We propose an alternative approach to the linear factor model to estimate and decompose asset risk premia in empirical asset pricing. To resolve the high-dimensional sort difficulty in forming characteristic-based benchmark portfolios, we introduce a benchmark combination model (BCM) that...

Using a robust textual analytic method, we decompose the P2P loan description into common and distinctive contents, which contain general and unique information provided by borrowers. We then investigate the role of the distinctive content in affecting P2P lending decisions and outcomes....

Corporate bonds carry a premium of extreme illiquidity (EIL). This premium permeates all rating categories and heightens in times of stress and periods with high uncertainty. EIL has predictive power in the cross-section for future returns up to at least a one-year horizon. Active investors like...

We document strong evidence of cross-sectional predictability of corporate bond returns based on a set of yield predictors that capture the information in the yields of past 1, 3, 6, 12, 24, 36 and 48 months. Return predictability is economically and statistically significant, and is robust to...

This paper examines the pricing of volatility risk and idiosyncratic volatility in the cross-section of corporate bond returns for the period of 1994-2016. Results show that bonds with high volatility betas have low expected returns and this negative relation appears in all segments of corporate...