The Arbitrage Pricing Theory (APT) is an alternative to the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) for understanding the relationship between risk and expected return in financial markets.
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Developed by Stephen Ross in the 1970s, APT assumes that an asset’s return is influenced by multiple factors rather than just the market risk factor as in CAPM.
Key components of APT:
- Multiple Factors:
- APT considers that an asset’s return is determined by several macroeconomic and systematic factors.
- These factors could include inflation rates, interest rates, GDP growth, or other relevant economic variables.
- Arbitrage Opportunities:
- APT assumes that if an asset is mispriced based on its exposure to the relevant factors, arbitrage opportunities will arise.
- Investors can take advantage of these mispricings to achieve riskless profits, thereby ensuring that the market corrects itself.
- No Unique Risk-Free Rate:
- Unlike CAPM, APT does not rely on a single risk-free rate. Instead, it considers the risk-free rate as a function of various macroeconomic factors.
- Factor Sensitivities (Beta):
- APT uses factor sensitivities, often referred to as betas, to measure an asset’s exposure to each relevant factor.
- The expected return of an asset is determined by its sensitivity to various factors, with each factor having its own risk premium.
The APT formula for the expected return of an asset is:
[E(R_i) = R_f + \sum_{j=1}^{k} \beta_{ij} \times RP_j]
Where:
- (E(R_i)) is the expected return of the asset.
- (R_f) is the risk-free rate.
- (\beta_{ij}) is the sensitivity of the asset’s return to factor (j).
- (RP_j) is the risk premium associated with factor (j).
In summary, APT provides a flexible framework for understanding asset pricing by considering multiple factors and allowing for arbitrage opportunities to correct mispricings in the market.