Pure quantile portfolios on the Johannesburg stock exchange

Rules-based portfolio sorts are commonplace for the evaluation of style anomalies. An unfortunate consequence of constructing portfolios on a target style is the unintended loading on non-target factors. A plausible approach is the application of optimisation to maintain target factor loading while minimising non-target factor exposures. We test this methodology on an emerging market bourse, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, via quintile portfolios sorted on momentum, value and size. We find that value and momentum benefit most from optimisation in terms of nominal and risk-adjusted performance. From an emerging market perspective, we show that optimisation is a viable alternative when independent sorts are infeasible.