Correlation Risk
The hidden risk of holding several positions that tend to move together.
Also called: correlated positions · concentration risk
In plain language
Two trades are only genuinely separate if they can lose independently. Three long tech stocks are, in practice, one large bet on tech.
Correlation also rises exactly when it hurts. Assets that behave independently in calm markets often move as one during a sell-off.
It shows up in less obvious places too: currency pairs sharing a base currency, commodity producers tied to the same underlying price, and crypto assets that follow bitcoin.
Why it matters
Correlation quietly multiplies your real risk per trade. Four correlated 1% positions can behave like a single 4% one.
Common mistakes
- Counting positions rather than independent risks.
- Assuming diversification across tickers means diversification across drivers.
- Relying on historical correlations that break down under stress.
Keep exploring
These concepts are connected. Understanding one usually makes the next one easier.
The combined risk of every open position, measured as a percentage of your account.
The set of rules that decides how much you can lose, before you think about what you can win.
The fixed share of your account you are willing to lose on any single trade.
The decline from an account’s peak value to its lowest point before a new peak.
An extended period of falling prices and generally negative sentiment.