Risk Parity
Portfolio construction where each asset contributes equally to total risk.
Risk parity allocates capital so each asset class contributes equally to portfolio risk, not equally by dollar amount. Traditional 60/40 (stocks/bonds) is dominated by equity risk (stocks are 3x more volatile). Risk parity might be 30% stocks / 70% bonds, using leverage on bonds to equalize risk contributions. Calculation: Allocate weights such that w_i × σ_i × ρ_i,p = constant for all assets. Example: If stocks have 15% vol and bonds have 5% vol, you'd hold 3x more bonds by weight to equalize risk. Benefit: Better diversification — no single asset dominates risk. Popularized by: Bridgewater's All Weather Fund. Criticism: Requires leverage, performs poorly when all assets decline together (2022: stocks and bonds both down).
Efficient Frontier
The set of portfolios offering the highest return for each level of risk.
Sharpe Ratio
Risk-adjusted return: excess return divided by volatility.
Covariance Matrix
Captures how asset returns move together — the foundation of diversification.
Portfolio Volatility
Standard deviation of portfolio returns — total risk including diversification effects.
Minimum Variance Portfolio
The portfolio with the lowest possible volatility.
Maximum Sharpe Portfolio
The portfolio with the highest risk-adjusted return.