A Cluster Analysis of Stocks to Define an Investment Strategy

Sammanfattning: This thesis investigates the possibilities of creating an investment strategy by performing a cluster analysis on stock returns. This to provide a diversified portfolio, which has multiple advantages, for instance that the risk of the investment decreases. The cluster analysis was performed using various methods – Average linkage, Centroid and Ward's method, for the purpose of determining a preferable method. Ward's method was the most appropriate method to use according to the results, since it was the only method providing an analysable result. The investment strategy was therefore based on the result of Ward's method. This resulted in a portfolio consisting of eight stocks from four different clusters, with the eight stocks representing four sectors. Most of the results were not interpretable and some of the decision making regarding the number of clusters and the appropriate portfolio composition was not entirely scientific. Therefore, this thesis should be considered as a first indication of the adequacy of using cluster analysis for the purpose of creating an investment strategy.