Modified Duration - is the percentage price change of a fixed income instrument for a given change in the level of interest rates. Duration of 1 means that the price of a fixed income instrument is expected to change by 1% for every 100 basis point (1%) shift in the level of interest rates. The higher the duration of an instrument, the higher its risk (all other factors kept equal).

Interest rates have an inverse relationship with fixed income prices so that an increase in interest rates generally leads to a decrease in fixed income prices and vise versa.

Value-at-Risk (VaR) – is an estimate of the magnitude of loss that a portfolio can experience within a given period of time under certain probability assumptions, or confidence level. For example, a portfolio VaR of 5% within 1 day under a 99% confidence level means that there is 99% certainty that the maximum possible loss a portfolio can experience in 1 day is 5% of its value. Said in the reverse, portfolio losses greater than 5% of its value in 1 day are possible, but the probability of such occurrence is less than 1%.

VaR is often used as a risk measurement tool in portfolio management. The VaR of a portfolio varies depending on the kinds of assets put into the portfolio and their correlation to each other. Portfolios with lowly-correlated assets (i.e. diversified portfolio) tend to have a lower VaR than portfolios with highly-correlated assets. Examples of assets with a traditionally low correlation to each other are stocks and bonds – i.e. when stock prices increase, bond prices normally decrease and vise versa.

Confidence Level – is a statistical range with a specified probability that a given parameter lies within the range. It is a range constructed from sample data (i.e. past observations). A 99% confidence level gives 99% certainty that values would fall within the specified range.