Keep in mind, household equity allocations at these levels average 10 -
year subsequent returns in the neighborhood of 3.7 % annualized.
The trend of rising expectations and
rising subsequent returns is what we should expect from a model, although it's not perfect.
Analysis is monthly and ends in 2005, the most recent date for which 10 -
year subsequent returns can be calculated.
involuntary measures should not be used except as a last resort and, in the event of compulsory acquisition, strictly on the existing basis of just terms compensation and, preferably, of
subsequent return of the affected land to the original owners on a leaseback system basis, as with many national parks.
Note that the right scale on the following chart is inverted, so higher levels of valuation on the left scale (blue line) correspond to weaker levels of
subsequent return on the right scale (red line).
Rich valuation is strongly associated with
weak subsequent returns, but only reliably so over periods of 7 - 10 years.
In a series of articles we published in 2016,1 we show that relative valuations
predict subsequent returns for both factors and smart beta strategies in exactly the same way price matters in stock selection and asset allocation.
Empirical evidence for 27 markets suggests that carry on interest rate swaps has been positively correlated with
subsequent returns for the past two decades.
For our part, we don't follow the Coppock indicator per se, but the broad range of technical measures we follow include our own variant that is associated with stronger and more
reliable subsequent returns (this variant has not even gone to negative levels yet, much less turned favorable).
A reminder on interest rate front - it's essential to recognize that if one believes depressed interest rates «justify» extremely rich equity valuations, what one is really saying is that depressed interest rates «justify»
dismal subsequent returns on stocks.
For example, grocers almost always stay in the very low price / revenue deciles because they operate in a low - margin business, yet fluctuations in their price / revenue ratios over time are still very informative
about subsequent returns.
Long - term investors in the Fund should hope for a terrifying market plunge (I know I do), which would allow us to establish a more aggressive position in anticipation of very
strong subsequent returns, though at the cost of some further short - term losses as we scale into that position.
Still, a shift in market internals does immediately change the return / risk profile of the market; that is, the probability distribution that describes
likely subsequent returns.
On a wide range of historically reliable measures (having a nearly 90 % correlation with actual subsequent S&P 500 total returns), we estimate current valuations to be fully 118 % above levels associated with historically
normal subsequent returns in stocks.
Out - of - sample tests: (1) generate initial parameters from 1970 through 1989 data for testing during 1990 through 2013 period; and, (2) insert a three - month delay between economic growth data and
subsequent return calculations to account for publication lag.
As of last week, the Market Climate for stocks remained in the most negative 0.5 % of all historical observations, and was characterized by rich valuations, unfavorable market action, and a variety of hostile «Aunt Minnies» that are associated with
poor subsequent returns.
And we had scatter diagrams, showing 10 - year
subsequent returns against the CAPE, what we call the cyclically adjusted price earnings ratio.
IRS may argue that I filed returns incorrectly to begin with so the amendment and
subsequent returned check doesn't matter etc..
Intuitively, a valuation multiple of half the historical norm has the opposite impact on
subsequent returns as a valuation multiple of twice the historical norm.]
Generally, just as in the case of factors, we see that aggregate valuation is a slightly better predictor of
subsequent returns compared to P / B, but both show quite strong predictability.
In the equity market, at least since the 1980s, we know that the cyclically adjusted price - to - earnings (CAPE) ratio, as demonstrated by Robert Shiller, and the dividend yield are both good predictors of long -
term subsequent returns.
He uses Tobin's Q to value a market and compares past valuations with
subsequent returns using a hindsight value (the average of the returns over the next 1 to 30 years).
As we've demonstrated repeatedly, the valuation measures most strongly correlated with
actual subsequent returns, particularly over a 7 - 15 year horizon, are those that normalize for profit margin variability in some way.
Moderate interest rates were associated with a whole range of
subsequent returns over the following decade, and we know that those outcomes were 90 % correlated with the level of valuations at the beginning of those periods (on reliable measures such as market cap / GDP, price / revenue, Tobin's Q, the margin - adjusted Shiller P / E, and others we've presented over time - see Ockham's Razor and the Market Cycle).
involuntary measures should not be used except as a last resort and, in the event of any compulsory acquisition, strictly on the existing basis of just terms compensation and, preferably, of
subsequent return of the affected land to the original owners on a leaseback system basis, as with many national parks.
We show that variations in valuation levels
predict subsequent returns and that this relationship is robust across geographies, strategies, forecast periods, and our choice of valuation metrics.
Stocks seem reasonable or only slightly elevated «on the basis of forward operating earnings» — despite being strikingly overvalued on measures that account for the variability of profit margins over the economic cycle (measures that have historically had a much stronger relationship with
subsequent returns on the S&P 500 — see Investment, Speculation, Valuation, and Tinker Bell).
«Valuations have historically explained 60 - 90 % of
subsequent returns over a 10 - year horizon.
Yet the fact that these 13 years have included three successive approaches (2000, 2007, and today) to valuation peaks - at the very extremes of historical experience - is evidence that investors don't appreciate the link between valuation and
subsequent returns.
The correlation between starting yield and
the subsequent returns is around 0.9 for long - term Treasuries, 10 - years and five - years.
The mapping between valuations and
subsequent returns is typically most reliable over a 10 - 12 year horizon.
When sentiment is low (high), stocks that are prone to speculation and difficult to arbitrage (young, small, unprofitable, non-dividend-paying, volatile, distressed and extreme growth) tend to earn relatively high (low)
subsequent returns.
The most reliable measures of individual stock valuation we've found are based on formal discounted cash flow considerations, but among publicly - available measures we've evaluated, price / revenue ratios are better correlated with actual
subsequent returns than price / earnings ratios (though normalized profit margins and other factors are obviously necessary to make cross-sectional comparisons).
Subsequent returns can be very, very good.
At present, the Shiller - 16 (along with a broad range of other historically reliable valuation measures having strong correlation with actual
subsequent returns) projects negative total returns for stocks on a 6 - year horizon, even assuming continued growth in GDP, revenues, earnings, and other fundamentals.