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Bull-Bear Asymmetry

The ratio of expected upside in the bull case to expected downside in the bear case, expressed in the same currency (dollars per share or percentage return). A 3:1 asymmetry (50% up / 17% down) is the rough bar most disciplined value investors require before sizing meaningfully; a 1:1 asymmetry is structurally a coin-flip trade regardless of how the headline upside is described. The asymmetry calculation forces both sides of the trade to be committed in the same units, eliminating the most common pathology where memos describe upside in dollars and downside in adjectives.

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Related terms

Ambiguity Aversion · Anchored Assumption · Asset Beta · Bank ROE Spread · Banker Pitch Deck · Beta

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