12 Manager momentum

EPFR has a set of 3 monthly “Manager Momentum” indicators which aim to capture if there are any trends in changes of allocation, and identify stocks with a positive momentum.


AllocMo

A measure of manager allocation changes towards the stock, in absolute $ terms of AuM, where the change in allocation over the month reflects price pressure from manager-directed trading. By using both start and end AuM in the equation, we neutralize the effect of underlying price changes.

\[\text{AllocMo} \equiv \frac{\sum \Delta \omega \times ( A + \alpha)}{\sum (\omega - \Delta \omega/2) \times ( A + \alpha)}\]

where:

\(\begin{align} \omega & \equiv \text{% weight held by a fund in a security} \\ \Delta \omega & \equiv \text{change in weight from prior month} \\ \alpha & \equiv \text{dollar starting assets of a fund} \\ A & \equiv \text{dollar ending assets of a fund} \end{align}\)

Interpretation AllocMo

A positive value tells us that allocations towards a given stock have increased.

Example AllocMo

Below shows a snippet of what EPFR’s AllocMo Files contain:

Location: '/StockFlows5.0/QuantitativeFactors/Monthly/AllocMo/Aggregate/AllocationMomentum2022Q4.txt'

ReportDate HSecurityId SecurityName ActWtDiff2
384729 12/30/2022 12:00:00 AM 7041220 Apple Inc Common Stock -0.07822
389097 12/30/2022 12:00:00 AM 7049454 Tesla Inc Common Stock -0.19218
384623 12/30/2022 12:00:00 AM 7041046 Amazon.com Common Stock -0.21606
393116 12/30/2022 12:00:00 AM 7057091 Microsoft Corp Common Stock -0.12586
391772 12/30/2022 12:00:00 AM 7054419 Exxon Mobil Corp Common Stock -0.09212
392923 12/30/2022 12:00:00 AM 7056752 Netflix Inc Common Stock -0.27254
396450 12/30/2022 12:00:00 AM 7063679 Visa Inc USA Class A -0.24982

AllocTrend

A measure of manager allocation changes towards the stock, in scaled $ amounts, where the change in allocation over the month reflects price pressure from manager-directed trading. By using both start and end AuM in the equation, we neutralize the effect of underlying price changes.

\[\text{AllocTrend} \equiv \frac{\sum \Delta \omega \times ( A + \alpha)}{\sum |\Delta \omega \times ( A + \alpha)|}\]

where:

\(\begin{align} \Delta \omega & \equiv \text{change in weight from prior month} \\ \alpha & \equiv \text{dollar starting assets of a fund} \\ A & \equiv \text{dollar ending assets of a fund} \end{align}\)

Interpretation AllocTrend

A positive value tells us that allocations towards a given stock have increased.

Example AllocTrend

Below shows a snippet of what EPFR’s AllocTrend Files contain:

Location: '/StockFlows5.0/QuantitativeFactors/Monthly/AllocTrend/Aggregate/AllocationTrend2022Q4.txt'

ReportDate HSecurityId SecurityName AllocTrend
45935 12/31/2022 12:00:00 AM 7041220 Apple Inc Common Stock -0.9799
50788 12/31/2022 12:00:00 AM 7049454 Tesla Inc Common Stock -0.9926
45823 12/31/2022 12:00:00 AM 7041046 Amazon.com Common Stock -0.6407
55270 12/31/2022 12:00:00 AM 7057091 Microsoft Corp Common Stock 0.2535
53776 12/31/2022 12:00:00 AM 7054419 Exxon Mobil Corp Common Stock 0.5703
55068 12/31/2022 12:00:00 AM 7056752 Netflix Inc Common Stock 0.3131
59146 12/31/2022 12:00:00 AM 7063679 Visa Inc USA Class A 0.8715

AllocDiff

Multiplies a fund’s start and end AuM by the direction of the latest month-on-month change in % allocations towards a given stock. By summing these AuM across all applicable funds, then dividing by the sum of all start and end AuM, we get a normalized metric.

\[\text{AllocDiff} \equiv \frac{\sum sgn(\Delta \omega) \times ( A + \alpha)}{\sum ( A + \alpha)}\]

where:

\(\begin{align} \Delta \omega & \equiv \text{change in weight from prior month} \\ \alpha & \equiv \text{dollar starting assets of a fund} \\ A & \equiv \text{dollar ending assets of a fund} \end{align}\)

Interpretation AllocDiff

A positive value indicates an increase in the amount of AuM invested to the stock, and a negative value indicates a decrease in the AuM invested in the stock.

The more positive the indicator, the larger the increase of AuM invested in the stock relative to other stocks with a less positive indicator. Similarly, a more negative indicator indicates a larger decrease in AuM invested in the stock relative to other stocks with a less negative indicator.

Example AllocDiff

Below shows a snippet of what EPFR’s AllocDiff Files contain:

Location: '/StockFlows5.0/QuantitativeFactors/Monthly/AllocDiff/Aggregate/AllocationDiff2022Q4.txt'

ReportDate HSecurityId SecurityName AllocDiff
45935 12/31/2022 12:00:00 AM 7041220 Apple Inc Common Stock -0.9393
50788 12/31/2022 12:00:00 AM 7049454 Tesla Inc Common Stock -0.9691
45823 12/31/2022 12:00:00 AM 7041046 Amazon.com Common Stock -0.8690
55270 12/31/2022 12:00:00 AM 7057091 Microsoft Corp Common Stock 0.6164
53776 12/31/2022 12:00:00 AM 7054419 Exxon Mobil Corp Common Stock 0.9193
55068 12/31/2022 12:00:00 AM 7056752 Netflix Inc Common Stock 0.8738
59146 12/31/2022 12:00:00 AM 7063679 Visa Inc USA Class A 0.8384