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Country Risk and Expected Returns Across Global Equity Markets

Author

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  • Adam Zaremba

    (Dubai Business School, University of Dubai, UAE
    Department of Investment and Capital Markets, Poznañ University of Economics and Business, Poland)

Abstract

Assessing and pricing country risk poses a considerable challenge to tactical asset allocation across national equity markets. This research examines the relationship between the country composite risk (together with its component risks related to sovereign credit, currency, banking sector, economic structure, and political situation) and expected returns, also identifying general implications for international investors. An equal-weighted portfolio of risky countries outperforms safe countries by approximately 0.50 percentage points per month. The application of this cross-sectional pattern, however, still poses a significant challenge for investment practice. The abnormal performance proves insignificant for capitalization-weighted and liquidity-weighted portfolios as well as within the subgroups of the full sample. Also, we observe that the profitability of the risk-based strategies has disappeared in the years following the global financial crisis.

Suggested Citation

  • Adam Zaremba, 2018. "Country Risk and Expected Returns Across Global Equity Markets," Czech Journal of Economics and Finance (Finance a uver), Charles University Prague, Faculty of Social Sciences, vol. 68(4), pages 374-398, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:fau:fauart:v:68:y:2018:i:4:p:374-398
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Azra Zaimovic & Adna Omanovic & Almira Arnaut-Berilo, 2021. "How Many Stocks Are Sufficient for Equity Portfolio Diversification? A Review of the Literature," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-30, November.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    country risk; sovereign risk; political risk; currency risk; banking sector risk; economic risk; country asset allocation; country selection strategies; return predictability; international asset pricing; cross-section of returns; international diversific;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G15 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - International Financial Markets

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