Value Style Investing Versus Growth Style Investing: Evidence from the 2002-2019 Business Cycle

This paper explores the research question: During the October 2002 to June 2019 time period, which investment strategy, value or growth, produced the better risk-adjusted performance? Risk-adjusted returns were measured using the Sharpe composite performance measure, a measure combining risk and return into a single value. At issue is which style of investing, value versus growth, produces the best rate of return. It is thought that the value style of investing produces a higher, long-term market return than does the growth-style of investing, though long-term returns of both investing styles converge to equilibrium as they regress to their mean [long-term] returns. This study provides a historic and contemporary, conceptual perspective of the value versus growth debate.