their funds to others. Such providers are usually rational and prudent preferring safety over risk. They naturally require an extra reward as an incentive to place their capital in a riskier investment instead of a safer one. If an investment's risk increases, capital providers demand higher returns or they will place their capital elsewhere. Knowing a firm's cost of capital is needed in order to make better decisions. Managers make capital budgeting decisions while capital providers make decisions about lending and investment. Such decisions can be made after quantitative analysis that typically uses a firm's cost of capital as a model input. See also Cost of capital Depreciation Return on equity Weighted average cost of capital Further reading Costs Shareholders