Is Teaching Beta Unethical? This Professor Thinks So

When one discusses ethics in investing usually tobacco companies, for profit prisons and other “VICE” industries come to mind – but how about beta is Beta unethical to teach? Maybe, according to some “Modern financial theory tells you to calculate the beta of a stock to determine its riskiness. In my entire professional career, now twenty-five years long, I have never calculated a beta. This theory urges you to move your portfolio of holdings closer to the efficient frontier. I have never done so, nor would I know how. I have never calculated the alpha or beta of my firm’s…