Resources • Self-check
Investor Risk Self-Check
Eight quick questions about how you feel about ups and downs, and how much room your timeline and savings give you. A starting point for learning, not advice.
8 questions • about 3 minutes
How much investment risk fits you?
Think about one pot of money you invest or plan to invest, such as retirement savings. Answer for that money only. There are no right or wrong answers.
- Questions 1–4: your comfort with risk (risk tolerance): how you feel and what you would likely do when markets move.
- Questions 5–8: your room for risk (risk capacity): your timeline, big withdrawals and emergency cushion.
How it works
Two scores, one result
Risk tolerance is how comfortable you are with ups and downs, and how you would likely behave when they happen. Risk capacity is how much risk your situation can actually absorb: when you need the money, whether a big withdrawal is coming, and whether you have cash for emergencies.
Each answer is worth 1 point (A, the most cautious choice) up to 5 points (E). Questions 1–4 add up to your comfort score and questions 5–8 to your capacity score. Each score runs from 4 to 20 and points to a level:
| Score (4–20) | Level |
|---|---|
| 4–6 | Conservative |
| 7–9 | Moderately Conservative |
| 10–14 | Moderate |
| 15–17 | Moderately Aggressive |
| 18–20 | Aggressive |
Your result is the lower of the two levels. In plain words: if you are comfortable with big swings but you need the money soon or have no cash cushion, your situation sets the limit. And if your situation could handle more risk but big drops would keep you up at night, your comfort sets the limit, because a plan you cannot stick with in a downturn is not much of a plan.
Three safety rules for capacity. If you expect to start using the money within 2 years, your capacity level is capped at Moderately Conservative. If a big one-time withdrawal is almost certain within 2 years, or your cash would cover less than a month of bills, your capacity level is capped at Moderate.
See all 8 questions and answer choices
When you picture this money a few years from now, which sentence sounds most like you?
- A. Keeping every dollar safe matters most, even if it barely grows.
- B. I want it mostly steady, with a little growth.
- C. I want a balance of growth and stability.
- D. I want mostly growth, and I can live with bigger swings.
- E. I want the most long-term growth possible. Big swings are part of the deal.
Say you invest a hypothetical $10,000 today. Which range of possible values one year from now would you be most comfortable with?
Hypothetical ranges for illustration only; they do not represent any real investment, and real results can fall outside any range. In the bars, red shows the possible loss and navy the possible gain. A wider range means a bigger possible loss and a bigger possible gain.
- A. $9,700 to $10,500 (From −$300 to +$500 (−3% to +5%))
- B. $9,300 to $11,000 (From −$700 to +$1,000 (−7% to +10%))
- C. $8,800 to $11,600 (From −$1,200 to +$1,600 (−12% to +16%))
- D. $8,000 to $12,500 (From −$2,000 to +$2,500 (−20% to +25%))
- E. $6,800 to $13,800 (From −$3,200 to +$3,800 (−32% to +38%))
Over six weeks of gloomy headlines, your $50,000 of investments falls to $37,500 (down 25%). What would you most likely do?
- A. Sell everything and move to cash so it can’t fall any further.
- B. Sell some to limit how much more I could lose.
- C. Hold on and wait for things to settle.
- D. Hold on and keep my regular contributions going.
- E. Add extra money while prices are lower.
Looking back a year from now, which would bother you more?
- A. Losing money, by far.
- B. Losing money, mostly.
- C. Both would bother me about the same.
- D. Missing out on growth, mostly.
- E. Missing out on growth, by far.
When do you expect to start using a meaningful part of this money?
- A. Within 2 years
- B. In 2 to 4 years
- C. In 5 to 9 years
- D. In 10 to 19 years
- E. In 20 years or more
Once you start using it, over how many years do you expect to spread the withdrawals?
- A. All at once, or within 1 year
- B. Over 2 to 4 years
- C. Over 5 to 9 years
- D. Over 10 to 19 years
- E. Over 20 years or more, or I may never spend all of it
In the next 5 years, could you need to pull out a big chunk (about a fifth or more) of this money at once, for something like a home, tuition or a business?
- A. Yes, almost certainly within 2 years
- B. Yes, probably in 2 to 5 years
- C. Maybe, I’m not sure
- D. Unlikely
- E. No
If your paycheck stopped tomorrow, how long could cash savings (not retirement accounts) cover your essential bills?
- A. Less than 1 month
- B. 1 to 2 months
- C. 3 to 5 months
- D. 6 to 11 months
- E. 12 months or more
The results
The five levels
Each level comes with a general example of how investor-education materials often describe a mix of stocks versus bonds and cash. These are broad illustrations, not recommendations.
Conservative
Protecting what you have comes first. You would rather see slow, steady progress than ride big ups and downs, or your timeline or cash cushion leaves little room for a large drop.
General example mix: roughly 10–30% stocks, the rest in bonds and cash.
Moderately Conservative
Stability matters most, but you are open to some growth. You can accept small dips if the overall ride stays fairly smooth.
General example mix: roughly 30–45% stocks, the rest in bonds and cash.
Moderate
You want a balance. You accept regular ups and downs in exchange for the chance of more growth over time, while keeping a meaningful cushion of steadier investments.
General example mix: roughly 45–65% stocks, the rest in bonds and cash.
Moderately Aggressive
Growth is your main goal and you have time on your side. You can stay invested through sizable drops, though you still want some steadier money in the mix.
General example mix: roughly 65–80% stocks, the rest in bonds and cash.
Aggressive
You are aiming for the most long-term growth and are comfortable with large, sometimes long, declines along the way. You have a long timeline and a solid cash cushion.
General example mix: roughly 80–100% stocks, with little or nothing in bonds and cash.
Disclosure
Educational only. This self-check is a simplified, general starting point for learning about investment risk. It is not financial, investment, tax or legal advice, and it is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any investment or to use any particular mix. It does not know your full situation, such as your goals, debts, taxes, income, health or other accounts. Your result depends only on your answers today, and risk tolerance changes with life events, markets and time, so revisit it at least once a year or after a big life change. The example mixes are broad illustrations commonly used in investor education, not recommendations, and do not represent any actual investment or its results. All investing involves risk, including the possible loss of money you invest. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Before making decisions, consider talking with a qualified financial professional who acts as a fiduciary, meaning they are required to act in your best interest.
To learn how to check a professional’s background, see Investor.gov: Working with an investment professional and FINRA BrokerCheck. For a general explanation of mixing investments, see Investor.gov: Asset allocation.
Privacy: Your answers stay in your browser. Nothing is collected, saved or sent anywhere, and refreshing the page clears them. There are no forms on this page, and the self-check does not use cookies or storage.
This is an original GRIP educational self-check. Draft, October 2026. See also our Disclosures, Privacy & Terms.