Skip to content

Risk

Volatility

How much a price moves around over time, usually measured as the standard deviation of returns. High volatility means larger swings in both directions, not a direction of travel.

Also called volatile · implied volatility

How much a price moves around over time, usually measured as the standard deviation of returns. High volatility means larger swings in both directions, not a direction of travel.

Why it matters

Volatility is often used as a proxy for risk, but they are not the same thing: a steadily declining asset can be low-volatility and still lose money.

Related terms

  • Drawdown
  • Beta
  • Sharpe Ratio

Keep reading