Heterogeneous Beliefs Model of Stock Market Predictability

Abstract: This paper proposes a theory of stock market predictability patterns based on a model of heterogeneous beliefs. In a discrete finite time framework, some agents receive news about an asset's fundamental value through a noisy signal. The investors are heterogeneous in that they have different beliefs about the stochastic supply. A momentum in the stock price arises from those agents who incorrectly underestimate the signal accuracy, dampening the initial price impact of the signal. A reversal in price occurs because the price reverts to the fundamental value in the long run. An extension of the model to multiple assets case predicts co-movement and lead-lag effect, in addition to cross-sectional momentum and reversal. The heterogeneous beliefs of investors about news demonstrate how the main predictability anomalies arise endogenously in a model of bounded rationality.