Portfolio theories | Mathematical finance
Low-volatility anomaly
In investing and finance, the low-volatility anomaly is the observation that low-volatility stocks have higher returns than high-volatility stocks in most markets studied. This is an example of a stock market anomaly since it contradicts the central prediction of many financial theories that taking higher risk must be compensated with higher returns. Furthermore, the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) predicts a positive relation between the systematic risk-exposure of a stock (also known as the stock beta) and its expected future returns. However, some narratives of the low-volatility anomaly falsify this prediction of the CAPM by showing that stocks with higher beta have historically under-performed the stocks with lower beta. Other narratives of this anomaly show that even stocks with higher idiosyncratic risk are compensated with lower returns in comparison to stocks with lower idiosyncratic risk. The low-volatility anomaly has also been referred to as the low-beta, minimum-variance, minimum volatility anomaly. (Wikipedia).
