alpha
noun
\
Definition of alpha
(Entry 1 of 2)
alpha
adjectiveDefinition of alpha (Entry 2 of 2)
Keep scrolling for more
Synonyms & Antonyms for alpha
Synonyms: Noun
baseline, beginning, birth, commencement, dawn, day one, genesis, get-go (also git-go), inception, incipience, incipiency, kickoff, launch, morning, nascence, nascency, onset, outset, start, threshold
Antonyms: Noun
close, conclusion, end, ending, omega
Visit the Thesaurus for More
Examples of alpha in a Sentence
Noun
money is not the alpha and omega—the beginning and end—of life's purposeRecent Examples on the Web: Noun
Looking at Tyler’s relationship with his girlfriend and with his demanding, alpha-male dad, some people have talked about the film in terms of toxic masculinity. — Josh Rottenberg, Los Angeles Times, "Trey Edward Shults’ ‘Waves’ breaks out at Telluride with a story of toxic masculinity and family bonds," 3 Sep. 2019 In 2002, researchers cloned the first miniature pig lacking alpha-gal. — Joshua Mezrich, WSJ, "Losing the Humanity of Transplants," 18 Jan. 2019 In the presence of alpha male figures including former chief of staff and DHS secretary John Kelly, or current acting DHS secretary Kevin McAleenan, Miller tends to be more deferential, longtime observers say. — al, "How Stephen Miller controls Trump’s immigration policy," 18 Aug. 2019 In the presence of alpha male figures including former chief of staff and DHS secretary John Kelly, or current acting DHS secretary Kevin McAleenan, Miller tends to be more deferential, longtime observers say. — Author: Nick Miroff, Josh Dawsey, Anchorage Daily News, "Stephen Miller has singular control of Trump’s immigration policy," 17 Aug. 2019 The feature was first announced at Google I/O 2018, and became available in alpha for Pixel phones earlier this winter. — Natt Garun, The Verge, "Google wants Travel and Maps to be the place you plan your trips from start to finish," 8 Aug. 2019 What’s left behind is something called alpha keto-acids, which will most often then go through a chemical process that turns them into triglycerides to be stored in our fatty tissues, Linsenmeyer says. — Carolyn L. Todd, SELF, "Here's What Actually Happens in Your Body When You Eat Protein," 20 June 2019 That same culture, coupled with the fit between Kawhi, the world's best alpha, and Paul George, maybe the best complementary wing in the NBA, is why people believe in what's coming next. — Andrew Sharp, SI.com, "Kawhi and the Clippers Had a Brilliant Plan—Now They Need Some Luck," 8 July 2019 Painted dogs have one of the most structured social orders of all carnivores, made up of an alpha female and male with subordinates beneath them. — Dallas News, "Dallas Zoo's new African painted dogs kill packmate," 4 July 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
Everything is still predicated on James Harden, but now the Nuggets will have two alpha dogs to stop along with Houston’s ever-present cast of 3-point gunners. — Mike Singer, The Denver Post, "Nuggets schedule released: Counting down Denver’s must-see home games in 2019-20," 12 Aug. 2019 The scoop: Walnuts are one of the best sources of omega-3 fatty acids, specifically alpha-linolenic acid, an omega-3 found in plants. — SELF, "19 Healthy, High-Fat Foods to Keep You Full and Satisfied," 8 Aug. 2019 In a brief chat with Ars, Soulstorm Executive Producer Bennie Terry III revealed that the game (and its explosions and alpha effects) has been scaled with current-gen console performance in mind. — Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, "Oddworld: Soulstorm gameplay: Abe’s old-school return is a beautiful thing," 6 June 2019 More young talent is needed, but so is a nasty, alpha-type player who can set the tone up front and ease the burden on the secondary and linebackers. 2. — Terez A. Paylor, kansascity, "Here are the Chiefs’ five biggest needs heading into next season | The Kansas City Star," 9 Mar. 2018 The enormous clouds emit large amounts of ultraviolet light with a spectral line produced by hydrogen ions, known as a Lyman-alpha line. — Jay Bennett, Popular Mechanics, "Giant Glowing Space Blob's Power Source Discovered," 21 Sep. 2016 Actress Sydelle Noel embodies a similar ethos by taking on brawny, brassy, alpha woman roles. — Abby Haglage, refinery29.com, "4 Black Girls With Big Dreams & The 4 Women Living Them," 13 July 2018 As the alpha brother, Romeo, wild, fun and charmingly manipulative, Pucci is transformed by a long, blond beard. — Katie Walsh, latimes.com, "Review: Lou Taylor Pucci enlivens wild and wooly 'Poor Boy'," 12 July 2018 To combat those slips, the platform is adding visibility tools through a new feature, still in alpha testing, called Cloud Security Command Center. — Lily Hay Newman, WIRED, "Google's Fix For the Gaffe Behind So Many Data Leaks," 21 Mar. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'alpha.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for alpha
alpha
nounFinancial Definition of alpha
What It Is
Alpha, also known as "excess return" or "abnormal rate of return," is one of the most widely used measures of risk-adjusted performance. The number shows how much better or worse a fund performed relative to a benchmark. This difference is then attributed to the decisions made by the fund's management.
How It Works
Let's assume you are a portfolio manager who expects your client's portfolio to return 15% next year. The year goes by and the portfolio actually returns 16%. In its most basic sense, the alpha of the portfolio = 16% - 15% = 1%.
Mathematically speaking, alpha is the rate of return that exceeds what was expected or predicted by models like the capital asset pricing model (CAPM). To understand how it works, consider the CAPM formula:
r = Rf + beta * (Rm - Rf ) + alpha
where:
r = the security's or portfolio's return
Rf = the risk-free rate of return
beta = the security's or portfolio's price volatility relative to the overall market
Rm = the market return
The main part of the CAPM formula (except the excess-return factor) calculates what the rate of return on a certain security or portfolio ought to be under certain market conditions. Note that two similar portfolios might carry the same amount of risk (same beta) but because of different alphas, it's possible for one to generate higher returns than the other. This is a fundamental quandary for investors, who always want the highest return for the least amount of risk.
Why It Matters
The fundamental quandary for investors of how get the highest return possible for the least amount of risk can be measured by alpha. It is a measurable way to determine whether a manager's skill has added value to a fund on a risk-adjusted basis.
The very existence of alpha is controversial, however, because those who believe in the efficient market hypothesis (which says, among other things, that it is impossible to beat the market) attribute alpha to luck instead of skill, and base this belief on the fact that most managers fail to beat the market over the long-term.
Source: Investing Answers