We investigate minimum variance portfolios in the Brazilian equity
market using different methods to estimate the covariance matrix, from the
simple model of using the sample covariance to multivariate GARCH models. We
compare the performance of the minimum variance portfolios to those of the
following benchmarks: (i) the IBOVESPA equity index, (ii) an
equally-weighted portfolio, (iii) the maximum Sharpe ratio portfolio and
(iv) the maximum growth portfolio. Our results show that the minimum
variance portfolio has higher returns with lower risk compared to the
benchmarks. We also consider long-short 130/30 minimum variance portfolios
and obtain similar results. The minimum variance portfolio invests in
relatively few stocks with low βs measured with respect to the IBOVESPA
index, being easily replicable by individual and institutional investors
alike.