Momentum Investing over the Last Twenty Years in France, its Persistence and the Effects of the Financial Crisis

The paper investigates momentum investment strategies for the French Security Market during the most recent twenty years. The aims are to test whether such strategies perform persistently, i.e. they remain profitable today consistent with earlier literature, and if so, whether they are
abnormal and if there has been an effect from the recent global financial crisis that has different characteristics compared to other crises in the sample. Sixteen trading strategies are investigated ranging from three to twelve months, and results show that momentum returns appear to be significant on a risk adjusted basis (both univariate and multivariate), and that momentum portfolios on average provide a good hedge for market risk. Nonetheless, considering the financial crisis, momentum profitability disappears or is even reversed (at which time it pays off to be a contrarian investor), showing a risk not captured by traditional asset pricing models.