Shedding Light on Alternative Beta : A Volatility and Fixed Income Asset Class Comparison

Volatility is an alternative beta—a risk premium captured by hedge fund managers and investment bank proprietary traders—that is today moving closer to the mainstream and should be thought of as a veritable asset class. For many investors, it is difficult to derive intuition as to why volatility should deserve an ongoing allocation within a larger portfolio. If volatility is an asset class, then to what accepted asset class can it be compared?