Before You Buy Independence Group NL (ASX:IGO), Consider Its Volatility

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If you own shares in Independence Group NL (ASX:IGO) then it's worth thinking about how it contributes to the volatility of your portfolio, overall. In finance, Beta is a measure of volatility. Modern finance theory considers volatility to be a measure of risk, and there are two main types of price volatility. First, we have company specific volatility, which is the price gyrations of an individual stock. Holding at least 8 stocks can reduce this kind of risk across a portfolio. The second type is the broader market volatility, which you cannot diversify away, since it arises from macroeconomic factors which directly affects all the stocks on the market.

Some stocks mimic the volatility of the market quite closely, while others demonstrate muted, exagerrated or uncorrelated price movements. Beta can be a useful tool to understand how much a stock is influenced by market risk (volatility). However, Warren Buffett said 'volatility is far from synonymous with risk' in his 2014 letter to investors. So, while useful, beta is not the only metric to consider. To use beta as an investor, you must first understand that the overall market has a beta of one. Any stock with a beta of greater than one is considered more volatile than the market, while those with a beta below one are either less volatile or poorly correlated with the market.

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Check out our latest analysis for Independence Group

What we can learn from IGO's beta value

Zooming in on Independence Group, we see it has a five year beta of 1.46. This is above 1, so historically its share price has been influenced by the broader volatility of the stock market. If this beta value holds true in the future, Independence Group shares are likely to rise more than the market when the market is going up, but fall faster when the market is going down. Share price volatility is well worth considering, but most long term investors consider the history of revenue and earnings growth to be more important. Take a look at how Independence Group fares in that regard, below.

ASX:IGO Income Statement, May 23rd 2019
ASX:IGO Income Statement, May 23rd 2019

How does IGO's size impact its beta?

Independence Group is a small company, but not tiny and little known. It has a market capitalisation of AU$2.9b, which means it would be on the radar of intstitutional investors. It's not particularly surprising that it has a higher beta than the overall market. That's because it takes less money to influence the share price of a smaller company, than a bigger company.