Systematic Risk on WebNotes

Beta in mutual funds

Tue, 12 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Beta (\(\beta\)) is a measure of a mutual fund’s systematic risk, its sensitivity to movements in its benchmark index relative to the benchmark’s own movement. A beta of 1.0 means the fund historically moves in perfect proportion with its benchmark. A beta above 1.0 indicates an amplified response (the fund falls more in a downturn and rises more in an upturn), while a beta below 1.0 indicates a dampened response. Beta of zero would imply no correlation with the market at all.

R-squared in mutual funds

Tue, 12 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

R-squared (\(R^2\)), or the coefficient of determination, measures the proportion of a mutual fund’s return variance that is explained by variance in its benchmark index. It ranges from 0 to 1 (or 0 to 100 per cent). An R-squared of 1.0 (100 per cent) means all return variation is explained by the benchmark; an R-squared of 0 means the fund’s returns have no statistical relationship with the benchmark.

R-squared is an essential companion to beta because beta is only a reliable predictor of fund behaviour when R-squared is high. A fund with a calculated beta of 1.20 but an R-squared of 0.40 cannot be relied upon to behave in line with that beta, much of its movement is independent of the benchmark.

Treynor ratio in mutual funds

Tue, 12 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Treynor ratio (also called the reward-to-volatility ratio or Treynor measure) is a risk-adjusted performance measure that divides a fund’s excess return (return above the risk-free rate) by its beta , a measure of systematic market risk, rather than by total standard deviation as in the Sharpe ratio . Developed by Jack Treynor in 1965, it is based on the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) framework and is appropriate when the mutual fund is evaluated as a component within a larger, well-diversified portfolio.