Upside risk

In investing, upside risk is the uncertain possibility of gain. It is measured by upside beta. An alternative measure of upside risk is the upper semi-deviation. Upside risk is calculated using data only from days when the benchmark (for example S&P 500 Index) has gone up. Upside risk focuses on uncertain positive returns rather than negative returns. For this reason, upside risk is not a “risk” at all in the sense of a possibility of adverse outcomes. It is actually beneficial to investors, because it represents the element of beta that investors profit from. Therefore, higher upside risk is better than lower, and upside risk is preferable to downside risk.