What is the Risk Reward Ratio?
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This ratio compares the potential risk of an investment with its potential reward and helps investors decide whether they should make an investment or not.
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The risk-reward ratio is one of the most popular financial indicators that help traders assess whether they should initiate a trade or not. It is calculated by dividing the potential loss from an investment by its potential gain.
It shows how much risk an investor has to take for every rupee of return he generates. As this ratio incorporates both the potential gain and probable loss of an investment, it is a useful metric.
Hence, it is important to use this ratio when you start trading in the market. That said, you need to understand its pros and cons before using it.
The risk-reward ratio helps investors assess whether the potential return of an investment justifies its potential risk. After all, risk and return go hand-in-hand. Typically, the higher the risk, the higher the return and the higher the loss. At the same time, the lower the risk, the lower the return and the lower the loss.
The risk-reward ratio considers both the probable risk and probable return of an investment, which helps an investor decide whether he would like to make that investment or not.
The risk-reward ratio is a financial indicator that tells an investor how much risk he has to take for the return he is likely to generate on an investment.
It is calculated by dividing the potential loss of an investment by its potential gain. This helps investors examine whether the possible gains justify the risks involved in an investment.
The risk-reward ratio indicates the extent of risk an investor has to take to generate the likely return on an investment. Let us understand it better with an example. Suppose an investor is thinking of buying a share worth ₹1,000 because he expects its price to jump to ₹1,050. Hence, the expected return or reward per share is ₹50.
However, the investor wants to be cautious. Hence, he sets a stop-loss order at ₹990 to limit the likely losses. Hence, his potential loss or risk is ₹10.
Risk-Reward Ratio = Probable Risk / Probable Reward = ₹10/₹50
In a nutshell, the investor is likely to generate a return of ₹5 for every ₹1 of risk he is taking.
The risk-reward ratio's formula is given below:
Risk-Reward Ratio = Potential Risk of an Investment / Expected Reward of an Investment
Key Steps to Calculate the Risk-Reward Ratio
Estimate the potential risk: First, you should find out the entry point of an investment. Second, to limit the potential losses, you must set a stop-loss order. Potential risk equals the difference between the entry price of an investment and the stop-loss price.
Find the expected return/reward: You should set the target price of an investment or the price at which you will likely take an action. The difference between the entry price and the target price is the expected reward/return.
Calculate the risk-reward ratio: You need to divide the potential risk of an investment by its potential gain or reward to calculate the risk-reward ratio.
Example 1: An investor buys a stock worth ₹ 1,200, expecting it to rise to ₹1,500. He sets a stop-loss order at ₹1,100. The risk-reward ratio is as follows:
Risk-Reward Ratio = ₹100 / ₹300 = 1:3
Example 2: An investor buys a stock at ₹500, hoping it to increase to ₹650. He sets a stop-loss order at ₹470. The risk-reward ratio is calculated below:
Risk-Reward Ratio = ₹30 / ₹150 = 1:5
Pros of the risk-reward ratio:
Helps manage risk: This ratio helps investors manage risk by setting predefined levels for potential gain and potential loss.
Discipline: It helps traders in being disciplined in their strategies. As the levels to liquidate an investment are pre-defined, emotions do not come in the way of traders. Hence, they make rational decisions.
Consistency: If a certain level of risk-reward ratio starts working well for a trader, he can implement it across many trades, which will make his overall trading structured.
Cons of the risk-reward ratio:
Volatility can make it difficult to implement: When stock prices change rapidly, it may make it difficult to maintain a fixed risk-reward ratio. Eventually, it may require traders to adjust their risk-reward ratio, which can be cumbersome.
Premature closure of positions: Strictly following a risk-reward ratio may result in a trader prematurely closing a position when it still has a potential for further returns. This is because the stock market may not follow the levels of risk and reward already set by a risk-reward ratio.
Stop-loss and take-profit levels are extremely important in determining the risk-reward ratio. The stop-loss order tells you the maximum acceptable loss on a position. However, the take-profit level tells you the level at which you will be keen to earn profits.
Once you have set the stop-loss order and the take-profit order, you can calculate the potential risk (the difference between the stop-loss level and the entry point) and the potential reward (the difference between the take-profit level and the entry point).
If you want to make informed trading decisions with the risk-reward ratio, you need to follow these steps:
Make an investment strategy: You should curate an investment strategy based on the risk-reward ratio you are comfortable with. Typically, a risk-reward ratio of 1:3 is advisable. This means that for every rupee that you may lose, you may gain three rupees.
Set the stop-loss and take-profit levels: You need to set the stop-loss and take-profit levels based on the risk-reward ratio you are comfortable with.
Be flexible about the risk-reward ratio: The stock market often shows more volatility than we expect. If the volatility is extremely high, you should be willing to adjust your risk-reward ratio. That said, before setting a stop-loss order, you should ask yourself whether you are comfortable incurring a certain level of loss.
If you are starting to trade in the Indian stock market, you should learn how to use the risk-reward ratio. As discussed earlier, this ratio incorporates both the probable risk and potential return of an investment. Hence, it is a more holistic metric than other indicators, which are based only on return or loss.
That said, while using the risk-reward ratio, you must keep both its pros and cons into consideration. Moreover, you should not be rigid about it. You should keep on tracking the stock market and be willing to adjust your risk-reward ratio based on conditions.
Disclaimer: Investments in the securities market are subject to market risk, read all related documents carefully before investing.
This content is for educational purposes only. Securities quoted are exemplary and not recommendatory.
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This ratio compares the potential risk of an investment with its potential reward and helps investors decide whether they should make an investment or not.
You should divide the potential risk of an investment by its potential reward to calculate the risk-reward ratio.
You need to input the value of potential loss and potential gain from an investment into a calculator to estimate the risk-reward ratio. Potential loss is the difference between the stop-loss level and the entry point of an investment. Potential reward is the difference between the take-profit level and the entry point of an investment.
If the potential loss from an investment is greater than the potential gain, then the risk-reward ratio can be higher than 1.
This ratio captures both the risk and reward of an investment. It helps traders realise whether they should be making an investment or not. Hence, it is important.
A risk-reward ratio of 1:1 means that the potential risk and potential reward from an investment are exactly the same.
To improve your risk-reward ratio, you need to improve your technical and fundamental skills to analyse the stock market. With better skills, you will be able to initiate trades that will provide you with a higher reward for every rupee of risk you take, thereby improving your risk-reward ratio.
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