A number of papers document a strong negative relation between idiosyncratic volatility and risk-adjusted stock returns. Using IHS Markit data on indicative borrowing fees, we show that stocks with high idiosyncratic volatility are far more likely to be hard-to-borrow than stocks with low...

The performance of a closed end bond fund is based on the returns of an underlying portfolio of bonds. This paper uses a structural model to assess the impact of leverage on the expected return and riskiness of a closed end bond fund. We use the model to explore the role of leverage during the...

Stock price jump risk is known to be important for explaining the option-implied volatility skew generated by the Black-Scholes model. Financial leverage (distress) has an important impact on the shape of the implied volatility skew, however, we find that the impact of leverage on the implied...