No risk, no reward. Most people intuitively understand that they have to bear some risk to achieve an acceptable return on their investment portfolios. But how much risk is right for you? If your investments turn sour, you may put at jeopardy your ability to retire, to pay for your kid's college education, or to weather an unexpected need for cash. These worst-case scenarios focus our attention on how to manage our exposure to uncertainty. Assessing and quantifying-risk aversion is, to put it mildly, difficult. It requires confronting at least these two big questions. First, how much investment risk can you afford to take? If you have a steady high-paying job, for example, you have greater ability to withstand investment losses. Conversely, if you are close to retirement, you have less ability to adjust your lifestyle in response to bad investment outcomes. Second, you need to think about your personality and decide how much risk you can tolerate. At what point will you bo unable to sloop at night2 4. At the end of the month, you find yourself: a. Short of cash and impatiently waiting for your next paycheck. b. Not overspending your salary, but not saving very much. c. With a comfortable surplus of funds to put into your sav- ings account. 5. You are 30 years old and enrolling in your company's retirement plan, and you need to allocate your contribu- tions across 3 funds: a money market account, a bond fund, and a stock fund. Which of these allocations sounds best to you? a. Invest everything in a safe money-market fund. b. Split your money evenly between the bond fund and stock fund. c. Put everything into the stock fund, reasoning that by the time you retire, the year-to-year fluctuations in stock,

Intermediate Financial Management (MindTap Course List)
13th Edition
ISBN:9781337395083
Author:Eugene F. Brigham, Phillip R. Daves
Publisher:Eugene F. Brigham, Phillip R. Daves
Chapter3: Risk And Return: Part Ii
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 3MC: You have been hired at the investment firm of Bowers & Noon. One of its clients doesn’t understand...
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No risk, no reward. Most people intuitively understand that they
have to bear some risk to achieve an acceptable return on their
investment portfolios.
But how much risk is right for you? If your investments turn
sour, you may put at jeopardy your ability to retire, to pay for
your kid's college education, or to weather an unexpected
need for cash. These worst-case scenarios focus our attention
on how to manage our exposure to uncertainty.
Assessing and quantifying-risk aversion is, to put it mildly,
difficult. It requires confronting at least these two big questions.
First, how much investment risk can you afford to take?
If you have steady high-paying job, for example, you have
greater ability to withstand investment losses. Conversely, if
you are close to retirement, you have less ability to adjust your
lifestyle in response to bad investment outcomes.
Second, you need to think about your personality and
decide how much risk you can tolerate. At what point will you
be unable to sleep at night?
To help clients quantify their risk aversion, many financial
firms have designed quizzes to help people determine whether
they are conservative, moderate, or aggressive investors.
These quizzes try to get at clients' attitudes toward risk and
their capacity to absorb investment losses.
Here is a sample of the sort of questions that can shed light
on an investor's risk tolerance.
MEASURING YOUR RISK TOLERANCE
Circle the letter that corresponds to your answer.
1. The stock market fell by more than 30% in 2008. If you had
been holding a substantial stock investment in that year,
which of the following would you have done?
a. Sold off the remainder of your investment before it had
the chance to fall further.
b. Stayed the course with neither redemptions nor
purchases.
c. Bought more stock, reasoning that the market is now
cheaper and therefore offers better deals.
2. The value of one of the funds in your 401(k) plan (your pri-
mary source of retirement savings) increased 30% last year.
What will you do?
a. Move your funds into a money market account in case
the price gains reverse.
b. Sit tight and do nothing.
c. Put more of your assets into that fund, reasoning that its
value is clearly trending upward.
3. How would you describe your non-investment sources of
income (for example, your salary)?
a. Highly uncertain
b. Moderately stable
c. Highly stable
4. At the end of the month, you find yourself:
a. Short of cash and impatiently waiting for your next
paycheck.
b. Not overspending your salary, but not saving very much.
c. With a comfortable surplus of funds to put into your sav-
ings account.
5. You are 30 years old and enrolling in your company's
retirement plan, and you need to allocate your contribu-
tions across 3 funds: a money market account, a bond
fund, and a stock fund. Which of these allocations sounds
best to you?
a. Invest everything in a safe money-market fund.
b. Split your money evenly between the bond fund and
stock fund.
c. Put everything into the stock fund, reasoning that by the
time you retire, the year-to-year fluctuations in stock,
returns will have evened out.
