Custom Beta Fifteen Days Formula in Excel

Custom Beta Fifteen Days is designed to help Excel users calculate a 15-day beta for a given stock symbol, comparing it to a benchmark (default SPY). By leveraging MarketXLS data and this function, you can quickly measure how volatile a stock is relative to the overall market or a specific ticker.

Understanding Custom Beta Fifteen Days

• Purpose and Use Cases
  The primary purpose is to return the beta value for the past 15 days, providing insights into a stock’s volatility in relation to a chosen market index or ticker.

• Key Benefits

  • Offers quick, automated beta calculation directly in Excel.
  • Helps traders and analysts compare stock performance against a benchmark.
  • Useful for risk assessment and portfolio diversification strategies.

• When to Use
  Use this formula whenever you need a short-term beta (15-day window) for either daily trading analysis or general market comparison.

Syntax and Parameters

Below is the standard syntax for this formula in Excel:

=CustomBetaFifteenDays(symbol, [benchmark_symbol], [period])

Return Value:
A numerical value representing the computed 15-day Beta. A higher Beta (>1) indicates more volatility relative to the benchmark, while a lower Beta (<1) indicates less volatility.

?? Note: If an invalid symbol is provided or if the license check fails, the function returns "NA".

? Pro Tip: You can utilize different time frames (daily, weekly, monthly) to adapt the Beta calculation to your specific trading strategy or analysis.

Examples and Usage

Below are common ways to use the CustomBetaFifteenDays formula in Excel:

1. Basic Usage with Default Benchmark (SPY):

   =CustomBetaFifteenDays("MSFT")

   This calculates the 15-day Beta for Microsoft versus SPY on a daily basis.

2. Using a Different Benchmark:

   =CustomBetaFifteenDays("MSFT","AAPL")

   Compares Microsoft’s volatility to Apple’s price movement (instead of SPY).

3. Changing the Period to Monthly or Weekly:

   =CustomBetaFifteenDays("MSFT","AAPL","monthly")
   =CustomBetaFifteenDays("MSFT","AAPL","weekly")

   Adjusts the Beta calculation period to monthly or weekly returns.

Date Input Considerations

Although this function automatically calculates a 15-day historical Beta, you can incorporate date functions in other MarketXLS formulas if needed, for instance:

• Using a cell reference for a known date:

  =Function(A1)

• Passing a direct date string:

  =Function("2024-03-15")

• Employing Excel date functions for dynamic inputs:

  =Function(TEXT(A1,"yyyy-mm-dd"))

?? Note: The CustomBetaFifteenDays function sets its own start and end dates internally (today minus 16 days to today minus 1 day). This date approach is currently not user-adjustable.

Common Questions

1. Why do I get “NA”?

   • Likely due to an invalid symbol, license issue, or unreachable data source. Ensure your symbol is correct and your MarketXLS license is valid.

2. Is this data real-time?

   • Typically, it’s end-of-day data, refreshed around market close. For intraday updates, consider alternative real-time data feeds.

3. Best practices?

   • Review your benchmark selection: Choose a relevant index or ticker for comparisons.
   • Check for data availability: The formula relies on historical prices in the MarketXLS database.
   • Combine with other analytics: Use the 15-day Beta alongside other metrics (like returns or dividends) to build a fuller picture of performance.

4. Performance Considerations

   • Recalculations may take longer if you pull many data points or have slow network connections. Keep your usage to necessary cells or use spreadsheet calculations efficiently.

5. Limitations

   • The function is restricted to a 15-day lookback. For different lookback windows, consider other MarketXLS Beta functions or contact support for flexible solutions.

? Pro Tip: Combine the daily or weekly Beta values with other MarketXLS calculations (like returns or dividends) to gain comprehensive market insights and craft an informed investment strategy.