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Determine Your Risk Tolerance
The following questions are designed to help you gauge your risk tolerance.

1.  

How many years will you invest before your money is needed to meet your financial goal?

    Less than 3 Years
    3-5 Years
    5-10 Years
    10-15 Years
    More than 15 Years

2.  

Once you have reached that point in time, for how long will you be making withdrawals from your investment for the financial goal?

    I plan to take a one-time lump sum distribution
    1-5 Years
    5-10 Years
    10-15 Years
    More than 15 Years

3.  

Other secure assets that you own such as permanent cash value life insurance, pension, personal savings accounts, or other fixed interest assets form a substantial portion of your net worth.

    Strongly Agree
    Agree
    Neutral
    Disagree
    Strongly Disagree

4.  

Which of the following portfolio mixes best reflects your investment comfort level?

    Portfolio A — Significantly exceed inflation with higher risk
    Portfolio B — Moderately exceed inflation with moderate risk
    Portfolio C — Slightly exceed inflation with lower risk
    Portfolio D — Just keeping pace with inflation with little risk

5.  

Shown below are the potential performance returns of four hypothetical investment portfolios. Which investment portfolio would you be most comfortable owning?

                             Average Annual Return Worst Quarterly Return Not Annualized Worst Annual Return
Portfolio A 6% -5% 3%
Portfolio B 8% -7% -5%
Portfolio C 10% -12% -8%
Portfolio D 12% -20% -15%

6.  

How do you perceive your household's future income potential?

    Income will decrease
    Income will basically stay the same
    Income will grow slowly but steadily
    Income will increase rapidly

7.  

If you could increase your chances of improving your returns by taking on more risk, would you be willing to:

    Take a little risk with some of your money
    Take a little risk with all of your money
    Take a lot more risk with some of your money
    Take a lot of risk with all of your money

8.  

Generally, investments with the highest potential for gains also carry the greatest risk of loss. The table below displays four scenarios for various potential outcomes of $100,000 invested in four hypothetical portfolios over a five-year period. With which portfolio are you most comfortable?

   Best Case Worst Case
Portfolio A $275,000 $30,000
Portfolio B $225,000 $60,000
Portfolio C $175,000 $90,000
Portfolio D $125,000 $105,000

9.  

Your investment approach for this goal can best be described as:

    Stability of principal with little, if any, chance you will lose your original investment
    High income with some risk to achieve income needs
    Growth with income with moderate risk
    Capital appreciation with higher risk for long-term growth

10.  

What best describes your investment philosophy when you invest in the stock market?

    You have never invested in stocks or stock mutual funds
    Nervous — you usually sell when the market drops
    Uncomfortable — you sometimes overreact to market swings
    Patient but concerned — you usually take a "wait and see" attitude
    Unaffected by short-term market movement

11.  

What do you find to be the strongest motivator for purchasing bond investments?

    You have never owned bonds or bond mutual funds
    Safety of principal
    Income
    Predictability
    Diversification