Risk Assessment Questionnaire

Risk Assessment Questionnaire (5-Tier Scoring)

Thank you for accepting our invitation to take this brief, 13-question risk assessment questionnaire!

Created by two university finance professors in 1999 (John E. Grable of Kansas State U. & Ruth H. Lytton of Virginia Tech), this lauded questionnaire has continued to be a key resource in helping advisors tailor investment strategies to their clients’ stated preferences. 

With the personal responses you’ll provide here, our team will be greatly aided in the effort to cater to your goals with precision.

We look forward to discussing this with you soon!

Name
Name
First
Last
Address
Address
City
State/Province
Zip/Postal
1) In general, how would your best friend describe you as a risk taker?
2) You are on a TV game show and can choose one of the following. Which would you take?
3) You have just finished saving for a "once-in-a-lifetime" vacation. Three weeks before you plan to leave, you lose your job. You would:
4) If you unexpectedly received $20,000 to invest, what would you do?
5) In terms of experience, how comfortable are you investing in stocks or stock mutual funds?
6) When you think of the word "risk" which of the following words comes to mind first?
7) Some experts are predicting prices of assets such as gold, jewels, collectibles, and real estate (hard assets) to increase in value; bond prices may fall, however, experts tend to agree that government bonds are relatively safe. Most of your investment assets are now in high interest government bonds. What would you do?
8) Given the best and worst case returns of the four investment choices below, which would you prefer?
9) In addition to whatever you own, you have been given $1,000. You are now asked to choose between:
10) In addition to whatever you own, you have been given $2,000. You are now asked to choose between:
11) Suppose a relative left you an inheritance of $100,000, stipulating in the will that you invest ALL the money in ONE of the following choices. Which one would you select?
12) If you had to invest $20,000, which of the following investment choices would you find most appealing?
13) Your trusted friend and neighbor, an experienced geologist, is putting together a group of investors to fund an exploratory gold mining venture. The venture could pay back 50 to 100 times the investment if successful. If the mine is a bust, the entire investment is worthless. Your friend estimates the chances of success is only 20%. If you had the money, how much would you invest?"

Developed by two university personal finance professors, Dr. Ruth Lytton at Virginia Tech and Dr. John Grable at Kansas State University.

Source: Grable, J.E., & Lytton, R.H. (1999). Financial risk tolerance revisited: The development of a risk assessment instrument. Financial Services Review, 8, 163-181. NDSU

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