The definition of “risk-free” is complicated; it depends on what you are investing ... And Treasury yields do revert, which means the low-rate era was never going to last and bond investors were bound ...

The cost of equity can mean two different things ... Under this model, Cost of Equity = Risk-Free Rate of Return + Beta × (Market Rate of Return – Risk-Free Rate of Return).

Risk-free rate: This figure acts as your benchmark ... as hedge funds and other types of fund managers, but that doesn't mean everyday investors can't benefit from this metric.