine to Influence Corporate Investment

Equity volatility can encourage — or dampen — investment, depending on a firm’s bond spread

Illustration of a woman with reflection of line chart going up Research Brief / Investing

How an Excess of Stock Analyst Optimism Lands on Companies Least Deserving of It

Results of financially weak firms are difficult to forecast; in uncertainty, Wall Street’s views are overly generous

A collage of faces in white frames on a light green background Research Brief / Investing

How a Stock Analyst’s Face Affects Their Earning Estimates

Trustworthy and dominant-seeming men: access to corporate management. Dominant-seeming women: not so much.

Two people sit opposite of each other while working on their laptops Research Brief / Investing

Heading for a Divorce? Might Want to Go Easy on Stock Picking

Active traders lose their edge as a marital breakup approaches

Close up of a smartphone Research Brief / Investing

GameStop Aside, Retail Investors Might be Terrible at Momentum Investing

Using Chinese A and B shares, institutional players outperform individuals

An overhead photo of two gentlemen on love seat one of whom is shaking hands with a man in an orange chair Research Brief / Mergers and Acquisitions

Face-to-Face Meetings, Before an Acquisition, Improve Outcomes for Buyers

Acquiring companies appear to get a better deal following frequent in-person meetings

An illustration in green of a lightbulb made up of various icons including a dollar sign, a piggy bank and the earth. Research Brief / Investing

ESG Investors in China Focused on Profit Potential of Climate Change

Less attention to downside of nation’s carbon-neutral goals

Digital map Research Brief / Markets

Does Better Corporate Disclosure Boost Markets?

Stronger financial reporting standards seem to mean more for growth of countries’ credit markets than their stock markets

Smartphone security concept and how to keep your data safe from hackers. The blue man is using a smartphone and he is being watched by many eyes. Research Brief / Investing

Companies at Risk of an Earnings Miss Allow More Third-Party Trackers on Their Websites

Managing earnings at the cost of privacy

Women in front of a stock ticker board Research Brief / Trading

Chinese Investors Learn about Derivatives the Hard Way

An analysis of warrant trading reveals individuals’ poor grasp of complex securities

Road marking - One Way with snow Research Brief / Investing

Bringing a Sharper Focus to the Study of the Decline of Investment Diversification

Research measures the impact of global economic factors on returns

High speed view in a tunnel Feature / Investing

At Last, the Momentum Investing Puzzle Solved?

The simplest explanation — “I can’t believe you know something I don’t” — may trump all the rest

Graphic of investor leisurely sitting in front of an investment terminal reading a book Research Brief / Investing

As Passive Investing Spreads, Overall Market Becomes Less Competitive

Active investors take up some — but not all — of the slack created by index funds

A lone red char in empty office. Research Brief / Investing

As Concentrated Shareholder Ownership Rises, Wages and Employment Suffer

Where big investors gather, corporate wealth is reallocated away from workers

Group of people standing in queue to board airplane. Research Brief / Competition

Airline Shareholders Were the Big Losers from Deregulation

Consumers, on the other hand, gained in good times and bad