5. Risk
Let's not get ahead of ourselves; before speaking about how to manage our risk, let’s make sure we understand what "risk" actually means.
Risk in any situation is Uncertainty
'The chance of an outcome being different
than expected'
So now that we know what risk is, what exactly is risk in terms of finance?
'The chance of an
investment's actual return being different than expected'
It's often said that trading the
financial markets is effectively the trading of risk.
Example: "By buying EUR/USD, I effectively have the opinion the Euro will strengthen
against the US Dollar"
The risk is the possibility of the Euro weakening against the US Dollar - an
adverse movement
In other words financial risk is the possibility of losing part or all of your original investment
If trading the financial markets is effectively the trading of risk, then why would we “risk” the market going against us?
Although risk makes us susceptible to adverse movements in the market, risk also presents the potential/opportunity to make huge amounts of money.
Risk = opportunity
And
The higher the risk, the higher the
potential opportunity
The Risk/Reward Trade Off
The higher the risk an investor takes on, the higher the potential returns should be in order to compensate the increased risk. This is known as The Risk/Reward Trade Off
Low Risk = Low Return
High Risk = High Return
There are lots of things which influence what type and how much risk is experienced.
1. Leverage
'Leveraging lets you magnify your profit potential, at the risk of greater losses, through allowing
you to control a relatively large asset for a fraction of its cost'
0.25% margin
deposit means you are trading 400 times leverage, for example;
Buying 1 lot of GBP/USD @ 1.5700 with
a margin requirement of 0.25% will cost you $250.
The margin requirement means that you can trade a
volume of $100,000 in the market.
Through leveraged trading you can take advantage of very
small movements in the market by trading very large volumes
Higher leverage = More risk =
Larger profit potential
2. Volatility
'Volatility can be described as the size of changes in an assets value (price movement) over
time'
Volatility measures the dispersion of price values. High volatility means price
can swing dramatically in either direction over a short period of time.
Higher
volatility = More risk = Larger profit potential
3. Trading Psychology
The final factor that affects risk is trading psychology - this will be covered in the module that
follows.
Although it does not seem it in nature, trading is in fact very emotional and emotions often
affect and influence trading decisions.
Fear and Greed; generates greater
implied volatility - do not let your emotions get the better of you
Hope ('false
dawn'); often leads to greater risk as it causes us to hold onto losing investments when we
should be cutting our losses.
Bad Mental State; For whatever reason, whether
you have just incurred losses or are fatigued - do not make investment/trading decisions.
Stop Loss Orders
Stop Loss Orders are the single most important risk management tool and should always be employed when trading
Types of Stops
Breakeven Stops - executed at the point at which gains equal losses
Time Stops - it relies on a certain period of time elapsing before the order is executed
Trailing stops - set at a percentage level below the market price. It allows you to let profits run on and minimize your losses at the same time.
Learn to love your losses, manage your losses, and learn from your losses, or one day you will have the mother of all loses that will wipe out your entire account.
Low risk investments will have lower return potential than high risk investments.
Low Risk = Potential Low Return
Medium Risk = Potential Medium Return
High Risk =
Potential High Return
Your trading style will often define how low or high risk your
strategy is but even the greatest investment/trading strategies are of little help if you do not control
risk
How tough are you?
Your Risk Tolerance is the degree of uncertainty you can handle regarding a potential loss or decrease in your investment portfolio value
Risk tolerance will be different for each person and how much you can handle generally depends on three things;
- Income - Your personal income and personal situation
e.g. A person on a low salary about to get married will be likely to have a low to moderate risk appetite and will therefore most probably have lower risk capital available than a single person on a medium salary - Time Horizon - The amount of time you plan to keep your money invested. Longer time horizons are associated with less risk than shorter time horizons
- Investment Objectives - The greater your financial goals, the greater the risk you will likely have to take on
What is asset allocation?
Asset allocation is an investment strategy aimed to balance risk and reward. It shares out the portfolio's assets according to your investment goals, risk tolerance and time horizon.
