N
The Global Insight

What is the equity risk premium?

Author

James Olson

Updated on February 24, 2026

An equity risk premium is an excess return earned by an investor when they invest in the stock market over a risk-free rate. This return compensates investors for taking on the higher risk of equity investing. Calculating an equity risk premium requires using historical rates of return.

What is the relationship between risk and premium?

A risk premium is the investment return an asset is expected to yield in excess of the risk-free rate of return. Investors expect to be compensated for the risk they undertake when making an investment. This comes in the form of a risk premium.

What’s the difference between market risk premium and equity risk premium?

The market risk premium is the additional return that’s expected on an index or portfolio of investments above the given risk-free rate. The equity risk premium pertains only to stocks and represents the expected return of a stock above the risk-free rate.

What are the three types of risk premium?

The five main risks that comprise the risk premium are business risk, financial risk, liquidity risk, exchange-rate risk, and country-specific risk.

How equity risk premium is calculated?

The equity risk premium is calculated as the difference between the estimated real return on stocks and the estimated real return on safe bonds—that is, by subtracting the risk-free return from the expected asset return (the model makes a key assumption that current valuation multiples are roughly correct).

What is the difference between equity risk premium and risk free return?

Equity Risk Premium Equity risk premium is the difference between returns on equity/individual stock and the risk-free rate of return. It is the compensation to the investor for taking a higher level of risk and investing in equity rather than risk-free securities.

How do you calculate the equity risk premium?

Recall the three steps of calculating the risk premium: Estimate the expected return on stocks. Estimate the expected return on risk-free bonds. Subtract the difference to get the equity risk premium.

Is the expected return equal to the risk free return?

It shows that the expected return on a security is equal to the risk-free return plus a risk premium Equity Risk Premium Equity risk premium is the difference between returns on equity/individual stock and the risk-free rate of return.

Who is the creator of equity risk premium?

David Harper is the CEO and founder of Bionic Turtle. He is also a published author with a popular YouTube channel on expert finance topics. The equity risk premium is a long-term prediction of how much the stock market will outperform risk-free debt instruments. Recall the three steps of calculating the risk premium: