
What is Expected Variance? Variance represents how much a stock moves over a period of time. The statistical calculation for actual variance is the average of the square differences from the mean. Technically, the square of the implied volatility multiplied by the time to expiry (in years) gives us the expected variance up to any given maturity. The variance of one period and another can be added together to calculate the total expected variance of the entire period.
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What does it mean when a stock has high variance?
A stock's historical variance measures the difference between the stock's returns for different periods and its average return. A stock with a lower variance typically generates returns that are closer to its average. A stock with a higher variance can generate returns that are much higher or lower than expected, ...
How does the variance of a stock affect its returns?
A stock with a lower variance typically generates returns that are closer to its average. A stock with a higher variance can generate returns that are much higher or lower than expected, which increases uncertainty and increases the risk of losing money.
How do you calculate variation in stock market?
Variance Formula and Example. Variance is calculated using the following formula: Returns for a stock are 10% in year 1, 20% in year 2, and -15% in year 3. The average of these three returns is 5%. The differences between each return and the average are 5%, 15%, and -20% for each consecutive year.
What is the variance equation in investing?
Investors can analyze the variance of the returns among assets in a portfolio to achieve the best asset allocation. In financial terms, the variance equation is a formula for comparing the performance of the elements of a portfolio against each other and against the mean.

How do you find the expected variance of a stock?
To calculate the portfolio variance of securities in a portfolio, multiply the squared weight of each security by the corresponding variance of the security and add two multiplied by the weighted average of the securities multiplied by the covariance between the securities.
What is the variance of a stock?
A stock's historical variance measures the difference between the stock's returns for different periods and its average return. A stock with a lower variance typically generates returns that are closer to its average.
How do you calculate the expected return and variance of a portfolio?
Percentage values can be used in this formula for the variances, instead of decimals.Example.Expected Returns = 0.40*0.12 + 0.60*0.20 = 16.8%Variance = (0.40)2(0.20) 2 + (0.60) 2 (0.30) 2 + 2(0.40)(0.60)(0.25)(0.20)(0.30)Standard deviation = Sqrt(0.046) = 0.2145 or 21.45%
How do we calculate the variance of the expected return?
3:224:17Expected return, Variance - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipTimes the square of the difference between the returns in those outcomes.MoreTimes the square of the difference between the returns in those outcomes.
How do I calculate the variance?
Steps for calculating the varianceStep 1: Find the mean. To find the mean, add up all the scores, then divide them by the number of scores. ... Step 2: Find each score's deviation from the mean. ... Step 3: Square each deviation from the mean. ... Step 4: Find the sum of squares. ... Step 5: Divide the sum of squares by n – 1 or N.
What does stock variance measure?
Variance is a measurement of the degree of risk in an investment. Risk reflects the chance that an investment's actual return, or its gain or loss over a specific period, is higher or lower than expected. There is a possibility some, or all, of the investment will be lost.
How do you calculate the expected return of a stock?
Use the following formula and steps to calculate the expected return of investment: Expected return = (return A x probability A) + (return B x probability B). First, determine the probability of each return that might occur. To do this, refer to the historical data on past returns.
How do you find the expected return and standard deviation of a stock?
The expected return is calculated by multiplying the weight of each asset by its expected return. Then add the values for each investment to get the total expected return for your portfolio. Hence, the formula: Expected Portfolio Return = (Asset 1 Weight x Expected Return) + (Asset 2 Weight x Expected Return)...
How do you calculate expected return and volatility for a stock portfolio?
The basic expected return formula involves multiplying each asset's weight in the portfolio by its expected return, then adding all those figures together. In other words, a portfolio's expected return is the weighted average of its individual components' returns.
How do you calculate the expected return of a stock in Excel?
In cell F2, enter the formula = ([D2*E2] + [D3*E3] + ...) to render the total expected return....Key TakeawaysEnter the current value and expected rate of return for each investment.Indicate the weight of each investment.Calculate the overall portfolio rate of return.
Why do investors use variance?
Investors use variance to see how much risk an investment carries and whether it will be profitable.
What is variance in statistics?
The term variance refers to a statistical measurement of the spread between numbers in a data set. More specifically, variance measures how far each number in the set is from the mean and thus from every other number in the set. Variance is often depicted by this symbol: σ 2. It is used by both analysts and traders to determine volatility and market security. The square root of the variance is the standard deviation (σ), which helps determine the consistency of an investment’s returns over a period of time.
Why is variance important?
Variability is volatility, and volatility is a measure of risk. It helps assess the risk that investors assume when they buy a specific asset and helps them determine whether the investment will be profitable.
Why do investors use standard deviation?
As noted above, investors can use standard deviation to assess how consistent returns are over time. In some cases, risk or volatility may be expressed as a standard deviation rather than a variance because the former is often more easily interpreted.
What does a large variance mean?
A large variance indicates that numbers in the set are far from the mean and far from each other. A small variance, on the other hand, indicates the opposite. A variance value of zero, though, indicates that all values within a set of numbers are identical. Every variance that isn’t zero is a positive number. A variance cannot be negative.
Why do statisticians use variance?
Statisticians use variance to see how individual numbers relate to each other within a data set, rather than using broader mathematical techniques such as arranging numbers into quartiles. The advantage of variance is that it treats all deviations from the mean as the same regardless of their direction.
Is variance a positive or negative number?
Every variance that isn’t zero is a positive number. A variance cannot be negative. That’s because it’s mathematically impossible since you can’t have a negative value resulting from a square. Variance is an important metric in the investment world. Variability is volatility, and volatility is a measure of risk.
