Upside risk

In investing, upside risk is the uncertain possibility of gain. It is measured by upside beta. An alternative measure of upside risk is the upper semi-deviation. Upside risk is calculated using data only from days when the benchmark (for example S&P 500 Index) has gone up. Upside risk focuses on uncertain positive returns rather than negative returns. For this reason, upside risk, while a measure of unpredictability of the extent of gains, is not a “risk” in the sense of a possibility of adverse outcomes.