Stats › Individual stocks › Low volatility

Minimum volatility trailed the MSCI World by 5.8 points a year

Min vol 1 yr: 7.31%7.31%Min vol1 yrWorld 1 yr: 20.88%20.88%World1 yrMin vol 5 yr: 5.8%5.8%Min vol5 yrWorld 5 yr: 11.7%11.7%World5 yrMin vol 10 yr: 7.53%7.53%Min vol10 yrWorld 10 yr: 13.29%13.29%World10 yrMin vol since 88: 8.54%8.54%Min volsince 88World since 88: 8.83%8.83%Worldsince 88

Over the full back tested period the two are within 0.3 points of each other, and minimum volatility got there with a beta of 0.67 and a Sharpe of 0.50 against 0.42. Over the last decade it has lost by 5.8 points a year. Source: MSCI index factsheet, data as of 31 Jul 2026.

Riskier stocks are supposed to earn more, and in US data they have not. The MSCI World Minimum Volatility index has returned 7.53% a year over the last decade against 13.29% for the parent index. The long run evidence and the live record disagree.

7.53% a yearMin vol, ten years
13.29% a yearMSCI World, ten years
$59.55$1 in calmest quintile
0.78BAB Sharpe, 1926 to 2012

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