Initial Return is the product of a collaboration between finance professionals, academics, and investors. We produce high-quality, educational content for investors, traders, and finance students.
Fungible tokens are one of the two main types of digital tokens, the other type being non-fungible tokens (NFTs). In this post, we explain in detail what fungible tokens are and how they differ from NFTs. Jump to: What is fungibility? Fungibility is all about interchangeability. Fiat money (US dollars, British pounds, Euro, etc.) is…
In this post, we offer a beginner’s guide to NFTs. We explain the meaning of an NFT and how NFTs are be traded in marketplaces. We also discuss various types of NFT scams. Jump to: What does NFT mean? NFT is an acronym for the term non-fungible token, a form of digital token. Most of…
This investments quiz aims to test your knowledge of the material covered in our free investments course. The quiz is a multiple-choice test. It consists of three sections: The answers and solutions are provided at the bottom of this page. Section A: Return calculations 1. You buy a single share of a stock for $10.…
Descriptive statistics offer a simple way of understanding distributions of stock returns. They give us an idea about a distribution’s centrality, dispersion, and other features. In this tutorial, we will show you how to generate descriptive statistics for stock returns using Excel’s data analysis tool. Using Excel to get descriptive statistics for stock returns What…
Arbitrage pricing theory (APT) is an asset pricing model developed by the American economist Stephen Ross in the mid-1970s. While the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) posits a single systematic risk factor, which is the market risk, arbitrage pricing theory accommodates multiple risk factors. As such, APT has been the driving force behind the growth of multi-factor…
In previous lessons, we explained that when there is no risk-free asset in an economy, investors should invest in one of the efficient portfolios that lie on the efficient frontier based on their risk tolerances. But, if a risk-free asset exists, then there is a unique efficient portfolio that all investors should invest in. In…
We often say that risk and return are two sides of the same coin. You can’t discuss one without the other. In the previous post, we showed you how to calculate the return on a portfolio of assets. In this post, we explain the formula for portfolio risk. We also offer an easy-to-use portfolio risk…
In this post, we explain the formula behind the calculation of portfolio returns. Furthermore, we provide a free online portfolio return calculator, which works as a portfolio expected return calculator as well as a portfolio realized return calculator. Finally, with this port, we make an introduction to the modern portfolio theory as well. So far…
When evaluating an asset’s past performance, we can make use of the historical (or realized) average return. In that sense, the historical average return is a backward-looking measure. But, in order to forecast an asset’s future performance, we need a forward-looking measure. This measure is called the expected return. In this post, we offer an…
In this post, we explain the holding period return formula with examples and offer an easy-to-use holding period return calculator. When investors buy securities (e.g., stocks), they may hold them for months or years before selling them. The duration during which an investor holds on to a particular security is known as the holding period…
Step-by-step tutorials:
Downloading stock price data
Plotting stock prices and returns
Creating a histogram of stock returns
Descriptive statistics for stock returns
Computing the correlation between two stocks
Calculating a stock’s beta
Modern portfolio theory:
Portfolio return
Portfolio risk
Efficient frontier
Optimal risky portfolio
Market equilibrium:
Capital asset pricing model (CAPM)
Arbitrage pricing theory (APT)