The Beta Coefficient is a concept taken from the popular Capital Asset Pricing Model that describes an individual asset's risk as compared to the overall market. It measures how much the particular asset moves in relation to a broader index.

If any asset has a beta coefficient of 1, it carries approximately the same volatility as the relevant market benchmark. Betas above 1 imply that the asset is more volatile, while those below 1 tell us that the security moves less than the overall market index.

For US assets, a particular stock's Beta Coefficient typically measures its volatility against the S&P 500 index. For example, if stock XYZ typically moves 5 percent for every 1 percent change in the S&P 500, it carries a beta coefficient of 5.