Market Risk Checklist
Quarterly market risk review run by the CIO and risk officer at an RIA or wealth firm. Identifies exposures across model portfolios, measures them against VaR and stress thresholds, and documents mitigation decisions for the investment committee.
Risk Identification
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Catalog exposures across model portfolios
Pull current allocations from Black Diamond or Orion for each model — conservative through aggressive growth. List equity beta, duration, credit spread, FX, and concentration exposures by sleeve. Flag any model with single-position weight above the 5% concentration limit.
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Review macro and rate environment shifts
Pull the FOMC dot plot, Treasury curve shape, breakeven inflation, and high-yield OAS from YCharts or Bloomberg Terminal. Note any inversion, credit spread widening above 500 bps, or VIX print above 25 — each triggers a separate stress scenario downstream.
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Flag illiquid and alternative holdings
List non-traded REITs, interval funds, private credit, BDCs, and structured notes by client and dollar exposure. These hit liquidity coverage differently than the daily-liquid sleeve and need separate redemption-gate notes.
Cross-check against the firm's alternatives allocation cap (typically 15-20% of investable assets for accredited clients).
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Consult the CIO on emerging risks
Walk through the identified exposures with the CIO. Capture any judgment calls — sector rotation views, duration tilts, currency hedging stance — that won't show up in the quantitative output but should drive the recommendation memo.
Risk Measurement
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Calculate 1-day and 10-day VaR per model
Run parametric and historical VaR at 95% and 99% confidence for each model portfolio. Use the rolling 3-year window; document the lookback period and confidence level on the output so the committee can compare quarter over quarter.
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Run the standard stress scenarios
Apply the firm's four standard shocks: 2008 GFC, 2020 COVID drawdown, 1994 rate spike, and the in-house tail scenario (equity -30%, rates +200 bps, credit spread +400 bps). Tag any model where projected drawdown exceeds the stated max-loss tolerance.
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Score risk metrics against committee limits
Compare each model's VaR, beta, duration, and stress-loss against the limits in the IPS. Common gotcha: aggressive growth model has drifted above its 1.2 beta cap after a strong equity quarter and now needs trimming.
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Recalibrate models if methodology stale
Annual methodology review — confirm correlation matrices, volatility inputs, and factor loadings are current. If the last recalibration was more than 12 months ago, schedule a full backtest before the next quarter's run.
Risk Monitoring
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Confirm drift alerts are firing in Tamarac
Verify the rebalancer is set to alert on 5% absolute or 20% relative drift per asset class. Pull a sample of three accounts from each model and confirm the alert log shows expected triggers from the last 90 days.
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Reconcile risk dashboard with custodian data
Tie the Riskalyze / Nitrogen dashboard positions back to the Schwab or Fidelity statement totals. Breaks over $1,000 per account get a same-day investigation — usually a missed corporate action or a pending ACATS in-flight.
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Brief senior advisors on watchlist names
Walk advisors through any single-position watchlist names — concentrated low-basis stock, recently downgraded credit, or alts approaching a redemption window. Advisors flag any client conversations needed before the next quarterly review.
Risk Mitigation
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Draft rebalance and hedge recommendations
For each breaching model, propose a specific action: trim equity sleeve to bring beta inside the cap, shorten duration via the short-Treasury sleeve, or layer a put-spread overlay on concentrated positions. Document the Reg BI rationale for each recommendation.
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Cross-check trades for tax and wash-sale impact
Before any model-level trim hits taxable accounts, run the proposed sales through Holistiplan or the cost-basis report. Short-term gains and 30-day wash-sale windows are the two most common reasons a sound rebalance creates a client-service problem next April.
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Capture investment committee approval
Present the memo to the IC. Vote is recorded in the minutes; any dissenting view captured by name. The CIO signs off before any cross-book trade is released to the trading desk.
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Risk Reporting
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Assemble the quarterly risk packet
One PDF: executive summary, VaR table, stress results, IPS limit dashboard, watchlist, and the IC-approved mitigation actions. Use the firm template — regulators expect consistent format quarter to quarter.
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Deliver the report to the CCO
CCO reviews for any disclosure implications — material changes that may trigger a Form ADV Part 2A amendment or an updated client-facing risk disclosure. File the packet in the compliance books-and-records archive per Rule 204-2.
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Archive supporting workpapers
Drop the VaR run, stress output, IC minutes, and signed memo into NetDocuments under the quarter's folder. Five-year retention; the SEC examiner who asks for last cycle's workpapers will not accept a verbal answer.
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