What is alpha decay in investing and how we avoid it

B-cube.ai
3 min readMar 13, 2023

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As an investor, it’s important to understand the different types of risk that come with investing in various asset classes. One type of risk that is often overlooked is the risk of alpha decay.

Alpha decay is a term borrowed from the field of nuclear physics, where it refers to the process by which a radioactive nucleus emits an alpha particle. In the world of investing, alpha decay refers to the loss of an investment’s ability to generate returns that outpace the broader market over time.

In other words, a fund or investment strategy that generates alpha — or excess returns relative to a benchmark — may not be able to maintain that level of outperformance over the long term due to factors such changing market conditions.

Alpha decay can be particularly problematic for actively managed funds, which rely on the skill of their managers to identify mispricings in the market and generate excess returns. As the market becomes more efficient and information becomes more widely available, it becomes increasingly difficult for managers to maintain an edge and generate consistent alpha.

Even cryptocurrency investors are not immune to the risk of alpha decay. While the cryptocurrency market is relatively new and still evolving, there are already signs that the market may be becoming more efficient and that generating alpha may become increasingly difficult over time. This is particularly true for popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, which have seen a significant influx of institutional investment and increased adoption in recent years.

As more investors enter the market and competition increases, it may become more challenging to generate excess returns. Additionally, the rapid pace of innovation in the cryptocurrency space means that strategies that worked in the past may become less effective as the market evolves, further increasing the risk of alpha decay for cryptocurrency investors.

One way to mitigate the risk of alpha decay is to focus on investments with structural advantages that are difficult for others to replicate. This could include investments in illiquid assets, where there may be less competition and greater opportunities for alpha generation.

Another approach is to seek out managers with a proven track record of generating alpha over a long period of time. While past performance is not a guarantee of future results, managers with a demonstrated ability to navigate changing market conditions and generate consistent returns may be more likely to continue doing so in the future.

At b-cube.ai, we are taking proactive measures to protect ourselves from alpha decay by utilizing advanced technology. Our proprietary AI-driven strategy factory generates a large number of trading strategies each day, which are then added to our strategy pool. Our sophisticated strategy selector algorithm carefully analyzes each strategy and selects the ones with the highest potential for success on any given day.

This innovative approach to trading crypto assets, known as our AI infrastructure, is designed to help us identify market inefficiencies and generate consistent returns over time. By leveraging the power of AI and machine learning, we are able to adapt to changing market conditions and minimize the risk of alpha decay.

DISCLAIMER

Trading cryptocurrencies involves risk. The information provided on this website does not constitute investment advice, financial advice, trading advice, or any other sort of advice and you should not treat any of the article’s content as such. Author, website or the company associated with them does not recommend that any cryptocurrency should be bought, sold, or held by you. Do conduct your own due diligence and consult your financial advisor before making any investment decisions. Lastly, this article is not targeted at French citizens or residents.

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B-cube.ai
B-cube.ai

Written by B-cube.ai

Marketplace of AI-driven crypto trading bots which allows traders connecting to their favorite exchanges and start trading on auto-pilot.

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