CFA CFA Level 1 Level 1 Question on Volatility and Annualized STD

Level 1 Question on Volatility and Annualized STD

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    • Avatar of CFAismy1GoalCFAismy1Goal
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        • CFA Level 1
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        Hey Guys – I’m working on a Level 1 question regarding volatility. Given is the 3-month annual spot rate for periods Jan-08 through Jan-10. The third column below is the percentage change from one period to the next that I’ve calculated. From this third column, I’ve calculated the standard deviation to be 30.38%. However, I need to annualize this value. I’ve done so by multiplying 30.38% by the square root of 4 since the spot rates are on a 3-month basis arriving at an annualized STD of 2.53%?

        Is my methodology correct on this?

        3-month annual spot rate (%)
        Jan-08    3%
        Apr-08    2.5%          -16.67%
        Jul-08    2%               -20.00%
        Oct-08    3%               50.00%
        Jan-09   4%               33.33%
        Apr-09   5%               25.00%
        Jul-09   4%                -20.00%
        Oct-09   4.5%            12.50%
        Jan-10   3%                -33.33%

        STD =       30.38%
        Annualized STD =        2.53%

         

        Thank you for your help!

         

      • Avatar of Zee TanZee Tan
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          I’m not sure if I follow how you get 2.53% by multiplying 30.38% by √4.

          30.38% × √4 = 30.38% × 2 = 60.76%

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