Why is the coefficient of variation often a better risk measure when comparing different projects than the standard deviation?
Whenever we wish to compare the risk of investments that have different means, we make use of the coefficient of variation (CV). The CV symbolizes the standard deviation's percentage of the mean. For the reason that the CV is a ratio, it adjusts for variations in means, while the standard deviation doesn't. Thus the CV supplies a standardized measure of the degree of risk that can be used to compare alternatives.