Prepare for the Kaplan Certified Financial Planner (CFP) Test. Study with flashcards and multiple choice questions, each question has hints and explanations. Get ready for your exam!

Multiple Choice

Which of the following statements about the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) is false?

The capital asset pricing model (CAPM) is designed to evaluate the expected return on an investment while accounting for its risk compared to the overall market. One of its key features is the focus solely on systematic risk, which refers to the risk inherent to the entire market or a segment of the market, and which cannot be diversified away. When analyzing the components of CAPM, it's important to note that it distinctly separates systematic risk from unsystematic risk, which pertains to individual securities and can be mitigated through diversification. Thus, the claim that CAPM incorporates both systematic and unsystematic risks is inaccurate, as the model solely emphasizes systematic risk when determining the required return. Furthermore, although CAPM operates under the premise that markets tend to reach equilibrium, it doesn’t claim that they are always in equilibrium; rather, it reflects on how investors would adjust their portfolios in response to changes in expected returns and risk. Therefore, understanding CAPM's focus on systematic risk and its exclusion of unsystematic risk clarifies why the assertion about the inclusion of both types of risk is false.

The capital asset pricing model (CAPM) is designed to evaluate the expected return on an investment while accounting for its risk compared to the overall market. One of its key features is the focus solely on systematic risk, which refers to the risk inherent to the entire market or a segment of the market, and which cannot be diversified away.

When analyzing the components of CAPM, it's important to note that it distinctly separates systematic risk from unsystematic risk, which pertains to individual securities and can be mitigated through diversification. Thus, the claim that CAPM incorporates both systematic and unsystematic risks is inaccurate, as the model solely emphasizes systematic risk when determining the required return.

Furthermore, although CAPM operates under the premise that markets tend to reach equilibrium, it doesn’t claim that they are always in equilibrium; rather, it reflects on how investors would adjust their portfolios in response to changes in expected returns and risk. Therefore, understanding CAPM's focus on systematic risk and its exclusion of unsystematic risk clarifies why the assertion about the inclusion of both types of risk is false.