BETA

Beta. No, we are not talking about fraternities, vitamins or brain waves in this section. Here, beta is a measurement of relative market risk, also called volatility. Stocks are volatile by nature. There is always the possibility that a stock will lose some of its value and that the investor will lose money. But volatility also makes it possible for investors to make a great deal of money -- if they make the right choices. Investors can use beta to compare a stock's market risk to that of other stocks. In this tutorial, you will learn:

What Is Beta? The Importance of Beta for Investors Where to Find Betas Use Beta to Measure Risk

Let us begin by taking a closer look at beta. What is beta, anyway?