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What Do The Ibbottson Historical Studies Really Prove About Firm Size, Risk And Return?, Michael Sack Elmaleh

Michael Sack Elmaleh

I deny that the Ibbottson historical studies prove that small and medium caps outperform large caps because they are more risky. First, I question whether covariance measures are necessarily a good proxy for risk. The higher levels of volatility associated with small and medium cap versus large cap may be a statistical artifact: the greater number of transactions associated with large caps as compared to small caps may account for this difference. Secondly, higher returns on small and medium caps may be a function of less efficient information distribution for these securities as compared to large caps. Finally, can we …