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What Is Risk-Free Rate?

Andrew Stolz

Definition of Risk-Free Rate. The risk-free rate is the minimum rate of return on an investment with theoretically no risk. Government bonds are considered risk-free because technically, a government can always print money to pay its bondholders. Treasury Bill. 10-Year U.S.

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In Search of Safe Havens: The Trust Deficit and Risk-free Investments!

Musings on Markets

In every introductory finance class, you begin with the notion of a risk-free investment, and the rate on that investment becomes the base on which you build, to get to expected returns on risky assets and investments. What is a risk free investment? Why does the risk-free rate matter?

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The Price of Risk: With Equity Risk Premiums, Caveat Emptor!

Musings on Markets

If you have been reading my posts, you know that I have an obsession with equity risk premiums, which I believe lie at the center of almost every substantive debate in markets and investing. How, you may ask, can equity risk premiums be that divergent, and does that imply that anything goes?

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Data Update 3: Inflation and its Ripple Effects!

Musings on Markets

Put simply, no central bank, no matter how powerful, can force market interest rates down, if inflation expectations stay low, or up, if investor are anticipating high inflation. Note that the decrease in default spreads, at least for the lower ratings, mirrors the drop in the implied equity risk premium during the course of 2021.

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Data Update 2 for 2023: A Rocky Year for Equities!

Musings on Markets

In this post, I will begin by chronicling the damage done to equities during 2022, before putting the year in historical context, and then examine how developments during the year have affected expectations for the future. Actual Returns Your returns on equities come in one of two forms. Stocks: The What?

Equity 93
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Data Update 2 for 2022: US Stocks kept winning in 2021, but…

Musings on Markets

In a post at the start of 2021 , I argued that while stocks entered the year at elevated levels, especially on historic metrics (such as PE ratios), they were priced to deliver reasonable returns, relative to very low risk free rates (with the treasury bond rate at 0.93% at the start of 2021). The year that was.

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Data Update 3 for 2023: Inflation and Interest Rates

Musings on Markets

If 2022 was an unsettling year for equities, as I noted in my second data post, it was an even more tumultuous year for the bond market. As a result, treasury bond investors faced one of their worst years in history, losing close to a fifth of their principal, as bonds were repriced.