You are considering an investment in either individual stocks or a portfolio of stocks. The two stocks you are researching, Stock A and Stock B$,$ have the following historical returns:

a$.$ Calculate the average rate of return for each stock during the $5-$year period. Do not round intermediate calculations. Round your answers to two decimal places.

Stock A: $,\%$

Stock B: $,\%$

calculations. Round your answers to two decimal places. Negative values, if any, should be indicated by a minus sign.

c$.$ Calculate the standard deviation of returns for each stock and for the portfolio. Do not round intermediate calculations. Round your answers to two decimal places.

d$.$ Suppose you are a risk$-$averse investor. Assuming Stocks A and B are your only choices, would you prefer to hold Stock A$,$ Stock B$,$ or the portfolio? Why?

A risk$-$averse investor should choose $-$ Select$-,$ since it offers $-$ Select$-$ expected return with $-$ Select$-$ risk.