Standard deviation is a metric that shows the variability of a security’s returns over time. It can be used to gauge volatility based on past performance and compare a future return to past returns.

Somewhere back in your middle school and high school math classes, you no doubt learned about the mean and standard deviation as fairly fundamental concepts in arithmetic and statistics. You also knew ...

Stay updated with the latest breaking news, live updates, photos, videos and top trending stories from India and around the world across politics, economy, sports and more on The Economic Times.

Daniel Jassy, CFA, is an Investopedia Academy instructor and the founder of SPYderCRusher Research. He contributes to Excel and Algorithmic Trading. David Kindness is a Certified Public Accountant ...