We test the mean-variance efficiency of a given portfolio with a Bayesian framework. Our test is more direct than Shanken's (1987), because we impose a prior on all the parameters of the multivariate regression model. The approach is also easily adapted to other problems. We use Monte Carlo...

This paper proposes tests of asset pricing models that allow for time variation in conditional covariances. The evidence indicates that the conditional covariances do change through time. Estimates of the expected excess return on the market divided by the variance of the market (reward-to-risk...

We analyze the results of the September 2005 survey of U.S. Chief Financial Officers (CFOs). We present expectations of the equity risk premium measured over a 10-year horizon relative to a 10-year U.S. Treasury bond. This multi-year survey has been conducted every quarter from June 2000 to...

The emergence of new equity markets in Europe, Latin America, Asia, the Mideast and Africa provides a new menu of opportunities for investors. These markets exhibit high expected returns as well as high volatility. Importantly, the low correlations with developed countries' equity markets...

Single factor asset pricing models face two major hurdles: the problematic time-series properties of the ex ante market risk premium and the inability of the risk measure to account for a substantial degree of the cross-sectional variation of expected excess returns. We provide an explanation...

This paper examines a comprehensive list of 18 different risk factors that potentially impact international equity returns. These factors include systematic risk, idiosyncratic risk, size, semi-variance, downside betas, value-at-risk, skewness, coskewness, kurtosis, political risk and country...

A large body of academic research describes the optimal decisions that corporations should make, given certain assumptions and conditions. Anecdotal evidence, however, suggests that the way that corporations actually make decisions is not always consistent with the academic decision rules. In...

We present expectations of the equity risk premium measured over a 10-year horizon relative to a 10-year U.S. Treasury bond based on a survey of U.S. Chief Financial Officers (CFOs). This multi-year survey has been conducted each quarter from June 2000. Each quarter the survey also provides...

Based on a multi-year survey of U.S. Chief Financial Officers (CFOs), we present expectations of the risk premium measured over a 10-year horizon relative to a 10-year U.S. Treasury bond. Our survey also provides measures of the disagreement over the risk premium. We also provide a measure of...

This paper explores different specifications of conditional expectations. The mostcommon specification, linear least squares, is contrasted with nonparametric techniques that make no assumptions about the distribution of the data. Nonparametric regression is successful in capturing some...