Alpha

The excess return of an investment relative to what its beta would predict. Positive alpha means 'beat the benchmark on a risk-adjusted basis'.

Alpha — The excess return of an investment relative to what its beta would predict. Positive alpha means 'beat the benchmark on a risk-adjusted basis'.

Key facts

Category
Risk
Definition
The excess return of an investment relative to what its beta would predict. Positive alpha means 'beat the benchmark on a risk-adjusted basis'.
Live example
/research/stock/BRK.B
Last updated
2026-06-17

How IndexAlpha uses Alpha

Alpha is the brand promise behind IndexAlpha — the goal of multi-factor research is to identify stocks expected to deliver positive risk-adjusted excess return.

See it live

The Alpha metric shows up on every IndexAlpha research page. See it now on BRK.B — or research any stock to view its Alpha.

Related terms

Common questions

What is Alpha?

The excess return of an investment relative to what its beta would predict. Positive alpha means 'beat the benchmark on a risk-adjusted basis'.

How does IndexAlpha use Alpha?

Alpha is the brand promise behind IndexAlpha — the goal of multi-factor research is to identify stocks expected to deliver positive risk-adjusted excess return.

Sources