The article explores how to build investment portfolios based on stock characteristics like value and momentum. By directly estimating portfolio weights from these characteristics, better results are achieved compared to a simple regression-based approach. However, equally weighting single-characteristic strategies can perform just as well or even better. This shows the challenge of outperforming equal-weighted portfolios in investment analysis. The study also reveals the potential for selecting stocks in international markets using characteristics like value and momentum, leading to significantly higher returns compared to the overall market.