Understandable Artificial Intelligence

Overview

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EDS was given 3 funds by a U.S. based endowment: IEMG and two active Emerging Markets


  • The goal: compare the funds head to head and decide which fund is better

  • EDS expanded the task and analyzed which fund should be added to a traditional 60-40 portfolio

IEMG vs Active EM Funds:

Return and Standard Deviation

  • Both active funds have higher Sharpe Ratios vs. IEMG
  • EM has a slight advantage

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EM

*Data from EDS, Prospecta Trust, & Bloomberg, courtesy of London Business School

Return and Total Factor Sensitivity

  • Both active funds seems better vs. IEMG
  • Developing Mkts has a slight advantage

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EM

EM

*Data from EDS, Prospecta Trust, & Bloomberg, courtesy of London Business School

Which fund is better?

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  • Analysis was done on a standalone basis
  • Both active funds appear better than the passive
  • EM Fund is better on St. Deviation
  • Developing Mkts Fund is better on Total Factor Sensitivity

Further Analysis

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  • Anaylze total factor exposures for each fund
  • Compare funds with traditional U.S. 60/40 portfolio

IEMG Factor Risk Exposure

  • Highest exposure to:
    • U.S. industrial production
    • Chinese leading indicators
    • U.S. market

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*Data from EDS & Bloomberg, courtesy of London Business School

EM Fund Factor Risk Exposure

  • Directionally similar exposure compared to IEMG
    • Higher Systemic Risk
    • Lower exposure to U.S. market

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*Data from EDS & Bloomberg, courtesy of London Business School

Developing Mkts Factor Risk Exposure

  • Similar exposure as IEMG

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*Data from EDS & Bloomberg, courtesy of London Business School

Adding Funds To Existing Portfolio

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  • Use default U.S. 60/40 with 8% target return portfolio
  • How much would each of the 3 funds add

Adding To Existing Portfolio

  • A.I. prefers Developing Mkts Fund:
    • Lower fees vs. EM Fund (0.86% vs. 1.25%)
    • Higher Total Factor Sensitivity

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Should Either Be Picked?

  • We analyze entire Client universe

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EM

*Data from EDS, Prospecta Trust, & Bloomberg, courtesy of London Business School

Should Either Be Picked?

  • Driven by Chinese leading indicators
  • Each column represents a different fund

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Should Either Be Picked?

  • High exposure to metals
  • Second only to dedicated gold & special minerals fund

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Should Either Be Picked?

  • Extremely high exposure to U.S. industrial production

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Should Either Be Picked?

  • EM Innovators Fund has the highest systemic risk of the 3

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Should Either Be Picked?

  • All have negative exposure to U.S. consumer prices

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Should Either Be Picked?

  • Negative exposure to U.S. retail sales

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Conclusions

Funds need to be evaluated in a full portfolio context

  • Both active funds seem better than the passive one
  • Selection becomes harder between the 2 active funds:
    • EM Fund has a higher Sharpe Ratio
    • Developing Mkts Fund has a higher Total Factor Sensitivity
    • Developing Mkts has lower fees
    • Developing Mkts has lower Systemic Risk
  • All 3 funds could potentially be replicated/replaced

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Disclaimers

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Please remember that past performance may not be indicative of future results. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment, investment strategy, or product made reference to directly or indirectly in this presentation, will be profitable, equal any corresponding indicated historical performance level(s), or be suitable for an individual's portfolio.

Our projections are based on current market conditions which can vary over the coming months and weeks. Additionally, our projections are based on historical market behavior which may vary unexpectedly. Using Machine Learning, our tool should adjust to new market fluctuations but we might not be able to avoid short term volatility.

Get In Touch

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