6. You are a contestant on Let's Make a Deal, and have just
won $1,000. But you can exchange the winnings for two
random payoffs. One is a coin flip with a payoff of $2,500
if the coin comes up heads. The other is a flip of two coins
with a payoff of $6,000 if both coins come up heads. What
will you do?
a. Keep the $1,000 in cash.
b. Choose the single coin toss.
c. Choose the double coin toss.
7. Suppose you have the opportunity to invest in a start-up
firm. If the firm is successful, you will multiply your invest-
ment by a factor of ten. But if it fails, you will lose everything.
You think the odds of success are around 20%. How much
would you be willing to invest in the start-up?
a. Nothing
b. 2 months' salary
c. 6 months' salary
8. Now imagine that to buy into the start-up you will need to
borrow money. Would you be willing to take out a $10,000
loan to make the investment?
a. No
b. Maybe
c. Yes
Transcribed Image Text:No risk, no reward. Most people intuitively understand that they have to bear some risk to achieve an acceptable return on their investment portfolios. But how much risk is right for you? If your investments turn sour, you may put at jeopardy your ability to retire, to pay for your kid's college education, or to weather an unexpected need for cash. These worst-case scenarios focus our attention on how to manage our exposure to uncertainty. Assessing and quantifying-risk aversion is, to put it mildly, difficult. It requires confronting at least these two big questions. First, how much investment risk can you afford to take? If you have steady high-paying job, for example, you have greater ability to withstand investment losses. Conversely, if you are close to retirement, you have less ability to adjust your lifestyle in response to bad investment outcomes. Second, you need to think about your personality and decide how much risk you can tolerate. At what point will you be unable to sleep at night? To help clients quantify their risk aversion, many financial firms have designed quizzes to help people determine whether they are conservative, moderate, or aggressive investors. These quizzes try to get at clients' attitudes toward risk and their capacity to absorb investment losses. Here is a sample of the sort of questions that can shed light on an investor's risk tolerance. MEASURING YOUR RISK TOLERANCE Circle the letter that corresponds to your answer. 1. The stock market fell by more than 30% in 2008. If you had been holding a substantial stock investment in that year, which of the following would you have done? a. Sold off the remainder of your investment before it had the chance to fall further. b. Stayed the course with neither redemptions nor purchases. c. Bought more stock, reasoning that the market is now cheaper and therefore offers better deals. 2. The value of one of the funds in your 401(k) plan (your pri- mary source of retirement savings) increased 30% last year. What will you do? a. Move your funds into a money market account in case the price gains reverse. b. Sit tight and do nothing. c. Put more of your assets into that fund, reasoning that its value is clearly trending upward. 3. How would you describe your non-investment sources of income (for example, your salary)? a. Highly uncertain b. Moderately stable c. Highly stable 4. At the end of the month, you find yourself: a. Short of cash and impatiently waiting for your next paycheck. b. Not overspending your salary, but not saving very much. c. With a comfortable surplus of funds to put into your sav- ings account. 5. You are 30 years old and enrolling in your company's retirement plan, and you need to allocate your contribu- tions across 3 funds: a money market account, a bond fund, and a stock fund. Which of these allocations sounds best to you? a. Invest everything in a safe money-market fund. b. Split your money evenly between the bond fund and stock fund. c. Put everything into the stock fund, reasoning that by the time you retire, the year-to-year fluctuations in stock, returns will have evened out. 6. You are a contestant on Let's Make a Deal, and have just won $1,000. But you can exchange the winnings for two random payoffs. One is a coin flip with a payoff of $2,500 if the coin comes up heads. The other is a flip of two coins with a payoff of $6,000 if both coins come up heads. What will you do? a. Keep the $1,000 in cash. b. Choose the single coin toss. c. Choose the double coin toss. 7. Suppose you have the opportunity to invest in a start-up firm. If the firm is successful, you will multiply your invest- ment by a factor of ten. But if it fails, you will lose everything. You think the odds of success are around 20%. How much would you be willing to invest in the start-up? a. Nothing b. 2 months' salary c. 6 months' salary 8. Now imagine that to buy into the start-up you will need to borrow money. Would you be willing to take out a $10,000 loan to make the investment? a. No b. Maybe c. Yes
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