Riskpremierna

Riskpremierna refers to the extra return that investors require for holding a risky asset instead of a risk-free asset. In simple terms, they are the compensation for bearing uncertainty. The concept is central to asset pricing and portfolio decision-making in financial theory and practice, and it is used in both Swedish and international finance discussions.

In formal models, riskpremierna appear as components of the expected return on an investment. For example, in the capital asset pricing model (CAPM), the market risk premium is the expected excess return of the market portfolio over the risk-free rate, representing the reward for bearing systematic risk. In fixed income, researchers distinguish term premia (compensation for longer time horizons) and credit premia (compensation for default risk). Other premia include liquidity premia (difficulty of selling quickly at fair value) and currency premia (risk from exchange rate movements).

Measurement and dynamics: riskpremierna are estimated from historical data as excess returns over the risk-free rate, or inferred from pricing models. They are widely observed to be time-varying and differ across asset classes, markets and periods. Factors such as economic conditions, investors’ risk aversion, liquidity, and information asymmetry influence their magnitude and persistence.

Applications and debate: understanding riskpremierna informs portfolio construction, risk management, and policy evaluation. Debates continue over their size, stability, and the extent to which they reflect genuine risk compensation versus behavioral explanations or measurement challenges.