We provide empirical evidence for the incomplete information model advanced by Merton (1987), which shows that the relation between idiosyncratic volatility (IV) and expected return is conditional on the firm's investor base. Using four different proxies for investor base, we show that...

Much attention has been paid to capitalization rates or cap rates defined as the net operating income over transaction price, also known as a going-in current yield on commercial real estate when calculated at the time of purchase. There are a number of global factors that drive capital markets...

Recent studies reject the notion that momentum profits are compensation for risk by showing that momentum profits are mostly comprised of idiosyncratic components that cannot be risk (which, according to standard theory, must entail non-diversifiable systematic variation). Recent theoretical...

We investigate the empirical implications of investors' heterogeneous preferences for skewness with respect to the idiosyncratic volatility (IVOL) puzzle (the negative correlation between idiosyncratic volatility and mean returns). We show that the IVOL puzzle is stronger: (1) within those...

We investigate the time-series patterns in industry return predictability conditioned on insider demand from 1996 to 2016. Current insider demand within an industry is positively associated with higher future industry returns. This relation is primarily driven by the buy side of insider trades...

This paper documents that momentum profits in corporate bonds prevail during weakening aggregate credit conditions, and are driven by losers. Consistent with this, we find that a conditional default factor explains the cross-section returns of corporate bond portfolios sorted by past...

In this paper, we explain momentum profits using innovations in aggregate economy-wide default risk. First, we show that momentum returns are positive only during high default shocks and nonexistent otherwise. Second, we present evidence suggesting that a conditional default shock factor is...

We examine the predictability of stock returns using implied volatility spreads (VS) from individual (non-index) options. Volatility spreads can occur under simple no-arbitrage conditions for American options when volatility is time-varying, suggesting that the VS-return predictability could be...