What is Risk?

When investing, risk may be defined various ways by different investors—price volatility, a permanent loss of capital or the failure to reach one’s goals. Other types of risk include company-specific issues, broader market risks, including the threat of inflation or regulation. There are even more risks: credit or currency risks; longevity risk, concentration and others.

Here, we highlight diverse perspectives that seek to answer this simple question: What is risk? We draw on academic research and practitioner experience. We don’t seek to provide one, definitive answer, but to engage our stakeholders in the ongoing, critical conversation on this essential investment topic.