{ "vercy": "1.0-draft", "publication": { "status": "research-draft", "adjudicationStatus": "unreviewed", "publishableCanonical": false, "generatedAt": "2026-09-12T04:34:36Z", "providers": [ "Claude" ], "breadth": "written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify", "pass": 2, "wave": 2, "engine": "claude", "enrichment": { "pass": 3, "engine": "claude", "producedAt": "2026-10-05T23:55:00Z", "ingestedAt": "2026-10-05T20:52:51+00:00", "fields": [ "agent_conduct", "ethics", "owners" ] }, "gate": { "passed": true, "version": "1.0", "at": "2026-10-06T19:51:58+00:00", "evidence": [ "completeness 1.00", "sense: Wikidata description", "2 live sources", "review by codex: pass" ] } }, "metaModel": { "id": "THING-Q2651003", "registryId": "vr.tr.alpha-q2651003", "name": "Alpha", "version": "0.2.0-wave.2", "entryKind": "thing", "family": "Thing Registry", "domain": [ "XCT.REL" ], "status": "research-draft" }, "canonicalUrl": "https://ver.cy/models/thing/q2651003/", "model": { "registry_id": "vr.tr.alpha-q2651003", "name": "Alpha", "purpose": "Let an agent explain alpha as a measure of excess return and how it is calculated, describe its use and limitations in performance evaluation, present debates about its persistence with attribution, and avoid personalised investment advice.", "definition": "In finance, the excess return of an investment or portfolio relative to the return predicted by a benchmark or pricing model such as the capital asset pricing model, after adjusting for market risk, used to assess the performance of fund managers and strategies, with positive alpha indicating outperformance and the related measure Jensen alpha; alpha is contrasted with beta, the sensitivity to market movements, and is debated in the efficient market literature.", "what_it_is_for": "Excess return relative to a benchmark model.", "affordances": [ "explain calculation", "describe use and limits", "present debates", "avoid personalised advice" ], "distinguishing_features": [ "Risk adjustment", "Benchmark dependence", "Manager skill measure", "Contested persistence" ], "appearance": "Not physical; a number in performance reports.", "visual_identification": [ "Return above model prediction", "Risk-adjusted", "Beta measures market sensitivity; total return ignores risk adjustment" ], "physical_properties": [], "families_and_kinds": [ "Jensen alpha", "alpha in multi-factor models", "alpha in hedge fund evaluation", "portable alpha strategies", "alpha in academic asset pricing" ], "related_models": [ { "relation": "is a kind of", "target": "rate of return", "why": "category" }, { "relation": "is related to", "target": "debt-to-equity ratio", "why": "another financial measure entry" }, { "relation": "is related to", "target": "option", "why": "instruments in strategies seeking alpha" }, { "relation": "is related to", "target": "interest", "why": "risk-free rate in the calculation" } ], "identifiers": [], "standards_and_regulation": [ "Performance reporting standards", "Investment fund disclosure regulation", "No regulation of the concept" ], "failure_modes_and_hazards": [ "Agents giving personalised investment advice", "Alpha dependent on benchmark choice", "Survivorship and data-mining biases" ], "in_scope": [], "out_of_scope": [], "characteristics": [], "agent_conduct": { "may": [ "Explain what alpha measures and how it depends on the chosen benchmark and model.", "Report historical alpha figures from a named source with the period and benchmark." ], "must_not": [ "Present past alpha as a promise of future returns.", "Give personalized investment advice or recommend buying or selling based on alpha.", "Cherry-pick benchmarks or periods to make a fund's alpha look better.", "Execute trades on a person's behalf." ], "requires_human": [ "Any investment decision for a person or an institution." ] }, "ethics": { "considerations": [ "Claims of alpha are used to justify fees; misleading figures move savings from ordinary investors.", "Most active managers fail to produce lasting alpha after fees, which investors should know." ], "affected_parties": [ "Retail investors", "Pension savers" ] }, "owners": { "steward": "Nobody: a financial measure; the fund manager answers for the figures it publishes.", "master_systems": [] } }, "sources": [ { "id": "wikidata", "title": "Wikidata item Q2651003: Alpha", "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2651003", "url_status": "live", "what_it_supports": "identity and sense of the item", "checked_by": "wikidata-api" }, { "id": "wikipedia-en", "title": "Wikipedia: Alpha (finance)", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_%28finance%29", "url_status": "live", "what_it_supports": "general description of the item", "checked_by": "wikidata-api sitelink" } ], "structure": { "bundles": [ { "id": "understand", "name": "Understand", "description": "What alpha is.", "rationale": "Finance.", "layers": [ { "id": "definition", "name": "Definition", "description": "Definition and calculation.", "findings": [ { "id": "definition-finding", "name": "Definition", "description": "Definition.", "questions": [ { "text": "How is alpha defined and calculated relative to a benchmark or pricing model, and how does it differ from beta?", "kind": "definition" }, { "text": "Is personalised investment advice being sought, which is out of scope?", "kind": "boundary" } ] } ] }, { "id": "models", "name": "Models", "description": "Pricing models.", "findings": [ { "id": "models-finding", "name": "Models", "description": "Models.", "questions": [ { "text": "How do the capital asset pricing model and multi-factor models define expected return and hence alpha?", "kind": "definition" }, { "text": "Which entry fits asset pricing?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "use", "name": "Use", "description": "Using alpha.", "rationale": "Practice.", "layers": [ { "id": "evaluate", "name": "Evaluate", "description": "Performance evaluation.", "findings": [ { "id": "evaluate-finding", "name": "Evaluate", "description": "Evaluation.", "questions": [ { "text": "How is alpha used to evaluate fund managers and strategies, and what statistical care is needed?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Which entry fits performance measurement?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] }, { "id": "limits", "name": "Limits", "description": "Limits.", "findings": [ { "id": "limits-finding", "name": "Limits", "description": "Limits.", "questions": [ { "text": "What are the limits of alpha, including benchmark dependence, survivorship bias and data mining?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Which findings are contested?", "kind": "boundary" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "debate", "name": "Debate", "description": "Debates.", "rationale": "Attribution.", "layers": [ { "id": "persistence", "name": "Persistence", "description": "Does alpha persist?", "findings": [ { "id": "persistence-finding", "name": "Persistence", "description": "Persistence.", "questions": [ { "text": "What does research say about whether managers generate persistent alpha, with positions attributed?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Is the presentation neutral and attributed?", "kind": "boundary" } ] } ] }, { "id": "markets", "name": "Markets", "description": "Efficient markets.", "findings": [ { "id": "markets-finding", "name": "Markets", "description": "Markets.", "questions": [ { "text": "How does the efficient market hypothesis bear on the existence of alpha?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Which entry fits market efficiency?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "learn", "name": "Learn", "description": "History and teaching.", "rationale": "Education.", "layers": [ { "id": "history", "name": "History", "description": "History.", "findings": [ { "id": "history-finding", "name": "History", "description": "History.", "questions": [ { "text": "How did Jensen and asset pricing theory develop the concept of alpha?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Which references are standard?", "kind": "provenance" } ] } ] }, { "id": "teach", "name": "Teach", "description": "Teaching.", "findings": [ { "id": "teach-finding", "name": "Teach", "description": "Teaching.", "questions": [ { "text": "How can alpha and beta be taught in finance courses?", "kind": "action" }, { "text": "Which misconceptions arise?", "kind": "provenance" } ] } ] } ] } ] }, "openQuestions": [ "Should asset pricing models be a separate entry?", "How should performance standards be linked?", "How should academic literature be linked?" ], "statistics": { "bundles": 4, "layers": 8, "findings": 8, "questions": 16 } }