Valuation Risk

Valuation Risk is the financial risk that an asset is overvalued and is worth less than expected when it matures or is sold. Factors contributing to valuation risk can include incomplete data, market instability, financial modeling uncertainties and poor data analysis by the people responsible for determining the value of the asset. This risk can be a concern for investors, lenders, financial regulators and other people involved in the financial markets. Overvalued assets can create losses for their owners and lead to reputational risks; potentially impacting credit ratings, funding costs and the management structures of financial institutions.

Valuation risks concern each stage of the transaction processing and investment management chain. From front office, to back office, distribution, asset management, private wealth and advisory services. This is particularly true for assets that have low liquidity and are not easily tradable in public exchanges. Moreover, issues associated with valuation risks go beyond the firm itself. With straight through processing and algorithmic trading, data and valuations must remain synchronized among the participants of the trade processing chain. The executing venue, prime brokers, custodian banks, fund administrators, transfer agents and audit share files electronically and try to automate such processes, raising potential risks related to data management and valuations.

To mitigate this risk it is important to provide transparency and ensure the integrity and consistency of the data, models and processes used to process and report calculations within valuations for all participants.