Conditions for a CAPM equilibrium with positive prices

This paper examines the conditions required to guarantee positive prices in the CAPM. Positive prices imply an upper bound on the equity premium. This upper bound depends on the degree of diversity of firms’ fundamentals, and it is independent of investors’ preferences. In economies with realistically diverse assets the only positive-price CAPM equilibrium theoretically possible is a degenerate one, with zero equity premium. Furthermore, when specific standard investors’ preferences are assumed, the CAPM equilibrium with positive prices may be altogether impossible. A possible solution to these fundamental problems may be offered by the segmented-market version of the model. © 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. JEL classification: G11; G12; G18