What Stock Market Alpha Really Measures
A clear guide to stock market alpha, benchmark excess return, risk adjustment, and the limits of a performance estimate.
Portfolio / Blog category
Portfolio analytics guides.
Put portfolio performance in perspective.
A reading path for portfolio.
A return becomes more informative when its benchmark, costs, exposures, and path are visible. Explore model-based alpha, beta, fair benchmarking, drawdown, and volatility without treating any one metric as a complete verdict. Start with alpha for the core vocabulary, use the benchmarking framework to set up a comparison, and finish by examining the risks and assumptions behind the result.
Explore the portfolio learning page for definitions, examples, and related research questions. Articles below are arranged from newest to oldest.
Alpha vs. Beta: Return, Exposure, and What’s Left
Separate market exposure from model-relative performance with transparent examples and a practical reporting framework.
Portfolio Benchmarking: Make the Comparison Fair
Choose a relevant benchmark, align returns and costs, and interpret portfolio performance without changing the goalposts.
Drawdown and Volatility: Understand the Return Path
Explore peak-to-trough losses, recovery arithmetic, volatility conventions, and the risks a single number cannot capture.