THE CAPITAL ASSET PRICING MODEL VERSUS THE THREE FACTOR MODEL: A United Kingdom Perspective

The Sharpe (1964), Lintner (1965) and Black (1972) Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) is considered one of the foundational contributions to the practice of finance. The model postulates that the equilibrium rates of return on all risky assets are a linear function of their covariance with the market portfolio. Recent work by Fama and French (1996, 2006) introduce a Three Factor Model that questions the “real world application” of the CAPM Theorem and its ability to explain stock returns as well as value premium effects in the United States market. This thesis provides an out-of-sample perspective to the work of Fama and French (1996, 2006). Multiple regression is used to compare the performance of the CAPM, a split sample CAPM and the Three Factor Model in explaining observed stock returns and value premium effects in the United Kingdom market. The methodology of Fama and French (2006) was used as the framework for this study. The findings show that the Three Factor Model holds for the United Kingdom Market and is superior to the CAPM and the split sample CAPM in explaining both stock returns and value premium effects. The “real world application” of the CAPM is therefore not supported by the United Kingdom data.