Glossary
Active risk
How much a fund's return has historically swung relative to its benchmark index, regardless of direction. Also called tracking error.
What it is
The swing against the index, not against zero
Active risk is calculated as the standard deviation of the difference between the fund's and the index's daily returns, annualized. It captures how much the fund deviates from the index in either direction, not whether the deviation has been for the better or the worse. Active risk near zero means the fund effectively tracks the index. High active risk means the fund's result can look very different from the index's, year to year.
- Active risk below 3 percent
- As a common rule of thumb, the fund is approaching a closet index fund, one that resembles its index despite an active fee.
- Active risk above 3 percent
- The fund is managed actively enough that its result can realistically differ from the index, in either direction.
- Active risk is not the same as active share
- Active risk measures the return's swings over time, active share measures the portfolio's composition at a given point in time. A fund can have high active share but still low active risk.
In practice
A measure the law requires, but rarely shows
Fund companies are required to disclose active risk in the annual report and the information brochure, and the figure must be made available on the company's website. The law sets no requirements on where or how accessibly the measure is shown, however, which means it often ends up buried in a quarterly document rather than on the fund's own page. Active risk also says nothing about whether the deviation from the index has been profitable, only that it has existed.
Amos Value's active risk versus SIXPRX in August 2026
6.3%*
* Based on the fund's history since inception (July 6, 2026), not the usual 12-month window. Can fluctuate more than a figure based on longer history.
“We follow our process slavishly. We will make mistakes, but not because we deviated.”
Common questions about active risk
Related concepts
Would you like to receive news and updates from us?
Note: our newsletter is currently in Swedish only.