Different asset allocations have different levels of risk, below is an example of the risk associated with a selection of asset allocations;
Diversification
'A risk management technique that aims to reduce risk through mixing up your portfolio with many different investments'
Diversification is particularly helpful when trying to offset unsystematic risk, which is industry/company specific.
Diversification is based on the rationale that any bad performers should be offset by good performers thus smoothing out unsystematic risk.
The lower the correlation between investments in your portfolio, the lower the risk
Example of Correlation:
Gold and the US Dollar
Gold is inversely correlated to the dollar meaning that the
value of gold appreciates as the dollar weakens
Gold and Crude Oil
Rising crude oil prices tend to lead to a rise in the value of
gold as gold is often bought as a hedge against inflation
Controlling Your Leverage
Leverage Scale: | - | - | - | Risk Level |
---|---|---|---|---|
0.5% | Margin Requirement | = | x200 Leverage | High Risk |
1% | Margin Requirement | = | x100 Leverage | |
3% | Margin Requirement | = | x33.3 Leverage | |
10% | Margin Requirement | = | x10 Leverage | |
20% | Margin Requirement | = | x5 Leverage | |
50% | Margin Requirement | = | x2 Leverage | |
100% | Margin Requirement | = | No Leverage | Low Risk |
Remember! Leverage can be tailored according to your risk appetite. If you are risk averse, trade on higher margin requirements to reduce your leverage
Be Careful! Learn to control your leverage, treat it as a credit card, be careful not to get carried away with money you don't have just because it's available!
Technical Analysis
Technical analysis serves as an important aid in risk management
We can use it to:
- Identify & Time Entry/Exit points
- Identify Support & Resistance
- Strategic Stop Loss Orders
- Identify Trends & Chart Patterns
- Create Risk Parameters - Technical Indicators
All the above will aid the reduction of risk and help improve your chances of making profits.
For more information on Technical Analysis please see the "Analysis" Module
1. Use Stop Losses
Using a stop loss - a present level at which an open trade is automatically closed - is standard good practice as this can limit your downside risk and also shows trading discipline which is paramount in developing a healthy trading account. However, when markets are incredibly volatile you could experience some slippage with the position not being able to be executed at the exact level specified. In volatile markets there is often a “gap”, where a product moves substantially lower or higher than expected perhaps as much as 10-15%. With a normal stop loss you will get the first available price which could cause a large loss and result in a loss greater than your initial deposit.
2. Reduce Your Trade Size
Margin is one of the biggest advantages of CFD trading and at One Financial Markets our 0.25% on FX and spot gold, 0.20% on major Indices and 3% commodities is among the most competitive in the market place however with any margin trading you should always be aware of how much is required to keep your position in the market.
A general rule of thumb is that no single trading position should amount to risk exposure of more than 5% of your available capital. However in volatile market conditions this kind of leverage is dangerous as any loses will magnified by even more than normal.
The best market practice would be to halve your normal trading size over volatile trading conditions.
3. Limit Your Trades
Volatile markets are associated with high volumes of trading, which may cause delays in execution. While online trading normally means you place a trade at a current bid and offer you see, some market maker may widen bid offer spreads or even temporarily withdraw tradable prices. This means that execution can be delayed and prices to execute at may not be available. One Financial provides fixed spreads no matter what market conditions but in times of increased volatility it is sometime better to limit trade execution.
4. Stick to Your Strategy
During volatile times, it easy to be shaken and diverted from your normal trading strategy but most experienced traders apply the same strategy to choosing investments as they normally do. While it's tempting to react to the volatility, it's incredibly difficult to predict moves in the short term, so you have to stick to your trading strategies and limit your risk exposure when times are volatile.
What are the important bits?
- We need Risk Management to control our losses
- Always be sure to know your Risk Tolerance
- Have a Risk Management strategy - Leverage/Volatility/Diversification/Asset Allocation
- Incorporate a Stop Loss strategy as part of your Risk management strategy
- Be disciplined in effecting your strategy
PLAN YOUR WORK AND WORK YOUR PLAN