Calling all standard deviates

[oldcrowcall]

When I ER's I determined my risk profile. My current portfolio has a standard deviation of just north of 10. Now that I have been retired a few years I am more risk averse. I understand standard deviation equates to volatility/risk. Is 10-11 average? I like the Vanguard Star Fund and the Life Strategy both of which is under 8 I think. How real is this standard deviation stuff?

[charlie]

If I remember right, one standard deviation means
that 2/3 of the time the deviation from the mean
will be within the stated value. I.E. if the mean
return of a fund is 11% with a std deviation of 8%,
then 2/3 of the time the annual return will be within
3% to 19%. Lots of samples are better than just a
few.

Cheers,

Charlie