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Is the Market Portfolio Efficient? A New Test of Mean-Variance Efficiency when All Assets Are Risky

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  • Marie Briere
  • Bastien Drut
  • Valérie Mignon
  • Kim Oosterlinck
  • Ariane Szafarz

Abstract

The market portfolio efficiency remains controversial. This paper develops a new test of portfolio mean-variance efficiency relying on the realistic assumption that all assets are risky. The test is based on the vertical distance of a portfolio from the efficient frontier. Monte Carlo simulations show that our test outperforms the previous mean-variance efficiency tests for large samples since it produces smaller size distortions for comparable power. Our empirical application to the U.S. equity market highlights that the market portfolio is not mean-variance efficient, and so invalidates the zero-beta CAPM.

Suggested Citation

  • Marie Briere & Bastien Drut & Valérie Mignon & Kim Oosterlinck & Ariane Szafarz, 2012. "Is the Market Portfolio Efficient? A New Test of Mean-Variance Efficiency when All Assets Are Risky," Working Papers CEB 12-003, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    • Handle: RePEc:sol:wpaper:2013/107868
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    Cited by:

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    2. Jonathan Fletcher, 2018. "An Examination of the Benefits of Factor Investing in U.K. Stock Returns," International Journal of Economics and Finance, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 10(4), pages 154-170, April.
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    4. Fletcher, Jonathan, 2018. "An empirical examination of the diversification benefits of U.K. international equity closed-end funds," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 23-34.
    5. Gilles Boevi Koumou, 2020. "Diversification and portfolio theory: a review," Financial Markets and Portfolio Management, Springer;Swiss Society for Financial Market Research, vol. 34(3), pages 267-312, September.
    6. Marie Brière & Ariane Szafarz, 2021. "When it rains, it pours: Multifactor asset management in good and bad times," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 44(3), pages 641-669, September.
    7. Fletcher, Jonathan, 2021. "International equity U.S. mutual funds and diversification benefits," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 246-257.
    8. Marie Brière & Valérie Mignon & Kim Oosterlinck & Ariane Szafarz, 2016. "Towards greater diversification in central bank reserves," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 17(4), pages 295-312, July.
    9. Brière, Marie & Simar, Léopold & Szafarz, Ariane & Vanhems, Anne, 2023. "Sensitivity to measurement errors of the distance to the efficient frontier," LIDAM Discussion Papers ISBA 2023017, Université catholique de Louvain, Institute of Statistics, Biostatistics and Actuarial Sciences (ISBA).
    10. Marie Briere & Ariane Szafarz, 2017. "Factor Investing: The Rocky Road from Long-Only to Long-Short," Working Papers CEB 17-013, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    11. Marie Briere & Ariane Szafarz, 2018. "Factors and Sectors in Asset Allocation: Stronger Together?," Working Papers CEB 18-016, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Efficient portfolio; mean-variance efficiency; efficiency test.;
    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
    • C12 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Hypothesis Testing: General

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