Abstract
This article describes a single financial
ratio (“Optimized Directional Risk Ratio”) which reflects both an instrument’s
downside risk as well as its overall return. By using the ODRR, investors and
fund managers can more readily and precisely perceive which combinations of
financial instruments, and in which proportions, stand to maximize returns
while minimizing the investor’s risk. The ODRR can be calculated for any given
time period of two months or more where there is at least one month with an
observed positive return for a financial instrument, and one or more months of
negative returns. Two-year, three-year, and five-year timeframes are logical
time periods for calculation of the ODRR.
JEL classification numbers: G110.
Keywords: Risk measurement, Portfolio
risk, Risk/reward, Optimized Directional Risk Ratio, Sharpe Ratio, Holmes Ratio.