Research Insight - Introducing the Seasonality Factor - March 2014

Mar 12, 2014

This Research Insight, second in a series, introduces the Seasonality factor in our equity models; this factor was identified as part of MSCI's Systematic Equity Strategies (SES) research program. Seasonal behavior of stock returns is widely discussed in finance literature. The most prominent is the "January Effect," where prices tend to rise during January after stock sell-offs in December. In this paper, we examine how the SES Seasonality factor identifies seasonal pricing patterns for US equities, and how the Seasonality factor can help capture risk associated with manager crowding.