A portfolio's 1-day VaR at the 99% confidence level is $250m. What is the annual volatility of the portfolio?
(assuming 250 days in the year)
Correct Answer: B
Explanation
This is easy to calculate as follows: At the 99% confidence level, the VaR=2.326 * Std Deviation (remember the z values at the 95% and 99% levels, the PRMIA exam may not give you these values). Thus the 1-day standard deviation is $250m/2.326, and the 250-day standard deviation is 250 * ($250m/2.326) = $1,699.4m.
Remember: if you know the VaR, you know the standard deviation. Once you know the standard deviation for any period of time, you can convert it into standard deviation for another period using the square root of time rule. You can also calculate the VaR at a different confidence level too.