Download pdf: http://adf.ly/AwPv6

Understanding Risk and Return, the CAPM, and the Fama-French Three-Factor Model

Kent L. Womack 

University of Toronto - Rotman School of Management

Ying Zhang 

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Abstract:      
The first-year MBA finance course regularly includes a discussion of the CAPM. This teaching note extends the typical textbook discussion of CAPM in two ways. First, it provides a step-by-step approach explaining empirically how one can calculate beta and alpha using simple regression. Second, it extends the risk-return asset pricing relationship to the richer three-factor Fama-French model. By examining and controlling for the multiple betas of this model, students can come to understand mutual fund investment styles and multi-factor alphas.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 14