What are the primary sources of market risk? (2024)

Market risk is the risk of loss due to the factors that affect an entire market or asset class. Four primary sources of risk affect the overall market. These include interest rate risk, equity price risk, foreign exchange risk, and commodity risk.

Market risk is also known as undiversifiable or unsystematic risk because it affects all asset classes and is unpredictable. An investor can only mitigate this market risk by hedging a portfolio. Risk can also be categorized as specific—systematic—risk and is limited to an industry or a single company.

Interest Rate Risk

Interest rate risk is the risk of increased volatility due to a change in interest rates. There are different types of risk exposures that can arise when there is a change in interest rates, such as basis risk, options risk, term structure risk, and repricing risk.

Basis risk is a component due to possible changes in spreads when interest rates fluctuate. Basis risk arises when there are changes in the spread between different markets' interest rates.

Equity Price Risk

Equity price risk is the risk that arises from security price volatility – the risk of a decline in the value of a security or a portfolio. Equity price risk can be either systematic or unsystematic risk. Unsystematic risk can be mitigated through diversification, whereas systematic cannot be. In a global economic crisis, equity price risk is systematic because it affects multiple asset classes.

A portfolio can only be hedged against this risk. For example, if an investor is invested in multiple assets that represent an index, the investor can hedge against equity price risk by buying put options in the index exchange-traded fund.

Foreign Exchange Risk

Currency risk, or foreign exchange risk, is a form of risk that arises when currency exchange rates are volatile. Global firms may be exposed to currency risk when conducting business due to imperfect hedges.

For example, suppose a U.S investor has investments in China. The realized return will be affected when exchanging the two currencies. Assume the investor has a realized 50% return on investment in China, but the Chinese yuan depreciates 20% against the U.S. dollar. Due to the change in currencies, the investor will only have a 30% return. This risk can be mitigated by hedging with currency exchange-traded funds.

Commodity Risk

Commodity price risk is the volatility in market price due to the price fluctuation of a commodity. Commodity risk affects various sectors of the market, such as airlines and casino gaming. A commodity's price is affected by politics, seasonal changes, technology, and current market conditions.

For example, suppose there is an oversupply of crude oil, which has caused oil prices to fall every day over the past six months. A company that is heavily invested in oil drilling wells faces commodity price risk. The company's profit margin will fall as well since it is still operating at the same cost, but the prices of crude oil are falling. Its profits will decrease. The company could use futures or options to hedge this risk and minimize the uncertainty of oil prices.

What are the primary sources of market risk? (2024)

FAQs

What are the primary sources of market risk? ›

Four primary sources of risk affect the overall market. These include interest rate risk

interest rate risk
Interest rate risk is the potential that a change in overall interest rates will reduce the value of a bond or other fixed-rate investment: As interest rates rise bond prices fall, and vice versa. This means that the market price of existing bonds drops to offset the more attractive rates of new bond issues.
https://www.investopedia.com › terms › interestraterisk
, equity price risk, foreign exchange risk
foreign exchange risk
Exchange rate risk refers to the risk that a company's operations and profitability may be affected by changes in the exchange rates between currencies. Companies are exposed to three types of risk caused by currency volatility: transaction exposure, translation exposure, and economic or operating exposure.
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, and commodity risk
. Market risk is also known as undiversifiable or unsystematic risk because it affects all asset classes and is unpredictable.

What are the primary market risks? ›

Disadvantages
  • Market risks. The primary market is not immune to market risks. ...
  • Lack of liquidity. Unlike the secondary market, where securities can be bought and sold easily, the primary market involves a lock-in period for initial investors. ...
  • Information asymmetry. ...
  • Volatile initial performance.

What are the 4 market risks? ›

The most common types of market risk include interest rate risk, equity risk, commodity risk, and currency risk.

What are the four types of market risk? ›

Types of market risk
  • Interest rate risk.
  • Equity price risk.
  • Exchange rate risk.
  • Commodity price risk.

What are the primary sources of systematic risk? ›

However, systematic risk incorporates interest rate changes, inflation, recessions, and wars, among other major changes. Shifts in these domains can affect the entire market and cannot be mitigated by changing positions within a portfolio of public equities.

What is the primary source of market risk? ›

Market risk is the risk of loss due to the factors that affect an entire market or asset class. Four primary sources of risk affect the overall market. These include interest rate risk, equity price risk, foreign exchange risk, and commodity risk.

What are the 4 types of primary market? ›

In the primary market, new stocks and bonds are sold to the public for the first time. In a primary market, investors are able to purchase securities directly from the issuer. Types of primary market issues include an initial public offering (IPO), a private placement, a rights issue, and a preferred allotment.

Which of the following is a source of market risk? ›

Answer. B. Real GDP varies over time and sales and profits move with real GDP is a source of market risk. Market risk refers to the risk of investments losing value due to factors such as economic downturns, political instability, or other macroeconomic events.

What are market risk examples? ›

Market risk is the risk of losses on financial investments caused by adverse price movements. Examples of market risk are: changes in equity prices or commodity prices, interest rate moves or foreign exchange fluctuations.

What causes market risk? ›

Market risk is the risk that arises from movements in stock prices, interest rates, exchange rates, and commodity prices.

How do you determine market risk? ›

The VaR method is a standard method for the evaluation of market risk. VaR technique is a risk management method that involves the use of statistics that quantifies a stock or portfolio's prospective loss, as well as the probability of that loss occurring.

What are the 4 main categories of risk? ›

The main four types of risk are:
  • strategic risk - eg a competitor coming on to the market.
  • compliance and regulatory risk - eg introduction of new rules or legislation.
  • financial risk - eg interest rate rise on your business loan or a non-paying customer.
  • operational risk - eg the breakdown or theft of key equipment.

What are the four standard market risk factors? ›

The four standard market risk factors are equity risk, interest rate risk, currency risk, and commodity risk: Equity risk is the risk that stock prices in general (not related to a particular company or industry) or the implied volatility will change.

What are the 3 main sources of risk? ›

The paper mentions three main sources of financial risk: credit risk, market risk, and foreign exchange risk.

What are the primary risk types? ›

Primary risk includes manpower development, product efficiency, fluctuation in price of raw materials and competition.

What is the difference between specific risk and market risk? ›

All investment assets can be separated by two categories: systematic risk and unsystematic risk. Market risk, or systematic risk, affects a large number of asset classes, whereas specific risk, or unsystematic risk, only affects an industry or particular company.

What is the primary risk? ›

the legal definition of the term Primary Risk means assuming a subordinated position on any loan. Primary Risk Bearers: Equity- shareholders are the primary risk bearers of the company. In case the company suffers losses then equity- shareholders have to bear the loss.

What is an example of a primary market? ›

An initial public offering, or IPO, is an example of a primary market. These trades provide an opportunity for investors to buy securities from the bank that did the initial underwriting for a particular stock.

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