Investor Risk Profiling
How much Investment Risk are you comfortable taking?
ABOUT RISK TOLERANCE
We have adopted the Grable & Lytton risk profiling methodology to help uncover your underlying preferences, experiences, and comfort with financial risk – something most people don’t often reflect on. This profile serves as a valuable tool for both you and your financial adviser to make informed, personalised decisions.
Risk tolerance is a relatively stable part of your personality, shaped by both genetics and life experiences. While it tends to remain consistent over time, it can shift gradually with age or in response to significant life events. For this reason, we recommend reviewing your risk profile every two to three years, or sooner if your circumstances change.
The Grable & Lytton methodology uses psychometric principles – a blend of psychology and statistics – to provide a scientifically validated and reliable measure of your risk tolerance. Though the science behind the questionnaire is complex, the outcome is simple: a clear, evidence-based understanding of where you sit on the spectrum from conservative to growth-oriented investor.
UNDERSTANDING YOUR RISK TOLERANCE PROFILE
This questionnaire is designed to help you, and your financial adviser better understand your comfort level with financial risk. Your responses will generate a risk tolerance score that reflects how you typically think and feel about investment decisions involving uncertainty. This score is based on comparisons with a large sample of the adult population and helps identify your general risk profile.
Think of your risk tolerance profile like a financial “vital sign”- similar to a blood pressure reading. On its own, it doesn’t determine your financial strategy, but it provides valuable insight that helps guide important conversations about your goals, preferences, and the trade-offs between risk and return.
Your adviser will use this information to:
- Explain the risks associated with different financial decisions
- Explore how your preferences align with your long-term goals
- Recommend investment options that suit your comfort level and objectives
If any of your responses differ significantly from others in your risk group, these should be discussed with your financial professional. Any clarifications or adjustments to your profile should be documented and agreed upon by both you and your adviser to ensure a shared understanding of your risk preferences.
By answering the questions below, you will have a good idea about your attitude to risk and what investment sectors are best suited to you. Tick the most appropriate answer.
Client details
Client name(s) are required to calculate a result. The date appears on the printed summary.
Questionnaire
Result
Risk profile outcome
Score position on the 0–47 tolerance scale
Adviser use only Adviser name, comments & agreed outcome
If, after discussion, the questionnaire outcome is not the right fit, record the profile you have agreed and explain why in the adviser comments below. The score above does not change. The agreed profile appears on the printed summary.
Reference
The risk profile spectrum
Use this alongside the score to sense-check suitability — does the calculated profile still feel right against timeframe, capacity for loss, and the client's actual goals? Figures below are general, long-term indicative ranges for discussion only — see disclaimer.
Expected range of returns by profile
Single financial year, nominal return — long-term expected return (line) with the statistical range around it
| Profile | Expected return, p.a. | ±1 SD (~68% of years) | ±2 SD (~95% of years) | ±3 SD (~99.7% of years) |
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AFSL licensee
This questionnaire is issued in connection with financial services provided under the following Australian Financial Services Licence:
Symmetry Group Pty Ltd · ABN 46 159 449 368 · AFSL 426385
309 Hay Street, Subiaco WA 6008, Australia · PO Box 8104, Subiaco East WA 6008, Australia
Tel +61 8 6380 1400 · Email info@symmetrygroup.com.au
Purpose, privacy & important information
To provide appropriate advice we need an accurate understanding of your financial situation, goals, risk tolerance and personal circumstances. We rely on the accuracy of what you provide and cannot be responsible for outcomes based on incomplete or incorrect details — please keep us informed of any changes. This process supports our obligations under Corporations Law, and your personal information is handled in line with our privacy policy.
The Investor Risk Profile is not a financial product and is not a guarantee of future returns. Where a response differs significantly from the client's stated goals or circumstances, this should be discussed with your adviser, and any adjustment documented and agreed by both parties.
The growth/defensive splits, timeframes, expected returns and standard deviations shown above are general, indicative figures based on typical long-term asset-class conventions, assuming a normal distribution of annual returns. The single-year ranges are a statistical illustration of variability around the long-term expected return, not a forecast or a guarantee — actual returns in any given year, including the years used to inform these figures, can and do fall outside the ±3 SD range. These figures are illustrative only and do not represent the performance of any specific product or portfolio.
