Research brief 029

A better Sharpe ratio. 1.52 points less annual return.

How much improvement comes from ordinary risk balancing rather than the elaborate tail model?

The idea worth investigating

A seven-ETF allocation study reports a 0.246 improvement in Sharpe ratio over equal weighting, alongside 1.52 percentage points less annualized return and substantially lower volatility. The portfolio looks better by one measure and worse by another. The investment question is whether the extra modeling delivers something simpler risk balancing cannot.

Authors’ April 2006–March 2026 cross-asset simulation, MNTS equal-risk-contribution specification; Table 2 comparison before the separate cost analysis. Pairwise significance tests are not adjusted for multiple comparisons.

This is a source-based research review. We have not completed a house replication.

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See what changes the investment case.

The headline is the starting point. The subscriber analysis takes you through:

  • What improves when equal weighting is replaced
  • How the advanced model compares with conventional risk parity
  • Why costs and matched benchmarks change the conclusion
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