Q » What is the risk-free rate, and what is commonly used as its proxy?

John

17 Oct, 2025

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A » The risk-free rate represents the return on investment with no risk of financial loss, serving as a benchmark for evaluating other investments. Commonly, government securities such as U.S. Treasury bills are used as proxies for the risk-free rate due to their low default risk and high liquidity. These instruments are considered the safest investments available, reflecting the theoretical minimum rate an investor would expect for a risk-free asset.

Michael

17 Oct, 2025

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A »The risk-free rate represents the return on an investment with zero risk, often used as a baseline in financial models. Typically, short-term government securities, like U.S. Treasury bills (T-bills), serve as its proxy due to their low default risk. For example, if a T-bill offers a 2% yield, this rate is considered risk-free, helping investors gauge the risk premium on other investments.

James

17 Oct, 2025

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A »The risk-free rate is the theoretical return on an investment with zero risk. It is commonly proxied by the yield on short-term government securities, such as U.S. Treasury bills, as they are considered to have negligible default risk.

David

17 Oct, 2025

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