how do i calculate the coefficient of variation 
to calculate the coefficient of variation first find the mean then the sum of squares and then work out the standard deviation with that information at hand it is possible to calculate the coefficient of variation by dividing the standard deviation by the mean 2the bottom linethe coefficient of variation is a simple way to compare the degree of variation from one data series to another it can be applied to pretty much anything including the process of picking suitable investments generally speaking a high cv indicates that the group is more variable whereas a low value would suggest the opposite 