Fixed-Income Comments

A calendar month ago,  I attended the SF Fed/Bank of Canada conference on fixed income. I had the endangerment to comment on Michael Bauer together with Jim Hamilton's "Robust Bond Risk Premia.My comments here.

As commons when faced alongside a actually overnice paper, I used most of my give-and-take fourth dimension to survey the champaign together with laissez passer on my views on electrical flow facts together with challenges, which is why my comments mightiness hold upward interesting to spider web log readers.

Some highlights: I reran regressions of bond returns inwards the style of Joslin, Priebsch, together with Singleton, forecasting returns alongside the starting fourth dimension  three primary components of yields, together with increase together with inflation. Here are the results:




First row: the gradient cistron forecasts returns alongside the commons 18% R2. Second row: Inflation together with increase produce non forecast returns at all. Third row: in combination with the starting fourth dimension 3 primary components, the R2 rises to 0.26 past times adding increase together with inflation. Inflation straight off becomes a meaning predictor, together with its presence raises the coefficient together with t statistic on the degree together with gradient factors. This is an interesting OLS puzzle.

If yous plot inflation, yous run across it is mostly a downward tendency inwards this sample period. So, it occurred to me, what if I used a tendency instead? The terminal 2 rows of the tabular array add together a trend. Indeed, alongside the trend, increase together with inflation disappear. In fact, nosotros tin laissez passer on the sack drib growth, inflation, together with the 3rd primary component, forecast returns alongside amazing t statistics together with an R2 of 0.62, which must hold upward an all fourth dimension high.

What's going on here? Is the tendency only picking upward a tendency inwards returns? Here is a plot of expected returns (a + b x_t) together with actual returns (r_t+1) for 4 of the models inwards Table 1.


The point: the tendency is non only picking upward a tendency inwards returns. And the 62% R2 is non a pathology of i large outlier, a trend, or something else.  Instead, the tendency serves to filter the degree factor, together with to a lesser extent the gradient factor. The message is non "a tendency seems to forecast a tendency inwards returns" but "the cyclical variations picked upward past times detrended degree together with gradient factors seem to forecast returns."

So what does this all mean? Is this proof increase together with inflation don't move because they are driven out past times trends? No, the tendency is after all a proxy for something economic.  (This is roughly Cieslak together with Povala's point, who teach over 50% R2 inwards a longer sample alongside smoothed inflation.) Is this all a large econometric goof, because serially correlated correct mitt variables are a mistake? No, together with my comments give-up the ghost into this at length. Bauer together with Hamilton's indicate is this econometric problem, but they don't teach roughly t statistics of 10. OLS cares close series correlation of the residuals, but non of the correct mitt variables.  In the end, it's a interpretation issue, non an econometric one.

The biggest indicate of my comments: It's fourth dimension to teach past times forecasting returns i at a time. Classic finance got past times "is AT&T a practiced investment?" inwards the 1960s, after all, together with moved on to portfolios together with covariances. Here, the to a greater extent than interesting outstanding inquiry is the factor construction of expected returns  -- produce expected returns on all bonds motion together over time? -- together with the risk premium inquiry -- what are the factors, covariance alongside which drives that variation inwards expected returns?

To this question, maybe nosotros should convey a lesson from the VAR literature of the 1980s, together with halt worrying tremendously close equation past times equation parsimony inwards forecasting. Instead, convey that forecasting regressions volition hold upward a somewhat overfit, but pose our attending inwards the cross-equation construction of forecasts.

To hold upward specific, the adjacent graph shows the expected returns of bonds alongside maturity 1-10 years -- the fitted value of each bond's return-forecasting regression. The graph is clear: these are non 10 dissimilar series. The expected returns on all bonds motion inwards lockstep. There is a potent one-factor construction inwards expected returns.


Finance 101: Expected provide = covariance of provide alongside something, times risk premium. What's that something? In this context, the bonds whose expected provide moves most over fourth dimension should receive got returns that covary proportionally to a greater extent than alongside some factor. What is it? The adjacent flick plots how much each bond moves alongside the mutual cistron shown inwards Figure xi against the covariance of the 10 bond returns alongside innovations inwards the bond primary components, growth, together with inflation.


Again, the blueprint is pretty clear: time-varying expected provide corresponds completely alongside covariances alongside the degree factor. Covariances alongside the other factors are all close zero, together with produce non vary inwards the same agency equally expected returns.

In sum, this uncomplicated exploration shows a pretty potent pattern: 1) There is a potent one-factor model of expected returns -- expected returns on bonds of all maturity motion together over time. 2) There is a potent one-factor model of risk: the unmarried time-varying risk premium inwards all bonds corresponds to covariance alongside a unmarried factor, innovations to the degree of involvement rates.

This is all real simplified of course. The point: This form of characterization of the articulation deportment of bonds of diverse maturities -- together with afterward of bonds, stocks, together with unusual telephone commutation -- seems similar a to a greater extent than interesting unanswered inquiry than the precise identity of forecasting variables for each security, taken inwards isolation.

These points are a flake of a rehash of older papers, Decomposing the yield curve together with to a greater extent than mostly  Discount Rates. But they are likewise an extension --- the "Decomposing the yield curve" indicate holds using the JPS forecasters together with factors, together with updated data.  This form of enquiry needs a lot to a greater extent than work.






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