Variance Premium, Downside Risk, and Expected Stock Returns
Friday 21 June 2019
Research / Market
Variance Premium, Downside Risk, and Expected Stock Returns
We decompose total variance into its bad and good components and measure the premia associated with their fluctuations using stock and option data from a large cross-section of firms. The total variance risk premium (VRP) represents the premium paid to insure against fluctuations in bad variance (called bad VRP), net of the premium received to compensate for fluctuations in good variance (called good VRP).