This paper considers a portfolio trading strategy formulated by algorithms in
the field of machine learning. The profitability of the strategy is measured by
the algorithm's capability to consistently and accurately identify stock
indices with positive or negative returns, and to generate a preferred
portfolio allocation on the basis of a learned model. Stocks are characterized
by time series data sets consisting of technical variables that reflect market
conditions in a previous time interval, which are utilized produce binary
classification decisions in subsequent intervals. The learned model is
constructed as a committee of random forest classifiers, a non-linear support
vector machine classifier, a relevance vector machine classifier, and a
constituent ensemble of k-nearest neighbors classifiers. The Global Industry
Classification Standard (GICS) is used to explore the ensemble model's efficacy
within the context of various fields of investment including Energy, Materials,
Financials, and Information Technology. Data from 2006 to 2012, inclusive, are
considered, which are chosen for providing a range of market circumstances for
evaluating the model. The model is observed to achieve an accuracy of
approximately 70% when predicting stock price returns three months in advance.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures, Neukom Institute Computational Undergraduate
Research prize - second plac