Volatility and the cross-section of corporate bond returns

Kee H. Chung, Junbo Wang and Chunchi Wu

Journal of Financial Economics, 2019, vol. 133, issue 2, 397-417

Abstract: This paper examines the pricing of volatility risk and idiosyncratic volatility in the cross-section of corporate bond returns for the period of 1994–2016. Results show that bonds with high volatility betas have low expected returns, and this negative relation appears in all segments of corporate bonds. Further, bonds with high idiosyncratic bond (stock) volatility have high (low) expected returns, and this relation strengthens as ratings decrease. Conventional risk factors and bond/issuer characteristics cannot account for these cross-sectional relations. There is evidence that the effect of idiosyncratic stock volatility on expected bond returns works through the channel of contemporaneous stock returns.

Keywords: Aggregate volatility risk; Corporate bond pricing; Default risk; Idiosyncratic risk; Ratings (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G12 G13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (32)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jfinec:v:133:y:2019:i:2:p:397-417

DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2019.02.002

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