Flight-to-Quality- and Liquidity-Related Variation in the Correlations and Mean Returns across Stocks and T-Bonds1 Naresh Bansal,a Robert Connolly,b and Chris Stiversc a John Cook School of Business Saint Louis University b Kenan-Flagler Business School University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill c Terry College of Business University of Georgia This version: December 19, 2007 1We thank Tyler Henry, Lubos Pastor, Robert Savickas, Cheick Samake, John Scruggs, Jahangir Sultan, and seminar participants at the University of Georgia, the 2007 Financial Management Association meeting, the 2007 Washington Area Finance Conference, and the 2007 Southern Finance Association meeting for helpful comments. Please address comments to Naresh Bansal (e-mail:
[email protected]; phone: (314) 977-7204; Robert Connolly (email: Robert
[email protected]; phone: (919) 962-0053); or to Chris Stivers (e-mail:
[email protected]; phone: (706) 542-3648). Flight-to-Quality- and Liquidity-Related Variation in the Correlations and Mean Returns across Stocks and T-Bonds Abstract Over the crisis-rich 1997 to 2005 period, we document new time-series and cross-sectional evidence which suggests a sizable flight-to-quality- and liquidity-related variation in the correla- tions and mean returns across stocks and T-Bonds. Our collective results support the premise of a \searching" in the relative valuation of stocks and bonds during times of market stress. First, higher levels of stock implied volatility (IV) and stock illiquidity and higher time-series variability in stock IV are associated with both: (1) a much lower correlation in the subsequent returns of stock and T-bond returns, and (2) much greater time-series variability in the subsequent stock IV and illiquidity values.