Ex-Post Risk is a way to measure how risky an investment was by looking at what actually happened in the past. Think of it like checking your car's gas mileage after a road trip, rather than guessing beforehand. Investment professionals use this to understand how much an investment's value went up and down over time. It's different from Ex-Ante Risk, which tries to predict future risk. When you see this term in resumes, it usually means the person has experience analyzing investment performance and can explain to clients how risky their investments have been.
Conducted Ex-Post Risk analysis for client portfolios worth over $500M
Developed monthly Ex-Post Risk reports for institutional investors
Created automated Ex-Post Risk measurement tools for portfolio management team
Typical job title: "Risk Analysts"
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Q: How would you explain ex-post risk analysis results to a non-technical client?
Expected Answer: Should demonstrate ability to translate complex risk metrics into simple terms, using real-world analogies and clear visual representations to help clients understand past portfolio performance.
Q: How do you combine ex-post risk analysis with other risk measures to make investment decisions?
Expected Answer: Should explain how historical risk analysis fits into broader risk management strategy, including how past performance data helps inform future investment choices while acknowledging its limitations.
Q: What tools do you use to calculate ex-post risk metrics?
Expected Answer: Should be familiar with common financial software and basic statistical tools used for calculating historical volatility, returns, and risk measures. May mention Bloomberg, Excel, or other analysis platforms.
Q: What are the key differences between ex-post and ex-ante risk measures?
Expected Answer: Should explain that ex-post looks at actual historical performance while ex-ante tries to predict future risk, and discuss when each is more appropriate to use.
Q: What is ex-post risk and why is it important?
Expected Answer: Should be able to explain that ex-post risk measures actual historical volatility and risk of investments, helping understand how investments performed in the past.
Q: What are the basic components of an ex-post risk report?
Expected Answer: Should mention key elements like historical returns, volatility measures, performance metrics, and be able to explain what these mean in simple terms.