Financial Risk Management Flashcards
Define risk
- the chance of financial loss
- may be used interchangeably with the term “uncertainty” to refer to the variability of returns associated with a given asset
Define return
- the total gain or loss experienced on behalf of the owner of an asset over a given period
- greater risk yields greater returns
What are the 3 basic risk preference behaviors that exist?
- Risk indifferent behavior- an increase in risk does not result in an increase in return; this is an exception since it is unusual
- Risk averse behavior- an increase in risk results in an increase in return; managers require higher expected returns to compensate for greater risk; general rule
- Risk seeking behavior- an increase in risk results in a decrease in return; managers are willing to settle for lower expected returns as risk increases; this is an exception since it is very rare
Define default risk and how to mitigate it
- affects lenders (investors)
- creditors are exposed to default risk to the extent that it is possible that its debtors may not repay the principal or interest due on their indebtedness on a timely basis
- mitigation: lend only to borrowers with low risk of default; adjust the interest rates charged to better reflect the risk of each borrower (high risk borrowers pay higher interest rates)
Define liquidity risk and how to mitigate it
- affects lenders (investors)
- when lenders want to sell their security but cant do so in a timely manner or when material price concessions have to be made to do so
- mitigation: allocate a greater percentage of capital to investments that trade on active markets such as equities, corporate bonds, futures contracts and options
Define price risk and how to mitigate it
- represents the exposure that investors have to a decline in the value of their individual securities or portfolios
- factors unique to individual investments and/or portfolios contribute to price risk which becomes an even greater concern with increased market volatility
- related to diversifiable (unsystematic) risk
- mitigation: diversification, short selling or derivatives like put options
What is the stated interest rate?
- represents the rate of interest charged before any adjustment for compounding or market factors (sometimes referred to as nominal interest rate)
- shown in the agreement of indebtedness (bond indenture or promissory note)
What is the annual percentage rate?
- represents a noncompounded version of the effective annual percentage rate
- the rate required for disclosure by federal regulations
- computed as the effective periodic interest rate * # of periods in a year
- emphasizes the amount paid relative to funds available
What is the effective annual percentage rate?
- represents the stated interest rate adjusted for the number of compounding periods per year
- abbreviated APR
= [1+ (i/p)]^p -1
i= stated interest rate
p= compounding periods per year
What is simple interest?
- the amount represented by interest paid only on the original amount of principal without regard to compounding
SI= Po (i)(n)
Po= original principal
i= interest rate per time period
n= number of time periods
What is compound interest?
- the amount represented by interest earnings or expense that is based on the original principal plus any unpaid interest earnings or expense
- interest earnings or expense compounds and yields an amount higher than simple interest
FVn= Po (1+i)^n
P0= original principal
i= interest rate
n= number of periods
How is the required rate of return calculated?
risk premium + risk free rate
What is the Maturity Risk Premium (used to compute the required rate of return)?
- the compensation that investors demand for exposure to interest rate risk over time
- this risk increases with the term to maturity
What is the Inflation Premium/ Purchasing Power Risk (used to compute the required rate of return)?
- the compensation investors require to bear the risk that price levels will change and affect asset values or the purchasing power of invested dollars (ex: real estate)
What is the Liquidity Risk Premium (used to compute the required rate of return)?
- the additional compensation demanded by lenders for the risk that an investment security (ex: junk bonds) cannot be sold on a short notice without making significant price concessions
- liquidity= the ability to quickly convert an asset to cash at FMV