Sector-Based Factor Models for Asset Returns

Angela Gu; Patrick Zeng

Home/Archive/arXiv

arXiv · 1408.2794

Sector-Based Factor Models for Asset Returns

Angela Gu·Patrick Zeng

View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Factor analysis is a statistical technique employed to evaluate how observed variables correlate through common factors and unique variables. While it is often used to analyze price movement in the unstable stock market, it does not always yield easily interpretable results. In this study, we develop improved factor models by explicitly incorporating sector information on our studied stocks. We add eleven sectors of stocks as defined by the IBES, represented by respective sector-specific factors, to non-specific market factors to revise the factor model. We then develop an expectation maximization (EM) algorithm to compute our revised model with 15 years' worth of S&P 500 stocks' daily close prices. Our results in most sectors show that nearly all of these factor components have the same sign, consistent with the intuitive idea that stocks in the same sector tend to rise and fall in coordination over time. Results obtained by the classic factor model, in contrast, had a homogeneous blend of positive and negative components. We conclude that results produced by our sector-based factor model are more interpretable than those produced by the classic non-sector-based model for at least some stock sectors.

Explore related subjects

q-fin.ST stat.AP

Keep this discovery

BibTeX RIS

Angela Gu, Patrick Zeng. 2014-08-11. Sector-Based Factor Models for Asset Returns. https://arxiv.org/abs/1408.2794

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2026

The Log S-fBM model: Statistical analysis

The Log S-fBM model, introduced by Wu et al., is a stochastic volatility model whose log volatility is a stationary fractional Brownian motion (S-fBM): a stationary Gaussian process with power-decaying autocovariance driven by the Hurst exponent $H$, and variance scaled by an intermittency coefficient. A key property is that it reconciles rough volatility, where $H$ is typically near $0.1$ (see Gatheral et al.), with multifractal volatility, where $H$ is close to $0$ as in Bacry, Muzy et al.: the model's volatility measure converges to a multifractal random measure as $H\to0$. Numerical findings in Wu et al. show intermittency of order $0.02$ across financial assets, motivating a small intermittency approximation of log volatility moments for calibration via the general method of moments (GMM). In this work, we conduct a statistical analysis of the Log S-fBM model. We derive scaling properties of the S-fBM process and the Log S-fBM integrated volatility measure, present deviation inequalities with tail distributions sensitive to $H$ and intermittency, and develop a hypothesis test for the null Hurst exponent, i.e.\ rough versus multifractal dynamics. Finally, we revisit scale invariance of the log volatility increment process via explicit small-intermittency formulas, reproducing analogous properties in both regimes.

q-fin.ST↗

arXiv2026

Asymmetric Long-Memory GARCH: Sign-Dependent Kernel Injection in a Two-Dimensional Markov Chain

We introduce ALM-GARCH, an asymmetric long-memory GARCH model in which positive and negative innovations enter conditional variance with different injection amplitudes and kernel offsets. These departures define testable level and memory channels relative to a nested symmetric benchmark. Positive Harris recurrence holds for interior configurations under a Foster-Lyapunov condition. Across five equity indices and Bitcoin, joint symmetry is rejected throughout, driven primarily by the level channel. The memory channel is supported for the Nikkei 225, KOSPI, and Bitcoin but is weakly identified when the positive branch is nearly inactive. Out-of-sample performance is broadly comparable to standard benchmarks.

q-fin.ST↗

arXiv2026

Modeling Trade Durations under Temporal Granularity Effects in Forex Markets

Trade durations in high-frequency foreign exchange data exhibit increased occurrence near integer values. To address this empirical phenomenon, we propose the granularity-adjusted autoregressive conditional duration (GA-ACD) model. It is based on a novel two-component mixture distribution consisting of a standard generalized gamma component for regular durations and a second component that locally redistributes probability mass around integer values to capture heaping. Conditional dynamics are modeled within a score-driven framework, allowing the scale parameter to vary over time in response to past durations, and enabling maximum likelihood estimation of all model parameters. A simulation study shows that ignoring heaping leads to biased parameter estimates and distorted inference regarding both the distribution and the dynamics of durations. An empirical analysis demonstrates that integer-duration clustering is pervasive across major currency pairs and that the GA-ACD model outperforms the standard generalized gamma ACD model.

q-fin.ST↗