Stocks with low volatility and momentum for August 2021

Last Updated on September 1, 2021 at 11:00 pm

Here is a list of stocks with low volatility and momentum for August 2021 from the Nifty 100. You can also get the historical data from March 2019 to August 2021.  We filter Nifty 100 for (1) positive 1-year return, (2) positive six-month return, (3) price > 200-day moving average, (4) 50% of daily positive returns, (5) lowest volatility.

What is new? Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd. has been replaced by Gland Pharma Ltd in the NIfty 100 and Nifty Next 50.

What is low volatility investing? Low volatility investing refers to identifying stocks with low price fluctuations and investing in them. Again this is based on past evidence: Low volatility stock investing: Does it work? Higher returns at lower risk?

What is momentum investing? Invest in stocks that have moved up considerably over the past 6-12 months, hoping that the trend will continue (for a short period). Relevant data and links for the Indian and US markets are discussed here: Momentum Stock Investing in India: Does it work?.

There is a close connection between momentum investing and low volatility. In fact, most momentum stock-picking strategies also include a way to filter out stocks based on volatility. They prefer stocks that have moved up in the past (= momentum) with low volatility. Another closely related idea is to hunt for stocks that have stayed close to their all-time price highs.

Warning: Whether you choose stocks with momentum or low volatility, or both, it is important to recognize when to sell the stocks. This kind of trend following requires serious levels of discipline and commitment. You should be able to buy a stock without question and sell it without question in a short period of time if it no longer has enough momentum and/or low volatility. If you get distracted by the stocks’ valuation, ROE, etc. and hesitate or buy more than necessary, it will not work. Please do not blindly use this list to buy and clutter your portfolio. This list will evolve in method with time. So be prepared for this. Do your own research about momentum and low volatility investing!! Decide which to give more priority to – low volatility or momentum. The standard past performance is not representative of future performance disclaimer applies here. No method may work all the time.

Momentum Investing in India

You can watch this video version of the above-linked post to get an introduction to momentum investing

Low Volatility Investing in India

Suppose p1 is the previous day closing price, and p2 is today’s closing price. Daily return is defined as (p2-p1)/p1. This is the percentage change in price. When we compute these daily returns’ standard deviation, we assume that they fall on a bell curve. This is wrong. The next better step would be to assume that the log return defined as log (p2) – log(p1) falls on a bell curve.

This is also not an accurate approximation as market returns are fractal in nature. However, this is a closer approximation. So for creating low volatility indices, the standard deviation of log returns are used. However, there is not much of a difference for the present case, and you could use just the ordinary standard deviation.

Why should returns fall on a bell curve? If they do not, then both the “average” and “standard deviation” have no meaning!!

How to use this screener?

You can use it in multiple ways. Here are some suggestions.

To screen for low volatility stocks:

1. Sort by an increasing standard deviation
2. Ensure returns over the last 6 months and 1Y are positive with a good amount of positive daily returns.
3. Choose stocks with the lowest volatility.

To screen for momentum stocks:

1. Remove stocks with negative 6 months AND 1Y returns.
2. Remove stocks with 50% or lower positive daily returns.
3. Remove stocks with a current price lower than the last 200-day average.
4. Sort remaining stocks by increasing standard deviation.
5. Choose stocks with low volatility and high momentum (high 6 month or 1Y returns).

Note: Frequent trading may be necessary for both approaches. If the stock does not meet the above criteria in the next month’s screener, you will have to sell in full and replace it with another regardless of tax. As mentioned above, last months history is provided with this months sheet. I shall continue to add to this history in subsequent months.

Get the stock lists!

1. If you want August 2021 data alone, the cost is Rs. 111.
2. If you want monthly historical data: March 2019 to August 2021, the price is  Rs. 500.
3. This purchase gives you access to exclusive discounts to the two courses we run:  How to get people to pay for your skills (aka earn from skills) with 584 members and the lectures on goal-based portfolio management with 2525 members!
4. While I will do my best to publish updated screener sheets each month, I cannot guarantee the same.
5. The file does not contain any buy or sell recommendations and only has data derived from price information.
6. Enough care and effort have been put in to weed out errors; however, I cannot guarantee that the sheet is free of error.
7. The buyer will have to do their own research about using the information in the spreadsheet. No recommendations or assistance is included in the sheet and will not be provided separately.
8. I will not provide any further help or assistance in using the sheet.

If you want historical data of qualifying stocks from March 2019 onwards Click here to pay Rs. 500 and download the Nifty 100 momentum low volatility screener with historical data. 

Living outside India? You can pay via this Paypal link (9 USD) and send a mail to freefincal at Gmail.

If you want the latest qualifying stocks alone: Click here to pay Rs. 111 and download the latest Nifty 100 momentum low volatility screener.

Living outside India? You can pay via this Paypal link (3 USD) and send a mail to freefincal at Gmail.

By clicking, you agree to the terms in the important information section above. Do not forget to download the sheet after you pay (you will get an email with a download link after payment)!!