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Risk-Return Trade-Off

The risk-return trade-off dictates that the higher the potential return on an investment, the higher its probable risk. In other words, an asset’s risk and return go hand in hand.

Hence, if an investor wants to earn a higher return, he should be prepared to take a higher risk. This is one of the most fundamental rules of investment. It suggests that investors generally take more risk only if they expect a higher return on an investment.

After all, why should they take a higher risk if the potential return on an investment is not higher? Risk-averse investors often prefer to invest in low-risk assets while accepting low returns. On the other hand, risk-taking investors take higher risks to invest in assets that can provide them with a higher return.

You can refer to the following risk-return trade-off’s diagram to understand the concept better:

Significance of Risk-Return Trade-Off in Mutual Funds

Risk-return trade-off is extremely important for investors when it comes to making mutual fund investments for the reasons explained below:

a) Helps investors choose the right fund: Risk-reward trade-off enables investors to select the right fund to make an investment. For example, equity-oriented funds are supposed to be riskier than debt mutual funds; however, the former can deliver a higher return than the latter. So, based on their risk-appetite, investors can choose the fund to park their funds.

b) Helps identify the right fund for a certain level of risk: If two funds take the same level of risk, it is not necessary that they will generate the same returns as well. Often, two funds with a similar level of risk generate different returns. Hence, an investor can use the risk-return trade off to assess funds with similar risk levels.

c)  Investors can create a balanced portfolio: Using risk-return trade-off, investors can create a balanced portfolio consisting of some low-risk and some high-risk mutual funds.

Applications of the Risk-Return Trade-Off

If you want to develop a nuanced understanding of risk-return trade-off, it is important to understand its applications, which are explained below:

a) Portfolio building: Mutual fund managers use the concept of risk-return trade-off to build portfolios that can generate returns which are in line with the risk investors are willing to take. Once fund managers know the risk return trade-off of investors, they can invest in assets that can help them achieve the desired return at the acceptable level of risk.

b) Assess the performance of mutual funds: Risk-return trade-off can help investors ascertain whether a certain fund is delivering the required return for the kind of risk it is taking. Hence, it is extremely useful to analyse a mutual fund’s performance.

c)  Help design an investment strategy: With the help of risk-return trade-off, investors can design a strategy that can enable them to generate the required rate of return. They can use risk-return trade-off to decide which mutual fund to invest in.

Methods to Evaluate Risk-Return Trade-Off

The following methods can be used to evaluate the risk-return trade-off of an asset:

a) Standard Deviation: Standard deviation shows us the extent of variation in an asset’s return from its average returns. If an asset’s standard deviation is high, it means that its returns fluctuate a lot. Hence, it is a risky asset. However, if its standard deviation is low, it means its returns do not fluctuate much. So, it is less risky.

b) Beta: Beta tells us how an asset moves in relation to the overall market. In other words, it indicates how sensitive an asset is with respect to the market. A beta of 1 means that an asset is as volatile as the market. However, a beta of 1.3 means that an asset is 30% more volatile than the market.

c)  Alpha: Alpha shows how much excess returns are generated by an investment relative to its benchmark. If an asset has a positive alpha, it means that it has outperformed its benchmark; however, a negative alpha means that an asset has underperformed its benchmark.

Ways to Calculate Risk-Return Trade-Off in Mutual Funds

If you want to calculate the risk-return trade-off of a mutual fund, you can use the following indicators:

a) Alpha: Let us say that you invest in a mutual fund that tracks Sensex. You will use alpha to analyze its performance. If it has a positive alpha, it means it has outperformed Sensex. But, if its alpha is negative, it shows it has underperformed Sensex.

b) Beta: A mutual fund’s beta can help you analyse its variability with respect to that of the overall market. If a fund’s beta is 1, it means its returns fluctuate as much as those of the market. If its beta is 1.1, it means its returns fluctuate 10% more than the market’s returns. But, if its beta is 0.9, it means its returns fluctuate 10% less than the market’s returns.

c)  Sharpe Ratio: The Sharpe Ratio helps an investor analyze a fund's performance by measuring the extent of its excess returns for each unit of risk it takes. If a fund has a higher Sharpe Ratio, it shows that it is generating better returns for the amount of risk it is taking. In simple words, the Sharpe Ratio is an indicator that helps investors examine a fund's risk-adjusted returns.  

Implementing Risk-Return Trade-Off in Portfolio Strategy

The risk-return trade-off clearly tells us that we have to take more risk to generate higher returns. Hence, as an investor, we need to strike a balance between how much return we want to generate on an investment and how much risk we are willing to take.

Often, people make an investment only considering its potential return, without paying attention to the risk involved. This trade-off tells us that risk and return are two sides of the same coin. Hence, no discussion about return can happen without talking about risk at the same time.

To implement the risk-reward trade-off in building a portfolio, investors can consider various types of assets classes. For example, bonds are less risky than stocks; however, they provide lower returns than stocks in most cases.

Meanwhile, younger investors can take more risk than older investors, as they have a longer productive life-span ahead of them. So, younger investors can consider investing in an asset that has a high potential return and a high probable risk.

That said, it depends upon the financial position of a young investor. If a young investor has to pay his education loan and housing loan, then he should not consider investing in high-risk assets. So, it depends upon case to case.

Key Factors Influencing Risk-Return Trade-Off

Various factors have an impact on the risk-return trade-off of an investment. The most important factor is the nature of an asset. For example, shares are riskier than bonds, but they can also offer a higher return than bonds. Another factor is the time horizon of an investment. The longer the term of an investment, the higher the return it can generate and the higher the risk involved, and vice versa.  

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