Enhanced Momentum with Momentum Transformers

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Enhanced Momentum with Momentum Transformers

Max Mason
Waasi A Jagirdar
David Huang
Rahul Murugan
Published on 12/17/2024
Equities
Stocks
Momentum
Machine learning
Deep learning
AI
Trend-following

This paper extends the Momentum Transformer architecture, originally developed for futures and equity indices, to individual equities. The model combines an attention mechanism with a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) network, allowing it to capture long-term dependencies and adapt to changing market conditions. The authors backtest the strategy on a portfolio of stocks, accounting for transaction costs, and compare it to traditional time-series momentum and mean-reversion benchmarks. The results show average returns of 4.14% and a Sharpe ratio of 1.12, which are comparable to the original paper's findings but with higher volatility due to the inherent risk of equities. The model demonstrates robustness during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting its ability to handle market turbulence. This work contributes to the application of transformer-based models in quantitative finance, particularly for equity momentum strategies.

Highlights

  • 1Extends the Momentum Transformer architecture from futures/indices to equities, demonstrating its applicability to stock markets.
  • 2Hybrid attention-LSTM design captures long-term dependencies and adapts to evolving market conditions, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • 3Achieves average returns of 4.14% with a Sharpe ratio of 1.12, comparable to original paper but with higher volatility due to equity characteristics.
  • 4Incorporates transaction costs into the model, enhancing practical applicability for real-world trading.

Methods

  • M
    Momentum Transformer: hybrid architecture combining attention mechanism with LSTM for time-series momentum trading.
  • M
    Benchmarking against traditional time-series momentum and mean-reversion strategies.
  • M
    Backtesting on equity data with transaction cost adjustments.

Results

  • R
    Average returns of 4.14% across equity portfolios, similar to original futures/indices results.
  • R
    Average Sharpe ratio of 1.12, lower than original due to higher volatility of stocks.
  • R
    Model adapts well to volatile periods such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • R
    Outperforms benchmark momentum and mean-reversion strategies in net returns after transaction costs.
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