A substantial investment in resources, both human and technological, has allowed Columbine to do original research into the behavior of markets and the valuation of securities. Using techniques from finance, economics, and control theory, Columbine has applied these resources to develop innovative quantitative decision support tools for investment managers.

The Columbine Research Services include three different "families" of alpha forecasting models:

1. Component Models

Members of Columbine's Component Models family analyze stocks on a single factor or an individual category of return characteristics.

Each of these "building block" models gives portfolio managers an objective, optimized measure for one aspect of return. There are four members of the Component Model family, each forecasting alphas from different sources:

Columbine Alpha Factor Service  —  price momentum of individual stocks

Expectational Model Service  —  earnings estimates and revisions

Momentum Model Service  —  price and earnings momentum combined

Valuation Model Service  —  company valuation

2. Stock Selection Models

The Columbine Stock Selection Models are fully capable of functioning as stand-alone systems for identifying specific portfolio buys and sells. These models synthesize multiple factors and categories of return characteristics into comprehensive forecasts of future alpha from all sources.

Each of the Stock Selection Models has been optimized for use with a particular style of investing. The six members of the family are:

Combo Model Service  —  general-purpose stock selection model

Sector Model Service  —  a sector-specific approach

Core Model Service  —  big-cap, cap-weighted investment strategies

Small-Cap Model Service  —  small-cap investment strategies

Growth Model Service  —  growth style investment strategies

Value Model Service  —  value style investment strategies

3. International Models

Columbine's International Models are alpha forecasting models focused on country-specific alphas — excesses over individual country markets.

The models in the International Models family are country-specific variations on two of our most popular domestic models: the Combo Stock Selection Model, and the Columbine Alpha Factor Component Model. We optimize each country's version of the two models to do the best job of producing alphas in that particular country market. There are twenty-four non-US countries for which we have sufficient historical data to create a country-specific version of Combo and the Columbine Alpha Factor. The remaining markets are covered by an Emerging Markets version of each model.

International Combo Model Service

International Columbine Alpha Service