Magic Formula that beats the Market

Joel Greenblatt wrote The Little Book That Beats The Market

"Greenbackd" (a fundmanager) analysed the results, also based on research from others. It looks like the formula is true in most countries, although less so than in the US.

The strategy itself is rather simple, "long term deep value": "The Magic Formula strategy is a long-term investment strategy designed to help investors buy a group of above-average companies but only when they are available at below-average prices".

Regarding the timeframe: "In the second chart, note that it took eight years for the value decile to catch up to the glamour decile. They were tough times for value investors". In other words, one needs a lot of patience.

In countries with good corporate governance I expect the formula to do better than in countries with lousy corporate governance.