Dan Hanson, Rohan Dhanuka – Wednesday, December 7, 2016

In this paper we explore the concept of “high quality investing.” First, we review the “science” of approaching quality via nancial statement and market performance measures. We review some widely known measures. We note that many of those widely known measures have been studied from an academic rather than practitioner perspective. Secondly, we further examine those widely used measures from the perspective of the long-term investor in today’s market. We test for the persistence, and long-term performance implications, of these “scienti c” measures. Thirdly, we review the “art” of approaching quality via qualitative measures including culture and ESG metrics. Finally, we propose that a combination of “science” and “art” is a promising approach for practitioners and researchers alike.