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Fama-French Provider

Provider: FamaFrenchProvider Website: Ken French Data Library API Key: Not required Free Tier: Free (academic use)


Overview

The Ken French Data Library provides 50+ factor datasets including the famous Fama-French 3-Factor and 5-Factor models.

Best For: Academic factors, portfolio research, factor exposure analysis


Quick Start

from ml4t.data.providers import FamaFrenchProvider

provider = FamaFrenchProvider()

# Core factors
ff3 = provider.fetch("ff3", frequency="monthly")   # Mkt-RF, SMB, HML
ff5 = provider.fetch("ff5", frequency="daily")     # +RMW, CMA
mom = provider.fetch("mom", frequency="monthly")   # Momentum

# Combined (Carhart 4-Factor)
carhart = provider.fetch_combined(["ff3", "mom"])

provider.close()

Available Datasets

Core Factors

Dataset Factors Frequency
ff3 Mkt-RF, SMB, HML Daily, Monthly
ff5 Mkt-RF, SMB, HML, RMW, CMA Daily, Monthly
mom MOM (Momentum) Daily, Monthly
st_rev Short-Term Reversal Monthly
lt_rev Long-Term Reversal Monthly

Industry Portfolios

Dataset Description
ind_5 5 Industries
ind_10 10 Industries
ind_12 12 Industries
ind_17 17 Industries
ind_30 30 Industries
ind_48 48 Industries (most common)
ind_49 49 Industries

Size/Value Portfolios

Dataset Description
port_size_bm_6 6 Size/BM (2x3)
port_size_bm_25 25 Size/BM (5x5)
port_size_bm_100 100 Size/BM (10x10)

International

Dataset Region
ff3_developed Developed Markets
ff3_europe Europe
ff3_japan Japan
ff3_asia_ex_japan Asia Pacific ex Japan

Data Format

  • Returns in decimal format (0.01 = 1%)
  • Daily and monthly frequencies
  • History from 1926 (US) or 1990 (international)

Combined Factors

Create multi-factor models:

# Carhart 4-Factor (FF3 + Momentum)
ff3_mom = provider.fetch_combined(["ff3", "mom"])

# 6-Factor (FF5 + Momentum)
ff5_mom = provider.fetch_combined(["ff5", "mom"])

Academic Citations

  • FF3: Fama and French (1993)
  • FF5: Fama and French (2015)
  • Momentum: Jegadeesh and Titman (1993), Carhart (1997)

See Also