Is there a low-risk anomaly in the UAE stock market?
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Mateusz Mikutowski
Adam Zaremba
Abstract
We investigate the low-risk anomaly in the United Arab Emirates stock market. Using a sample of stocks listed on the DFM and ADX, we examine the performance of portfolios from one-way sorts on several prominent measures of risk: total volatility, beta, idiosyncratic risk, and value at risk. We find no significant relationship between these measures of risk and future returns – either positive or negative. In consequence, our results do not support the hypothesis that the low-risk anomaly is present in the UAE stock market. Low-risk stocks do not significantly outperform high-risk securities.
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equity market, pricing anomalies, low-risk anomaly, asset pricing, return predictability, United Arab Emirates, UAE, emerging markets

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