Q & A Database

The GIPS Standards Q&A database contains questions and answers (Q&As) on various searchable topics that provide additional interpretation on an issue. Q&As are considered to be authoritative guidance and must be followed in order to claim compliance with the GIPS standards.

Content from prior Q&As was included in the GIPS Standards Handbook as much as possible and many Q&As were archived. Change the Status drop-down filter to "Archived" to see the archived Q&As.

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Archived

Effective: 1 June, 2005 - 31 December, 2013

Categories: Dispersion

Source: Investment Performance Council (IPC)

Please clarify how to calculate the required internal dispersion measure.

The internal dispersion is a measure of the variability of portfolio-level returns for only those portfolios that are included in the composite for the full year. First, the firm must identify which portfolios were in the composite for the full year. Second, the firm must calculate the annual return for each of the portfolios that were included in the composite for the full year. The internal dispersion measure is then calculated using these portfolio-level annual returns. The specific measure of dispersion presented is a required disclosure. If the firm has less than five portfolios in a composite, a measure of dispersion is not required.

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