Greengage, Inc., a successful nursery, is considering several expansion opportunities. All of the alternatives promise to produce an aceptable return. The owners are extremely risk-averse; therefore, they will cose the least risky of the alternatives. Data on four posible projects are as follows.

Project Expected Return Range Standard Deviation

A 12% .040 .029

B 12.5 .050 .032

C 13.0 .060 .035

D 12.8 .045 .030

1. Which alternative is least risky based on range?
2. Which alternative has the lowest standard deviation? Explain why standard deviation is not an appropriate measure of risk for purposes of this comparison.
3. Calculate the coefficient of variation for each alternative. What alternative will Greengages owners cose? Explain why this may be the best measure of risk for comparing this set of opportunities.