For each of the simulated sampling strategies and for each value of n, 1000 simulations were executed, yielding a distribution of the relative errors as a function of the number of sampling periods. Subsequently, the average (μ) and the standard deviation (σ) of this distribution were calculated for each value of n. 95% confidence interval around the mean for ε are given by μ − 2σ and μ + 2σ. The confidence intervals of the relative error are a measure of the precision of the simulated sampling strategy, while the average of the relative error represents the accuracy of the estimate.