Scientific Diversification in Practice: Reactions to EDHEC-Risk Efficient Indices

In 2010, as it happens, EDHEC-Risk Institute launched a set of efficient equity indices as an alternative to cap-weighted indices. The aim of these indices is to be more risk/reward efficient than cap-weighted indices (see Amenc et al. 2010 for a description of the method). The constituent weights in the index are obtained from a formal Sharpe ratio maximisation, thus taking into account expected returns, volatilities, and the correlation of constituent stocks. The index series is based on all constituent securities in the FTSE All-World Index Series. The recent launch of a worldwide index series using the efficient weighting includes indices on the main countries (US, Japan, UK) and regions (Europe, Asia Pacific, etc.); it also includes worldwide indices (All World, Emerging Markets, etc). To assess industry views of this initiative, we surveyed asset managers and investors. This document begins with an overview of efficient indexation and then outlines the reactions received from survey respondents.