A Critique of Size-Related Anomalies

Abstract

This article argues that the size-related regularities in asset prices should not be regarded as anomalies. Indeed, the opposite result is demonstrated. Namely, a truly anomalous regularity would be if an inverse relation between size and return was not observed. We show theoretically (1) that the size-related regularities should be observed in the economy and (2) why size will in general explain the part of the cross-section of expected returns left unexplained by an incorrectly specified asset pricing model. In light of these results we argue that size-related measures should be used in cross-sectional tests to detect model misspecifications.