Security Market Line
Security Market Line
Security Market Line
One remarkable fact that comes from the linearity of this equation is that we can obtain the beta
Of a portfolio of assets by simply multiplying the betas of the assets by their portfolio weights. Easy the line also extends out infinitely to the right, implying that you can Borrow infinite amounts to lever up your portfolio. Why is the line straight? Well, suppose it curved, as the blue line does in the figure below. An investor could borrow at the riskless rate and invest in the market portfolio. Any investment of this type would provide a higher expected return than a security which lies on the curved line below. In other words, the investor could receive a higher expected return for the same level of systematic risk. In fact, if the security on the curve could be sold short, then the investor could take the proceeds from the short sale and enter into the levered market position.
When a shift in the SML occurs, a change that affects all investments' risk versus return profile has occurred. A shift of the SML can occur with changes in the following: Expected real growth in the economy. Capital market conditions. Expected inflation rate Beta and the Risk Premium A riskless asset has a beta of 0. Beta of portfolio is a weighted average of Betas of individual The line which gives the expected return - systematic risk combinations Given the Market Portfolio has an "average" systematic risk, i.e., it has a beta of 1. Since all assets must lie on the security market line when appropriately priced, so must the market portfolio. Denote the expected return on the market portfolio.
Characteristic Line
A rational investor would not invest in an asset which does not improve the risk-return Characteristics of his existing portfolio. Since a rational investor would hold the market portfolio, The asset in question will be added to the market portfolio. Specific risk is the risk associated with individual assets - within a portfolio these risks can be Reduced through diversification. Systematic risk, or market risk, Refers to the risk common to all securities except for selling short as noted below, systematic Risk cannot be diversified away (within one market). Within the market portfolio, asset specific Risk will be diversified away to the extent possible. Systematic risk is therefore equated with The risk (standard deviation) of the market
portfolio. Since a security will be purchased only if it improves the risk / return characteristics of the Market portfolio, the risk of a security will be the risk it adds to the market portfolio. In this Context, the volatility of the asset, and its correlation with the market portfolio, is historically Observed and is therefore a given (there are several approaches to asset pricing that attempt to Price assets by modeling the stochastic properties of the moments of assets returns - these are Broadly referred to as conditional asset pricing models). The (maximum) price paid for any Particular asset (and hence the return it will generate) should also be determined based on its Relationship with the market portfolio. Systematic risks within one market can be managed through a strategy of using both long and Short positions within one portfolio, creating a market neutral portfolio.