We compare the accuracy of cost of equity estimates based on leading factor models to two simple alternatives: the asset mean and the market mean. The market mean proves to be a serious competitor to traditional implementations of factor models even if the underlying factor model is true....

We show that there is strong commonality in the volatility of a wide range of diversified equity portfolios. Common factor volatility (CFV) exists even when factor or anomaly returns are market-adjusted and does not appear to be attributable to common microstructure noise or a lack of...

Previous empirical studies find both evidence of jumps in asset prices and that returns standardized by `realized volatility' are approximately standard normal. These findings appear to be contradictory. Using a sample of high-frequency returns for 20 heavily-traded US stocks, we show that...

This study examines evidence of instability in models of ex post predictable components in stock returns related to structural breaks in the coefficients of state variables such as the lagged dividend yield, short interest rate, term spread and default premium. We estimate linear models of...

A large literature measures the effects of monetary policy shocks on asset prices. We promote a data-driven approach to designating monetary surprises via econometric tests for asset price jumps. Applying these tests, we identify the specific Fed communications that generate surprises....

This paper constructs and analyzes various measures of trading costs in US equity markets covering the period 1926–2015. These measures contain statistically and economically significant predictive signals for stock market returns and real economic activity. We decompose illiquidity proxies...

We compare the stock return forecasting performance of alternative payout yields. The net payout yield produces more accurate forecasts relative to alternatives, including the traditional dividend yield. This remains true even after excluding several years during the Great Depression when...

We characterize jump dynamics in stock market returns using a novel series of intraday prices covering over 80 years. Jump dynamics vary substantially over time. Trends in jump activity relate to secular shifts in the nature of news. Unscheduled news drives jump activity in early decades,...

We study the interaction between firm uncertainty and corporate policies, emphasizing the role of asymmetries in the distribution of performance shocks. Conditional on volatility and other characteristics, firms with more negatively skewed performance shocks adopt more conservative policies,...