Using several multi-factor models, I find strong "betting against beta'' effects - flat relations between betas and expected returns - for most non-market factors in US and international stock markets. "Arbitrage portfolios'' designed to profit from these effects earn average returns similar to...

Using high-frequency data, we decompose the time-varying beta for stocks into beta for continuous systematic risk and beta for discontinuous systematic risk. Estimated discontinuous betas for S&P500 constituents between 2003 and 2011 generally exceed the corresponding continuous betas. We...

The beta dispersion, which is the spread of betas on a stock market, can be interpreted as a measure of market vulnerability. This study examines the economic idea of the beta dispersion and its application as a market return predictor. Based on the empirical beta dispersion observed in the US...

A direct measure of the cyclicality of momentum at a given point in time, its bottom-up beta with respect to the market, forecasts both the returns and the risk of the strategy. Challenging a potential risk-based explanation, a highly cyclical momentum portfolio forecasts both higher risk and...

The authors study whether the pricing of systematic factors depends on the investment horizon over which risk is measured. Market beta and Fama--French value beta are priced when risk is measured over intermediate horizons, while liquidity beta is priced over short horizons. Alpha on a...

By choosing investment strategies that intentionally create exposure to factor betas, investors may be obtaining uncompensated risks. We show across a wide variety of factors and geographical markets that factors constructed from fundamental characteristics have earned high returns, whereas...