1) Fundamental uncertainties: These include economic, political, and environmental factors that drive the need for any financial asset. For example, to buy insurance, an individual must first believe that they are at risk of suffering some loss. 2) Systematic risks: These include sector-wide uncertainties such as interest rates or inflation changes. For example, if interest rates fall by 1% tomorrow, all fixed income securities (such as bonds) will fall in value. 3) Firm-specific risks: These are specific to the issuer of the financial asset and can include political or legal changes, changes in the management of technological change. For example, individual CFOs may come and go, but CFOs at other firms will not usually affect the value of an organization's shares.