LESSON 9.2 · CORE

Drawdown vs volatility — two different fears

One measures the bumps, the other measures the hole.

RISK4 MIN READ

Volatility measures the bumps: how much a price swings up and down around its average, usually as the standard deviation of its returns. Drawdown measures the hole: how far a price has fallen from its last high. A holding can be volatile with shallow drawdowns, bouncing around a steady level, or calm for years and then fall a long way in one go.

They're different fears. Volatility is uncomfortable to watch; a deep drawdown is what pushes people into selling at the bottom. The app doesn't calculate volatility, standard deviation or drawdown. The Beta figure in a holding's detail measures something else: how much the share has moved relative to the market, not the size of its own swings. The Portfolio Value chart on your dashboard shows your own portfolio's dips over the range you choose.

Volatility · the size of the bumpsDrawdown · the depth of the hole

Two different questions: how bumpy the ride is, and how far down it can go.

See your portfolio's dips on the value chart →

Educational content only. It is not personal financial advice.