Measure
Beta
Definition
Sensitivity of a fund's returns to its reference market.
Formula
β = cov(r_p, r_m) / var(r_m)
How to read it
A beta of 1.2 means the fund has historically moved 1.2× the market's move, on average.
What it does not tell you
It is one number summarising a relationship that changes with regime, and it is measured against one market. It says nothing about the risk that is unrelated to that market — which for a sector or single-country fund is most of it.
Applied in 91 articles
91- Factor Crowding and Alpha Decay: What Happens to a Premium After Everyone Reads the Paper
- The Low-Volatility Anomaly: Why Boring Stocks Keep Beating the Theory
- Minimum Variance vs Maximum Diversification: Two Optimizers, Two Very Different Portfolios
- Is Value 'Cheap'? Reading the Value Spread Instead of Guessing the Factor's Comeback
- VYMI vs IDV: International Dividend ETFs — Yield, Country Risk, and the Currency Drag
- IEMG vs VWO: Two Emerging-Market Giants — The Index and Country-Weight Differences That Matter
- ITA vs XAR: Defense and Aerospace ETFs When Geopolitical Risk Is Rising
- XBI vs IBB: Equal-Weight vs Cap-Weight Biotech — Two Very Different Risk Profiles
- CIBR vs BUG vs HACK: Cybersecurity ETFs — Where the Holdings and Fees Diverge
- URA vs URNM vs NLR: Uranium Miners vs Nuclear Utilities — Two Bets on the Same Thesis
- ARKK vs QQQ: Disruptive Innovation vs the Nasdaq-100 — What a Full Cycle Revealed
- KWEB vs FXI vs MCHI: Three Very Different Ways to Own China
- LQD vs HYG: Investment-Grade vs High-Yield Credit — What the Spread Actually Pays You For
- TIP vs SCHP vs VTIP: How Inflation-Protected Bond ETFs Differ by Duration
- XLV vs VHT: Two Ways to Own Healthcare — Concentration, Fees, and Defensive Behavior
- DBMF vs CTA: Two Managed-Futures Trend Funds — How They Pick Trends Differently
- VNQ vs SCHH: Two REIT Index ETFs — Holdings, Yield, and Realized Risk
- Bitcoin vs Gold: IBIT vs GLD as a Portfolio Hedge — What the Correlation Data Says
- USMV vs SPLV: Two Approaches to Low-Volatility Investing — Which Defense Holds Up?
- QRFT vs AMOM: AI-Driven Quality vs AI-Driven Momentum — A Head-to-Head Read
- SCHG vs VUG: Large-Cap Growth Twins — Where the Index Construction Diverges
- JEPI vs JEPQ: Equity-Premium Income on the S&P 500 vs the Nasdaq-100
- VGT vs QQQ: Tech Sector vs Nasdaq-100 — How Different Are They Really?
- QQQ vs QQQM: Same Index, Different Wrapper — When the Cheaper Twin Actually Wins
- VOO vs VTI: S&P 500 vs Total US Market — What the Difference Actually Costs Over Decades
- IGV vs WCLD vs QQQ: Breaking Down the 'Tech Beta' Stack
- BOTZ vs. ROBO vs. AIQ: Three AI & Robotics ETFs Compared
- 12 Months of Live AI-Quant ETFs vs the S&P 500 — Honest Data Review
- FCTR vs LRGF: Where AI Actually Changes the Multi-Factor Loading
- QRFT Explained: AI-Driven Multi-Factor — Holdings, Fees, and Live Track Record
- DBMF Deep Dive: How AI-Managed Futures Pick Trends Without Forecasting
- Why Tracking Error Matters More Than Expense Ratio in 2026
- AMOM Explained: How AI Weights Momentum Differently from MTUM
- AIEQ Review: 7 Years of Live AI-Managed ETF — What Actually Worked
- The Ultimate 2026 Hybrid Portfolio: How to Mix Classic ETFs with AI Quant
- COWZ vs. FCTR: Free Cash Flow Focus vs. AI Multi-Factor Optimization
- JEPI vs. AIPI: High-Yield Income vs. AI-Powered Options Overlay Strategy
- VTI vs. AIEQ: Total Market Index vs. IBM Watson’s AI Selection Performance
- QQQM vs. QRFT: Nasdaq 100 vs. AI-Driven Quality Factor Investing
- SCHD vs. DIVZ: Traditional Dividend Growth vs. AI-Enhanced Yield Strategy
- The Master Class: How to Use Claude (Anthropic) to Backtest Your Own ETF Strategy
- SCHD vs VIG: A Quantitative Analysis of Dividend Quality Factors
- VOO vs. MTUM vs. QUAL: Which Smart Beta ETF Wins Based on Historical Backtests?
