Know your risk.

Hello! I am Professor Glyn Holton. My research field is the mathematics and foundations of risk. This website is about that research.

If you are looking for something specific, it is likely one of these:

My landmark paper Defining Risk;
My book on value-at-risk—the second edition is free online;
Exercise solutions for my book;
My blog on financial risk management.

I continue to accept a limited number of consulting engagements. These generally relate to high-level risk management strategy, addressing organizational issues related to risk management, or risk measure analytics. Please contact me, if you have a need.

People involved in financial risk management know of me. I worked in the industry full-time for many years before switching to academia. I teach in the Department of Applied Mathematics at Wentworth Institute. I also tutor mathematics to promising young students. My risk-related research continues.

Popular Blog Articles

Transform Your Risk Report by Adding Qualitative Information.

A lot of people who receive your risk report never read it. Here is a simple fix: Add narrative, qualitative information. Years ago, a client asked me to attend his firm's corporate board meeting. I got a front row seat for how one closely-held corporation's CEO...

How to Calculate Value-at-Risk – Step by Step

The power of value-at-risk lies in its generality. Unlike market risk metrics such as the Greeks, duration or beta, which are applicable to only certain asset categories or certain sources of market risk, value-at-risk is general. It is based on the probability...

How To Start A New Risk Management Job

You finally did it! You landed that senior risk management position at a fabulous firm. The job search took a while, and the vetting was intense. But you made the cut. They chose you! A bigger challenge is yet to come. Starting a new job is exciting. It can also be a...

A Revelation

I have written about it before, and I am sure I will write about it again. ... how financial risks that devastate firms aren’t random occurrences, as if the gods on Olympus toss dice to determine a company’s fate. No. There are causes. And these are usually traceable...

Is Risk Management a Job or a Career?

There are few life decisions as consequential as your choice of career. Get it wrong, and you're in for a world of discontent. Perhaps you currently have a risk management position and are wondering if you can make it a career. Or maybe you are just starting out and...

Fooled By Black Swans

Imagine you are presenting to the board about risk management. The presentation is going well, and you are about to finish up when a board member stirs. He hasn't said a word the entire meeting, so this is his chance to look smart. He asks "What are you guys doing...

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Very impressed with the insights that Glyn has in math and behavioral aspects linked to risk management. Glyn has a special skill of simplifying complex math concepts for practical implementation. He is truly a Guru of Risk Managment. Rajeev Kadam

President - Global Head - Internal Compliance, Olam International Ltd.

Must Read!

My landmark paper Defining Risk has been cited over 700 times. Have you read it?

Read Now

The Definitive Book on
Value-at-Risk

Yes, I wrote it, and I distribute the latest edition free online. The book provides an in-depth discussion of value-at-risk, its history, how it is used, mathematics, implementation and validation. There are over 160 exercises you can practice on, with solutions provided right on this website.

Start Reading

The Definitive
Book on
Value-at-Risk

Yes, I wrote it, and I distribute the latest edition free online. The book provides an in-depth discussion of value-at-risk, its history, how it is used, mathematics, implementation and validatuion. There are over 160 exercises you can practice on, with solutions provided right on this website here.