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The profitability of low-volatility

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  • Blitz, David
  • Vidojevic, Milan

Abstract

Low-risk stocks exhibit higher returns than predicted by established asset pricing models, but this anomaly seems to be explained by the new Fama-French five-factor model, which includes a profitability factor. We argue that this conclusion is premature given the lack of empirical evidence for a positive relation between risk and return. We find that exposure to market beta in the cross-section is not rewarded with a positive premium, regardless of whether we control for the new factors in the five-factor model. We also observe stronger mispricing for volatility than for beta, which suggests that the low-volatility anomaly is the dominant phenomenon. We conclude that the low-risk anomaly is not explained by the five-factor model.

Suggested Citation

  • Blitz, David & Vidojevic, Milan, 2017. "The profitability of low-volatility," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 33-42.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:empfin:v:43:y:2017:i:c:p:33-42
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jempfin.2017.05.001
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    Cited by:

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    2. Bradrania, Reza & Veron, Jose Francisco, 2023. "The beta anomaly in the Australian stock market and the lottery demand," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    3. Pedro Antonio Martín-Cervantes & María del Carmen Valls Martínez, 2023. "Unraveling the relationship between betas and ESG scores through the Random Forests methodology," Risk Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 25(3), pages 1-29, September.
    4. Han, Xing & Li, Kai & Li, Youwei, 2020. "Investor overconfidence and the security market line: New evidence from China," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    5. Philip A. Stork & Milan Vidojevic & Remco C. J. Zwinkels, 2021. "Behavioral heterogeneity in return expectations across equity style portfolios," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 21(4), pages 1225-1250, December.
    6. Bradrania, Reza & Veron, Jose Francisco & Wu, Winston, 2023. "The beta anomaly and the quality effect in international stock markets," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    7. Konstantin B. Kostin & Philippe Runge & Michel Charifzadeh, 2022. "An Analysis and Comparison of Multi-Factor Asset Pricing Model Performance during Pandemic Situations in Developed and Emerging Markets," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-16, January.
    8. David Blitz & Matthias X. Hanauer & Pim Vliet, 2021. "The Volatility Effect in China," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 22(5), pages 338-349, September.
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    10. Abraham Oketooyin GBADEBO & Yusuf Olatunji OYEDEKO, 2022. "Effect Of Liquidity Risk On Low Volatility Anomaly In Nigerian Stock Market," Contemporary Economy Journal, Constantin Brancoveanu University, vol. 7(3), pages 25-42.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Low volatility; Low beta; Profitability; Betting against beta;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading

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