Factor Models and the Arbitrage Pricing Theory

11 important questions on Factor Models and the Arbitrage Pricing Theory

What are macroeconomic variables?

Examples:
  • Changes in interest rates
  • inflation and productivity
This are common factors because they affect the prices of most securities.

What is meant with firm specific components?

This are specific components that only affect a specific firm and not the returns of other investments.

What is factor risk?

Return variability generated by common factors.
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Why is the arbitrage pricing theory developed?

To relate the factor risk of an investment to its expected rate of return.

What is meant with factor betas or factor sensitivities?

Similar to the market betas.

What is systematic (market) risk?

The systematic risk of a security is the portion of the security's return variance that is explained by market movements.

What are the three different ways to construct factors?

  • Factor analysis
  • macroeconomic variables
  • firm characteristics

What is a factor analysis and what are the advantages and disadvantages?

It is a purely statistical procedure for estimating factors, and the sensitivity of returns to them.

Advantages:
Provides the best estimates of the factors, given its assumptions

Disadvantages:
The assumption that covariances are constant is crucial and is probably violated in reality. And does not 'name' the factors

What is a macroeconomic variable and what are the advantages and disadvantages?

It uses macroeconomic time-series that capture changes in productivity, interest rates, and inflation to act as proxies for the factors generating security returns.

Advantages:
It provides the most intuitive interpretation of the factors.

Disadvantages:
Implies that the appropriate factors are the unanticipated changes in the macro variables.

What is a firm characteristic and what are the advantages and disadvantages?

It uses firm characteristics such as firm size or market-to-book ratio, which are known to be related to equity returns, to form factor portfolios.

Advantages:
More intuitive than the other two; formation does not require constant covariances.  

Disadvantages:
Portfolios selected on the basis of past return anomalies, which are factors only because they explain historical 'accidents', may not be good at explaining expected returns in the future.

What are multifactor portfolio betas?

This are the portfolio-weighted averages of the betas of the securities in the portfolio.

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