Syzygy (Research Affiliates) Insights
Rob Arnott and his team's articles on valuation, bubbles, factor investing and expected returns, carried over from Research Affiliates' archive of more than 500 publications and still updated under the Syzygy name.
Free to read
Research Affiliates built its name on Rob Arnott's Fundamental Index and on research that questions market-cap weighting, factor crowding and optimistic return forecasts. After the index business went to VettaFi and the advisory firm was renamed Syzygy Asset Management, the insights library moved to the new site with articles, CIO and capital market notes, journal papers and webinars.
The archive's strength is valuation discipline. The Big Market Delusion series explains why investors overpay for whole sectors when they treat every company in a hot market as a likely winner. Yes. It's a Bubble. So What? offers a working definition of a bubble. Arnott's Equity Risk Premium series takes apart common beliefs about how much stocks should earn over bonds.
Read the classics in the archive, then check the quarterly capital market notes for current views. Some older index-focused pieces, such as How Can Smart Beta Go Horribly Wrong?, now sit on rafi.com instead.
Start with
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1
Yes. It's a Bubble. So What? (April 2018)
Arnott, Cornell and Shepherd propose a practical test for spotting a bubble.
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2
Big Market Delusion: Electric Vehicles (March 2021)
Shows how a real growth story can still leave a whole sector overpriced.
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3
The Equity Risk Premium: Nine Myths (November 2024)
Arnott on the assumptions behind stock-versus-bond return forecasts.