Good stocks hitting new highs: A set of rules to pinpoint market leaders

Momentum investing strategies have a natural dislike for bearish, unsettled conditions. So it’s no surprise that some of them have been on the ropes this year. But with the market clawing its way back from the summer slump, one of our most beloved momentum screens - the 52 week highs list - is starting to look a bit healthier. It comes as new research shows that a simple addition to this strategy could improve its returns. 

New ideas from new highs

Momentum - arguably one of the market’s most powerful profit drivers - has been the name of the game in the stock market over the past decade. Value strategies have suffered at the hands of popular growth stocks, which have been on a relentless march, notching up multibagger-like returns.

But over the past year or so, the tables have shifted. Strategies that surf the upward price drift caused by momentum catalysts like earnings surprises and broker upgrades have struggled to find shares. In the past, this has signalled the start of a change in market direction. A different view might be that momentum has just hit a bump in the road, rather than completely crashed.

One of the...