basis risk

Basis Risk

The risk that offsetting investments in a hedging strategy will not experience price changes in entirely opposite directions from each other. This imperfect correlation between the two investments creates the potential for excess gains or losses in a hedging strategy, thus adding risk to the position.

Notes:

Offsetting vehicles are generally similar in structure to the investments being hedged, but they are still different enough to cause concern. For example, in the attempt to hedge against a two-year bond with the purchase of Treasury bill futures, there is a risk that the Treasury bill and the bond will not fluctuate identically.

See also: Correlation, Futures, Hedge, Offset, Portfolio, Risk, Treasury Bill

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Basis risk

Unexpected changes in the basis between the placing and the lifting of a hedge. Basis risk is in excess of convergence.

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basis risk

The possibility that a commodity contract's basis will move against the investor. For example, an investor may buy a spot contract and sell short a higher-priced futures contract on the same commodity in expectation of a narrowing of the basis but may find that the basis widens instead.