The traditional active vs passive debate has been shaken up by the emergence of “smart beta” strategies. As the population of these products has exploded, the quest to differentiate among them has focused on portfolio construction techniques rather than what actually matters, namely...

Alpha, or outperformance of a benchmark, can be generated in many ways within a portfolio. It can be created by picking the top hedge fund managers, or by capturing the illiquidity premium via alternative assets. Venture capital is a major source of alpha for long-term investors. Alpha can also...

In this paper we examine the characteristics and stability of individual stock and portfolio betas of stocks listed in the Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE) using samples of 500 individual stocks and 500 portfolios of 10 stocks each. We begin with a methodology similar to the basic event study...