Table 3 presents the results. In the first row, we report the average returns of all portfolios. The alphas of the different models are reported below. We find that average annualized returns follow a strictly decreasing pattern from 10.09% to 5.51% for equally weighted portfolios. The difference of 4.58% between the low-moment-persistence quintile and the highmoment-persistence quintile is statistically significant at the 5% level. For value-weighted returns, we obtain a largely similar pattern. While the quintile portfolios are not completely monotonically decreasing from Q1 to Q5, the annualized hedge portfolio return amounts to 4.38%. When controlling for the standard risk factor models, we obtain alphas for the hedge portfolio that are of similar magnitude as the Q1–Q5 excess returns. For value-weighted portfolios, the alphas amount to 5.29%, 4.25%, 3.65%, 3.47%, and 3.06%, for the CAPM, the FF3 model, the four-factor model, the five-factor model, and the FF5 model, respectively. All alphas are highly statistically significant. For equally weighted portfolios, the hedge portfolio alphas are typically even somewhat larger and similarly statistically significant. Passive exposure to these risk factors thus cannot explain the premium on moment persistence.