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Introduction to Finance

Which risk earns a reward?

Build the market portfolio, distinguish risk that diversifies away from market exposure, then use beta and the CAPM to judge expected returns and prices.

Equilibrium and the market · Step 1 of 13

Equilibrium: what investors want must match what exists

An invented market
020406080−0.500.51price today ($)expected return (%) × 1e+2
Same expected payoff of $54
Current price: (50, 8)
Portfolio choice starts with given prices and expected returns. The capital asset pricing model, or CAPM, asks how they fit together in equilibrium. If investors want more of a stock than is available, its price rises. With its expected future payoff held fixed, the return offered by that higher price falls. The reverse happens when demand is too low.
Try it: Choose a demand situation, then move today’s price while keeping the expected year-end payoff at $54.
Demand compared with supply
Price today ($)50
Price today
$50
Offered return
8.00%
Pressure
Up
Price rises; expected return falls
Offered return = ($54 ÷ price today) − 1.
Hold the expected dividend plus sale proceeds fixed.
At your price: [54] ÷ [50.0000] − [1] = 8.00%.
Equilibrium requires total demand for each asset = its outstanding supply.

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