Morningstar Risk is an assessment of the variations in a fund's monthly returns, with an emphasis on downward variation. It is calculated as the difference between Morningstar Return (adjusted for loads and excess over the risk-free rate) and Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return (adjusted for loads, excess over risk-free rate, and risk). It is similar to (and correlated with) standard deviation; the key difference is that standard deviation gives the same weight to upside and downside variation. Morningstar Risk is displayed in decimal format and is calculated only for those investments with at least three years of performance history. A high number indicates higher risk and low numbers indicate lower risk.