Using the month-end effect to boost returns

London, 7th July 2014: Source is pleased to announce the launch of the Source Morgan Stanley Europe MEMO Plus UCITS ETF. The fund provides exposure to the Morgan Stanley Europe MEMO Plus Strategy (“MEMO Plus”), which aims to outperform the broad European equity market by exploiting the “month-end effect”.

The month-end effect is one of the most persistent patterns in equity markets. In short, equities tend to perform better around the end of the month, when many investors receive and invest cash. The Morgan Stanley Europe MEMO Plus Strategy aims to capture this performance, and thereby enhance returns. The MEMO Plus strategy combines continuous exposure to European equities with additional exposure, of 2x leverage, around month-end. In simulations over the past 13 years, MEMO Plus has outperformed MSCI Europe by an average 6.0% per annum

“The month-end effect is a simple concept backed by academic research, but to capture it effectively you need to apply a dynamic approach,” says Aleksandar Ivanovic, Managing Director at Morgan Stanley. MEMO Plus takes European equity exposure via the MSCI Europe Index. However, around month-end, it takes additional exposure, to a basket of six regional and country indices. Each month, MEMO Plus uses a proprietary algorithm to determine the optimal investment period for each index.  “Because the month-end effect is a behavioural pattern, it can vary slightly across markets and over time,” explains Ivanovic. “By using a selection of regional and country indices, and by adjusting its investment periods, MEMO Plus can capture these variations and generate improved returns over the long term.”