Risk and Monte Carlo simulation

This entry is part 1 of 6 in the series Monte Carlo Simulation

 

Risk, when does it occur? Whenever the outcome of a situation is not perfectly certain you have uncertainty or risk. Investment decisions taken under these circumstances involve a probability for an outcome that will differ from your estimated target. Decisions taken under uncertainty are a reality and a constraint manager’s face. In order to reduce the risk (probability of gain/loss) you have basically two ways of doing it, reduce the exposure or try to reduce the uncertainty by gathering more information.

Risk – randomness with knowable probabilities.

Uncertainty – randomness with unknowable probabilities.

The problem with information is very often the lack of it due to cost and time factors. A major point in this context is that uncertainty can be reduced but risk can be calculated.

We will illustrate this by describing a typical investment decision and look into the decisions and how they can be enhanced by taking advantage of calculating the risk by using Monte Carlo Simulation. This is a method especially developed to handle situations with uncertainty and to calculate the risk involved. The logic is fairly simple and the applications are numerous.

Most business concepts involve various proportions of income, costs and investments. We will in the following use the philosophy that every decisions shall be taken in order to maximize shareholder value, corporate competitiveness and customer satisfaction.

We have here split the decision process into various steps in order illustrate actually how easy it is to do it. By clicking on each theme you will see how we have given a flavor on how the problem can be solved.

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S@R develops models for support of decision making under uncertainty. Taking advantage of recognized financial and economic theory, we customize simulation models to fit specific industries, situations and needs.

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