- The Master Guide to Evidence-Based ETF Portfolios: Using AI to Optimize Allocation (2026)
- VOO vs. MTUM vs. QUAL: Which Smart Beta ETF Wins Numerically? (Backtest Analysis)
- Why "Factor Investing" Still Works: Applying Fama-French Models in the AI Era
- Top 5 Quantitative Investment Papers Every Long-Term Investor Must Read
- Renaissance Technologies vs. Berkshire Hathaway: Two Different Paths to Infinite Wealth
- The Full Framework for Scientific Investing: From James Simons to AI-Powered Quant (2026)
- Is Capital Leaving the US? Global Money Flow Trends Explained
- XLE vs VDE: Which Energy ETF Benefits Most from Oil Shocks?
- Energy Equities and Geopolitical Conflict: When the Relationship Actually Holds
- Why AI Is Driving a New Infrastructure Supercycle (Not Just Tech Stocks)
- What "Falling Rates" Actually Does to Equity Categories — A 2026 Framework
- What Market Rotation Is — and Isn't — for Long-Horizon ETF Investors
- Roles Before Tickers: A Framework for Long-Horizon ETF Allocation
- The Honest Math of Daily-Reset Leverage: What QLD, SSO, and TQQQ Actually Cost in a 4% Rate Regime
- Asset Allocation in Practice: How 10% Weight Shifts Reshape Long-Term Outcomes
- The Rationale Behind a Five-ETF Long-Term Core: VOO, QQQM, SCHD, VXUS, AVUV
- The Final-Decade Asymmetry: How Long-Horizon ETF Compounding Actually Distributes
- How to Start ETF Investing: The Complete 2026 Roadmap
- What Rising Interest Rates Mean for Leveraged ETF Borrowing Costs
- The Honest Math of Leveraged ETFs - Path Dependency, Volatility Decay, and the Behavioral Gap
- The Math of Leveraged ETF Decay: Myth vs. Reality in Trending Markets
- QLD vs SSO: What 2x Leveraged ETFs Actually Cost a Long-Term Holder
- Infrastructure in a 30-Year Core: What the Data on XLU and PAVE Actually Shows
- Common Mistakes in Infrastructure Investing and How to Avoid Them
- Rebalancing After an AI Concentration Run: Where the Trimmed Capital Actually Belongs
- The Impact of 2026 Energy Policies on Your Long-Term Portfolio
- Nuclear Energy Renaissance: Investing in the Zero-Carbon AI Future
- VXUS vs. a US-Only Core: What International Diversification Actually Adds
- Grid Modernization and the GRID ETF: A Calibrated Look at Smart-Grid Equipment vs. Utilities
- The 90/10 Allocation Framework: Pairing Broad Equity, AI Infrastructure, and a Cash Sleeve
- Infrastructure ETFs in 2026: What XLU, VPU, IFRA, PAVE, and GRID Actually Own
- VPU vs XLU: A Fee, Liquidity, and Concentration Comparison for Long-Horizon Utility Exposure
- The Yield-vs-Growth Question in 2026: Reading SCHD Against VOO, QQQM, AVUV, and ROE
- Re-evaluating the 4% Rule: Sequence Risk, Yield, and Dynamic Withdrawal in 2026
- VOO, QQQM, and SCHD: What Five-Year Risk and Return Actually Say About a Long-Term Core
- XLE in a Long-Term Core: The Rebalancing Math Behind Cyclical Sector Sleeves
- Energy ETFs in the 2026 Hormuz Shock: When Geopolitical Risk Premia Show Up in Returns
- XLE vs VDE: A Five-Year Audit of the Two Largest US Energy ETFs
- SCHD, AVUV, and VXUS During the Iran–U.S. War Shock Dividend Stability, Small-Cap Risk, and Global Exposure — A Data-Driven ETF Analysis
- Iran–U.S. Conflict and Oil Markets: Why the Strait of Hormuz Matters for Global Investors
- Precious Metals ETF Guide 2026: Gold, Silver, and Long-Term Portfolio Strategy
- Gold vs Silver in 2026: Which Is the Better Long-Term Investment? (GLD vs SLV ETF Comparison)
- Silver Through SLV: Volatility, Drawdown, and Role in a Long-Term Portfolio
- Tesla Inside Your Index ETF: How Market-Cap Weighting Translates a Single Stock Into Portfolio Exposure
- The Tesla Ecosystem Through an ETF Lens: How Long-Horizon Investors Should Think About Concentrated Innovation Bets
- KOSPI 200 ETF Strategy: How It Fits in a Long-Term Global Portfolio
- Two Layers, Defined Roles: A Framework for Long-Horizon ETF Allocation
- SCHD and the Power of Dividend Discipline
Every figure computed with this measure on this site follows the conventions set out in the methodology. All measures →