What is value at risk (VaR)?

Value at risk (VaR) is a statistic that quantifies the extent of possible financial losses within a firm, portfolio, or position over a specific time frame. This metric is most commonly used by investment and commercial banks to determine the extent and probabilities of potential losses in their institutional portfolios.

How is value at risk calculated?

The value at risk to a position is calculated by assessing the amount of potential loss, the probability of the loss and the time frame during which it might occur. This is normally then presented as a percentage within a given timeframe. For example, it could be said that an asset has a 2% one-week VaR of 1%.

What is conditional value at risk?

Conditional value at risk (CVaR) — also known as expected shortfall, expected tail loss, or average value at risk — is an alternative risk measure to value at risk (VaR). VaR provides the worst remaining outcome after removing the tail of the distribution (that is, the unlikely results toward the end of the set of all possible outcomes).

What is 5% value at risk?

The 5% Value at Risk of a hypothetical profit-and-loss probability density function Value at risk ( VaR) is a measure of the risk of loss of investment/Capital. It estimates how much a set of investments might lose (with a given probability), given normal market conditions, in a set time period such as a day.