It could be a colleague, a friend—even your mom—but you probably know someone whose capricious whims or moods drive you nuts.
That same volatility, or hard-to-predict quality, can make certain investments hard to handle.
Volatility refers to the rate at which the price of a security fluctuates, both over time and relative to other, similar investments.
Isn’t the name of the game to reduce volatility to a minimum?
Well, take that up-and-down colleague of yours. She zigs, she zags—but those lightning flashes often spark smart solutions (and boy, can she rev up a party).
By the same token, volatile investments can be risky. But sometimes that extra risk can power a higher return.
Here are four common measures that can help you decide whether a fund’s volatility is worth it:
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Standard deviation: How much a fund’s return fluctuates over time
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Beta: How much the return varies from the fund’s index (benchmark)
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R-squared: A measure that determines whether you’re measuring beta against the right index
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Alpha: How much higher of a return are you getting, given the risk?
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If you’d like to read more about how these four intersect, here’s a nice, clear primer from Investopedia.
Go crazy. What’s your most volatile investment (besides your spouse)?
