Score contribution per author:
α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count
A stock’s market exposure, beta, varies across return frequencies. Sorting stocks on the difference between low- and high-frequency betas (Δβ) yields large systematic mispricings relative to the CAPM at high frequencies, but significantly smaller mispricings at low frequencies. We provide a risk-based explanation for this frequency dependence by introducing uncertainty about the effect of systematic news on firm value (opacity) into a frictionless model. We document a robust relationship between the frequency dependence of betas and proxies for opacity. Our findings suggest that opacity poses significant challenges to using betas estimated from high-frequency returns. While the CAPM may be an appropriate asset pricing model at low frequencies, additional factors, e.g., based on opacity, are necessary at high frequencies.