Why is Long-Horizon Equity Less Risky? A Duration-Based Explanation of the Value Premium

61 Pages Posted: 4 Feb 2005

See all articles by Martin Lettau

Martin Lettau

University of California - Haas School of Business; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Jessica A. Wachter

University of Pennsylvania - Finance Department; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Securities and Exchange Commission

Multiple version iconThere are 3 versions of this paper

Date Written: January 2005

Abstract

This paper proposes a dynamic risk-based model that captures the high expected returns on value stocks relative to growth stocks, and the failure of the capital asset pricing model to explain these expected returns. To model the difference between value and growth stocks, we introduce a cross-section of long-lived firms distinguished by the timing of their cash flows. Firms with cash flows weighted more to the future have high price ratios, while firms with cash flows weighted more to the present have low price ratios. We model how investors perceive the risks of these cash flows by specifying a stochastic discount factor for the economy. The stochastic discount factor implies that shocks to aggregate dividends are priced, but that shocks to the time-varying price of risk are not. As long-horizon equity, growth stocks covary more with this time-varying price of risk than value stocks, which covary more with shocks to cash flows. When the model is calibrated to explain aggregate stock market behavior, we find that it can also account for much of the observed value premium, the high Sharpe ratios on value stocks relative to growth stocks, and the outperformance of value (and underperformance of growth) relative to the CAPM.

Keywords: Value, Growth, duration, habit formation

JEL Classification: G12, G10

Suggested Citation

Lettau, Martin and Wachter, Jessica A., Why is Long-Horizon Equity Less Risky? A Duration-Based Explanation of the Value Premium (January 2005). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=661346 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.661346

Martin Lettau (Contact Author)

University of California - Haas School of Business ( email )

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Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Jessica A. Wachter

University of Pennsylvania - Finance Department ( email )

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Securities and Exchange Commission ( email )

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