We explore the cross-section of factor returns using a sample of 150+ equity factors. Most factors exhibit a positive premium and a negative market beta in the long run. Factor themes with a clear positive beta, in particular low leverage and size, have no alpha after controlling for this beta...

In empirical tests of the CAPM, the theoretical risk-free asset is typically assumed to be 1-month Treasury bills. This paper examines the implications of a mis-specified risk-free asset, i.e. the possibility that the ‘true' risk-free asset is a longer-maturity Treasury bond. A simple...

We dissect the realized performance of factor-based equity portfolios using a characteristics-based multi-factor return model. We show that generic single-factor portfolios, which invest in stocks with high scores on one particular factor, are sub-optimal because they ignore the possibility that...

This paper takes another look at the recommendation of Blitz [2012] to allocate strategically to the value, momentum and low-volatility factor premiums in the equity market. Five years of fresh data shows that such a factor investing strategy continued to deliver out-of-sample. The potential...

The evidence for the existence of a distinct low-volatility effect is mounting. However, implicit exposures to the Fama-French value factor (HML) seem to explain the performance of straightforward U.S. low-volatility strategies since 1963. In this paper I show that the value effect can neither...

The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) predicts a positive relation between risk and return, but empirical studies find the actual relation to be flat, or even negative. This paper provides a broad overview of explanations for this ‘volatility effect' that have been proposed in different...

This paper examines the exposures of low-volatility portfolios to various sources of systematic risk. Our analysis includes interest rate, implied volatility, liquidity, commodity, sentiment, macroeconomic, and climate risk factors. We find that low-volatility portfolios lower the exposure to...

The equity risk premium is generally considered to be a reward that investors earn on top of the prevailing risk-free return, implying that, all else equal, total expected stock returns should increase with the level of the risk-free return. We examine whether this notion is true using long-term...