Leversens
Master's Research · ESLSCA Paris · 2026

Buy quality.
Hold through trends.
Avoid the junk.

A long-only enhancement of the Quality Minus Junk framework (Asness, Frazzini & Pedersen, 2019), augmented with academic momentum and a factor-level regime indicator. Monthly rebalancing on a ~3,000-stock US universe (Russell 3000 approximation), with live tracking and a monthly briefing.

Ann. return
+13.7%
vs +8.6% S&P 500
Sharpe
0.73
vs 0.33 benchmark
Max DD
−31%
vs −57% S&P 500
Alpha
+4.9%
annualized, net of beta
19-year backtest
Feb 2007 → Feb 2026
+1,054.8% vs +378.3%
Leversens vs S&P 500
CCLD 12.08% · NYT 11.27% · INOD 11.11% · EXEL 10.79% · RSI 10.63% · EXPD 7.41% · TCMD 6.92% · MEDP 5.96% · INCY 5.80% · IDCC 5.64% · DDS 4.83% · PEN 2.90% · CCLD 12.08% · NYT 11.27% · INOD 11.11% · EXEL 10.79% · RSI 10.63% · EXPD 7.41% · TCMD 6.92% · MEDP 5.96% · INCY 5.80% · IDCC 5.64% · DDS 4.83% · PEN 2.90% · CCLD 12.08% · NYT 11.27% · INOD 11.11% · EXEL 10.79% · RSI 10.63% · EXPD 7.41% · TCMD 6.92% · MEDP 5.96% · INCY 5.80% · IDCC 5.64% · DDS 4.83% · PEN 2.90% ·
The pipeline

Fully automated, every month

📥
Pull data
SEC EDGAR + Yahoo Finance
⚖️
Score quality
13 ratios → composite z-score
🚀
Apply momentum
12-1 month, positive & above median
🛡️
Check regime
FULL or HALF exposure
📧
Email briefing
Holdings, regime, signals

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Academic foundation

Built on Quality Minus Junk

The strategy extends the seminal work of Asness, Frazzini & Pedersen, "Quality Minus Junk", published in the Review of Accounting Studies (2019). The original paper demonstrates that high-quality stocks systematically outperform over the long run — a premium largely ignored by classical asset pricing models.

This research adds three layers: a long-only constraint (no shorting), a 12-1 momentum filter for entry timing, and a factor-level regime indicator for defensive de-risking. The empirical study covers 19 years (2007-2026) on a point-in-time US equity universe (~5,000 firms) from SimFin, including delisted and bankrupt names — no survivorship bias. Monthly rebalancing. The live forward continues on a Russell 3000–style universe (top 3,000 US-listed by market cap) via SEC EDGAR. The S&P 500 is the comparison benchmark throughout.