The 2026 Marsh CFA Institute Global Pension Index is released by Marsh in partnership with the CFA Institute and the Monash Centre for Financial Studies, covering 55 retirement income systems worldwide. It uses adequacy (40% weight), sustainability (35% weight), and integrity (25% weight) as core evaluation dimensions.
Read originalOpenAI is improving ChatGPT’s code generation performance for low-resource programming languages, adding three evaluation dimensions: software engineering, SQLite, and COBOL migration. These capability improvements are centered on code generation scenarios for low-resource programming languages.
Read originalCICC released a preview forecast for the Hang Seng Index quarterly review, expecting Zijin Gold International and other companies to be included in the Hang Seng Index blue-chip constituents. The Hang Seng Tech Index is expected to see a significant expansion, with 20 new constituents added.
Read originalQuantocracy has compiled the latest quant research-related links as of October 18, 2026, covering topics including trend following, futures continuous contract construction, in-sample to out-of-sample Sharpe ratio decay, the impact of liquidity on stock returns and option pricing, and cryptocurrency cross-sectional trend factors. One study based on 12 commodity futures found that the expected retention ratio of in-sample Sharpe ratios from a 10-year backtest on new data is 30%.
Read originalThe Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has released a working paper examining the role of Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) regulation for large U.S. banks in driving the growth of private credit markets.
Read originalThe CFA Institute research team reviewed the 2025 fiscal year financial reports of 50 large global listed companies, finding that their book-disclosed investments in joint ventures totaled $351 billion, while total actual exposure reached $612 billion after reconstructing five layers of exposure. The difference stems from risks not recorded in individual line items, including shareholder loans, guarantees, and unpaid capital contributions.
Read originalGoogle DeepMind is advancing the widespread deployment of Gemini 4 Argon while expanding the coverage of trusted cyber defenders in the Fairwind Program. The model solved all 12 scenarios in end-to-end simulated cyberattack tests, a significant improvement from 5 in the previous generation. Its refusal rate for violating requests nearly doubled compared to the previous generation, and violations accounted for only 2% of attempts in coding benchmark tests.
Read originalQuantocracy compiled recent quantitative content on October 12, 2026, covering an introduction to Quant Observer, a quantitative tools directory platform; a historical effectiveness analysis of excess returns from insider buying; a backtest of volatility clustering effects in S&P 500 constituents from 2006 to 2025; a guide to building a multi-asset, multi-timeframe trading pipeline; and AI answers on the replicability of empirical finance research.
Read originalAQR has released the third part of its research series on tax-aware long-short (TA LS) strategies, clarifying two common misconceptions. As an active investment strategy, TA LS deliberately retains tracking error to express alpha models and capture excess returns and tax deferral benefits, rather than minimizing tracking error like direct indexing. Portfolio construction for TA LS requires balancing expected returns, risk, costs, and taxes, rather than simply realizing capital losses or deferring capital gains.
Read originalAnalysis of 401(k) plan filings from 2013 to 2023 by the CFA Institute Research and Policy Center shows that the average expense ratio of 401(k) investment menus fell from 0.69% to 0.39%, with declines in both active and index fund fees, and the fee gap between small and large plans has essentially closed. Fund quality also improved over the same period, with the weighted average of Morningstar Medalist ratings rising from 3.45 to 3.85, and lower-cost funds often receiving higher ratings.
Read originalBlock Scholes has released its Week 40 crypto derivatives market analysis report, noting that against a macro backdrop of rising oil prices, the ongoing U.S.-Iran Strait of Hormuz standoff, and deepening U.S. Treasury sell-offs, BTC prices have consolidated in the $82,000 to $84,000 range, while spot BTC and ETH ETFs have recorded net capital inflows for over 7 consecutive days.
Read originalAQR has published the second installment of its research series on tax-aware long-short (TA LS) investing, clarifying two misconceptions arising from analogies to direct indexing. First, the tax benefits of TA LS come primarily from deferred capital gains rather than active loss harvesting: its loss realization pace is similar to ordinary tax-insensitive strategies, and tax-aware optimization is mainly used to avoid selling positions with existing unrealized gains, especially short-term gains.
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