My great-grandfather August Potuczek was an admirer of the etchings by Franz Xaver Rektorzik (1793–1853). In the 1920/30’s, he made prints from Rektorzik’s original plates. Some of these “new” prints I was able to find and buy online. Today, they finally arrived in the mail. Now, I am looking at the fine details, the branches, the leaves, and believe I can see why August Potuczek was fascinated by them.
See for yourselves (better quality scans to follow at some point).
We add to the emerging literature on machine learning empirical asset pricing by analyzing a comprehensive set of return prediction factors on REITs. We show that machine learning models are superior to traditional ordinary least square models and we find that REIT investors experience significant economic gains when using machine learning forecasts. Comparing to the stock market, we show that REITs are more predictable than stocks, and that the higher predictability is stable across time and across industry types.
It was such a joy to welcome back our MPhil alumni and former colleagues for the 2024 MPhil reunion! I truly enjoyed the evening, hearing all about your impressive careers—but, more importantly, seeing old friendships glowing strong and new bonds forming.Sometimes, the beauty of working in education gets lost in the daily grind. Being there with you wonderful people, I felt grateful, sentimental, and curious about your next steps. Thanks to all for the reunion, and I hope to see you again soon!
As I sat in the dentist’s chair, waiting for the local anesthetic to kick in, I finally asked the dentist something I had wondered about a few times before: “How do you keep up with new techniques and stay on top of your field?” I inquired, half-expecting a mention of professional courses or medical journals. His response was immediate and enthusiastic: “YouTube!” And that was reassuring.
The Cambridge Endowment for Research in Finance (CERF) has published a blog post on Kahshin Leow’s and my research on predictable REIT returns: https://www.cerf.cam.ac.uk/blog/blog-2024
