Is systemic risk systematic?

Abstract

Since the Global financial crisis in 2007, identifying the systemic risk and discovering its characteristics have been a focus of research. However, the distinction between the role of systemic risk and the systematic risk remains unclear and is sometimes confusing. In this paper, we exploit three types of systemic risk measurements and examine their role as a systematic risk component in the equity market. We first construct the systemic risk factors by using the portfolio mimicking methods. Then we analyze the systemic risk factors through the lens of the empirical asset pricing test to determine whether the factors are systematically priced in the equity market. As a result, we empirically find evidence that the systemic risk factors are systematically priced in the equity market, indicating that the systemic risk is compensated for the higher returns.