Investors increasingly embrace “smart beta” investing, by which we mean passively following an index in which stock weights are not proportional to their market capitalizations, but based on some alternative weighting scheme. Examples include fundamentally-weighted indices and minimum-volatility indices.

In research published two weeks ago entitled, “Smart Beta 2.0,” EDHEC-Risk Institute is seeking to draw the attention of investors to the risks of traditional smart beta equity indices and propose a new approach to smart beta investing to take account of these risks.

According to François Millet, Product Line Manager ETF & Indexing at Lyxor Asset Management, "Smart Beta" is intended to be located in the core portfolio of institutional investors, weighing generally between 10% and 40% of their passive management.