CHAPTER 4

RISK AND RETURN

Q-1 What is a return? Explain the components of (total) return? Should unrealised
capital gain (or loss) be included in the calculations of returns?
A-1 Return can be defined as excess over initial investment earned over a period of
time. Return can be calculated in terms of rupee return and/or percentage return.
Return can be calculated for both real and financial assets. In case of shares, rate
of return would consist of dividend yield and capital gain yield. Note that the
unrealised capital gain (or loss) is included in the calculation of return.

Q-2 Illustrate the computation of the expected rate of return of an asset.

A-2 The expected rate of return [E (R)] is the sum of the product of each outcome
(return) and its associated probability:
Expected rate of return = Rate of return under scenario 1 probability of scenario 1
+ rate of return under scenario 2 probability of scenario 2 +
+ rate of return under scenario n probability of scenario n

Economic Expected Rate of

Conditions Rate of Return (%) Probability Return (%)
(1) (2) (3) (4) = (2) (4)
Growth 18.5 0.25 4.63
Expansion 10.5 0.25 2.62
Stagnation 1.0 0.25 0.25
Decline 6.0 0.25 1.50
1.00 6.00

Q-3 Define holding-period return. How is it calculated?

A-3 Investors may hold their investment in shares for longer periods than for one year.
Suppose you invest Rs 1 today in a companys share for five years. The rates of
return are 18 percent, 9 percent, 0 percent, - 10 percent and 14 percent. What is
the worth of your shares? You hold the share for five years; hence, you can
calculate the worth of your investment assuming that each year dividends from
the previous year are reinvested in shares. The worth of your investment after five
years is:

Investment worth after five years = (1 + 0.18 ) (1 + 0.09 ) (1 + 0.0 ) (1 - 0.10 ) (1 + 0.14 )
= 1.18 1.09 1.00 0.90 1.14
= Rs 1.32

Your one rupee investment has grown to Rs 1.32 at the end of five years. Thus
your total return is: 1.32 1 = 0.32 or 32 percent. Your total return is a five-year
holding-period return. The compound annual rate of return is as follows:

1
 Compound annual rate of return = 5 1.18 1.09 1.00 0.90 1.14 - 1
= 1.057 - 1 = 0.057 or 5.7%

Q-4 What is risk? How can risk of a security be calculated? Explain your answer with
the help of an example.
A-4 Risk of returns is the variability in rates of return. The variability of rates of return
may be defined as the extent of the deviations (or dispersion) of individual rates
of return from the average rate of return. There are two measures of this
dispersion: variance or standard deviation. Standard deviation is the square root of
variance.
The formulae calculating variance and standard deviation of historical rates of
return of a share as follows:

( )
2
1 n
s =
2
Rt - R
n - 1 t =1

( )
2
1 n
s= s = 2
Rt -R
n - 1 t =1
The share of Hypothetical Company Limited has the following anticipated returns
with associated probabilities:
Return (%) -20 -10 10 15 20 25
Probability 0.05 0.10 0.20 0.25 0.20 0.15
The risk, measured in terms of variance and standard deviation, is:

s 2 = ( -20 - 13) 2 0.05 + ( -10 - 13) 2 0.10 + (10 - 13) 2 0.20 + (15 - 13) 2 0.25
+ ( 20 - 13) 2 0.20 + (25 - 13) 2 0.15 + (30 - 13) 2 0.05 = 156
s = 156 = 12.49%
The expected rate of return is:
E (R ) = -20 0.05 + -10 0.10 + -10 0.20 + 15 0.25 + 20 0.20 + 25 0.15 + 30 0.05 = 13%

Q-5 What is a risk-free security? What is risk premium? How can it be estimated from
historical data?
A-5 A risk free security is a security which is free from risk of default and the
variability on its returns is the lowest. The 28-year average return on the stock
market (Sensex) is higher by 8.76 per cent in comparison with the average return
on the long-term government bonds for the same period in India. This excess
return is a compensation for the higher risk of the return on the stock market; it is
commonly referred to as risk premium.

Q-6 What is a normal distribution? How does it help to interpret standard deviation?
A-6 The normal distribution is a smooth, symmetric, continuous, bell-shaped curve.
The distribution is neither skewed nor peaked. The spread of the normal

2
distribution is characterised by the standard deviation. It is useful to notice certain
properties of a normal distribution.
The area under the curve sums to1.
The curve reaches its maximum at the expected value (mean) of the
distribution and one-half of the area lies on either side of the mean.
Approximately 50 per cent of the area lies within 0.67 standard deviations
of the expected value; about 68 per cent of the area lies within 1.0 standard
deviations of the expected value; 95 per cent of the area lies within 1.96
standard deviation of the expected value and 99 percent of the area lies within
3.0 standard deviations of the expected value.