Betting Against Beta

85 Pages Posted: 3 May 2012

See all articles by Andrea Frazzini

Andrea Frazzini

AQR Capital Management, LLC

Lasse Heje Pedersen

AQR Capital Management, LLC; Copenhagen Business School - Department of Finance; New York University (NYU); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: October 9, 2011

Abstract

We present a model with leverage and margin constraints that vary across investors and time. We find evidence consistent with each of the model’s five central predictions: (1) Since constrained investors bid up high-beta assets, high beta is associated with low alpha, as we find empirically for U.S. equities, 20 international equity markets, Treasury bonds, corporate bonds, and futures; (2) A betting-against-beta (BAB) factor, which is long leveraged low beta assets and short high-beta assets, produces significant positive risk-adjusted returns; (3) When funding constraints tighten, the return of the BAB factor is low; (4) Increased funding liquidity risk compresses betas toward one; (5) More constrained investors hold riskier assets.

Suggested Citation

Frazzini, Andrea and Pedersen, Lasse Heje, Betting Against Beta (October 9, 2011). Swiss Finance Institute Research Paper No. 12-17, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2049939 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2049939

Andrea Frazzini

AQR Capital Management, LLC ( email )

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HOME PAGE: http://www.econ.yale.edu/~af227/

Lasse Heje Pedersen (Contact Author)

AQR Capital Management, LLC ( email )

Greenwich, CT
United States

Copenhagen Business School - Department of Finance ( email )

Solbjerg Plads 3
Frederiksberg, DK-2000
Denmark

New York University (NYU) ( email )

Stern School of Business
44 West 4th Street
New York, NY 10012-1126
United States

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) ( email )

London
United Kingdom

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