Alpha
The portion of return not explained by exposure to market or other systematic factors — a measure of genuine skill or edge.
Alpha is the excess return a strategy earns beyond what its risk exposures (beta and factor loadings) would predict. Positive alpha implies skill — generating return that is not simply compensation for bearing known risks.
Alpha is hard to find and harder to keep, which is why endeavr.ai separates factor-driven return from residual alpha when evaluating a model, and why it stress-tests every strategy with walk-forward validation before trusting an alpha estimate.