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The general idea behind CAPM is that investors need to be compensated in two ways: Time value of money and risk. The time value of money is represented by the risk-free (rf) rate in the formula and compensates the investors for placing money in any investment over a period of time.

The other half of the formula represents risk and calculates the amount of compensation the investor needs for taking on additional risk. This is calculated by taking a risk measure (beta) which compares the returns of the asset to the market over a period of time and compares it to the market premium (Rm-rf). The CAPM says that the expected return of a security or a portfolio equals the rate on a risk-free security plus a risk premium. If this expected return does not meet or beat the required return, then the investment should not be undertaken. The security market line (SML) plots the results of the CAPM for all different risks (betas).

Using the CAPM model and the following assumptions, we can compute the expected return of a stock: If the risk-free rate is 3%, the beta (risk measure) of the stock is 2, and the expected market return over the period is 10%, then the stock is expected to return 17% (3%+2(10%-3%)).
The world of investing can be a cold, chaotic and confusing place. In this tutorial, we'll go through some of the theories that investors have developed in an effort to explain the behavior of the market. We'll discuss concepts like dollar cost averaging and diversification, which are especially useful for individual investors. We will also plunge into some of the more arcane academic explanations. No matter what your situation is, all of these concepts are important to understand because they help to clarify the inner workings of the mysterious market.

So, without further ado, here are some of the fundamental concepts of finance and investmenBeta is a measure of a stock's volatility in relation to the market. By definition, the market has a beta of 1.0, and individual stocks are ranked according to how much they deviate from the market. A stock that swings more than the market over time has a beta above 1.0. If a stock moves less than the market, the stock's beta is less than 1.0. High-beta stocks are supposed to be riskier but provide a potential for higher returns; low-beta stocks pose less risk but also lower returns.

Beta is a key component for the 'capital asset pricing model' (CAPM), which is used to calculate cost of equity. Recall that the cost of capital represents the discount rate used to arrive at the present value of a company's future cash flows. All things being equal, the higher a company's beta is, the higher its cost of capital discount rate. The higher the discount rate, the lower the present value placed on the company's future cash flows. In short, beta can impact a company's share valuation.

Advantages of Beta
To followers of CAPM, beta is a useful measure. A stock's price variability is important to consider when assessing risk. Indeed, if you think about risk as the possibility of a stock losing its value, beta has appeal as a proxy for risk.

Intuitively, it makes plenty of sense. Think of an early-stage technology stock with a price that bounces up and down more than the market. It's hard not to think that stock will be riskier than, say, a safe-haven utility industry stock with a low beta.

Besides, beta offers a clear, quantifiable measure, which makes it easy to work with. Sure, there are variations on beta depending on things such as the market index used and the time period measured, but broadly speaking, the notion of beta is fairly
However, if you are investing in a stock's fundamentals, beta has plenty of shortcomings.