Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Problem Set
1. List the most common names in the investment management business. What type of portfolio
manager are they?
The idea is to identify the important aspects of the manager’s investment strategy, some
examples include:
Warren Buffet is president of Berkshire Hathaway, a publicly traded company that invests in
other companies, either wholly or in part, utilizing comprehensive valuation disciplines.
Bill Gross is manager of the largest publicly available bond fund at Pacific Investment
Management Company (PIMCO) and takes bets on interest rates, currencies, credits and
sectors.
Jim Slater became a successful column writer in the Sunday Telegraph, promoting balancing
earnings growth prospects with valuation. His stock picking career followed one in investment
banking.
2. List one manager for each type of portfolio manager listed in Exhibit 1.2.
3. Go online and list the top and worst performing mutual funds for the last 12 months. What
approach do they follow for managing money?
As of 12/31/09:
Top (unleveraged): JP Morgan Russia Fund actively invests primarily in Russian equity
securities and is highly concentrated.
Worst (leveraged): ProFunds Ultra Short Latin America is a portfolio taking a daily 2x
leveraged short position on Latin American securities.
For investing retirement savings, setting the equity allocation equal to 100 – age. While
this may lead to reasonable allocations for regular contributions, as we shall see in
Chapter 3, this is often incorrectly motivated.
Dollar cost averaging into an investment position. While seemingly reasonable advice,
as shown in Chapter 15, this is often motivated by behavioral factors and may not be
consistent with the theory.
If an investment program offers 10 investment options, diversify and invest 10% in each.
This isn’t good advice. Asset allocation (weight in stocks and bonds) should first be set
and individual options within asset classes selected second.
Seek to replace 70% of your pre-retirement salary. This may or may not be appropriate
dependent on one’s individual situation. It is very important to recognize that even if
70% is appropriate at retirement, this is in current dollars and the investor should plan
for inflation.
Save 10 times your final salary in your defined contribution plan. Again, this depends on
each individual—retirement age, life expectancy, level of defined benefit and social
security, etc. Clearly, more is better.
5. Consider the Jean case described in Section 1.1. Explore the following questions:
a. Based on the limited information, does she appear to be a sophisticated investor?
Jean appears somewhat sophisticated, given her asset allocation (high equity exposure), and
relatively high level of savings compared to the average retiree.
b. How much risk (consider one definition) is she willing to assume, both financially and
emotionally?
Assuming risk is measured as losing money, Jean appears to have the financial capacity, she
has modest spending habits and above average savings, and emotional capacity, she is
somewhat sophisticated; she has a part-time job which could take up some slack; all
supporting her capacity to handle short-term draw-downs.
She is retired, probably at least 65 years old, so her lifespan could be estimated as 30 years.
Given her modest spending pattern, she should have remaining assets to bequest at her
death. Calculating a target bequest would increase the minimum acceptable return and
potentially increase the target return.
If she’s interested in a bequest, the investment horizon will exceed 30 years if it
includes the horizon of the beneficiary
If she’s interested in gifting in the meantime, her current cash flow needs will
increase
Use of an annuity contract can provide minimum real cash flows, and potentially with an
inflation protection feature. However, there are some problems with this approach:
personally experienced inflation may be higher than general inflation and annuities
represent credit risk. Longer horizons before retirement make saving and investing easier
but make planning in post-retirement more complicated.
d. How should these things influence the recommended asset allocation and asset class selection?
As a result, her assets should be invested for more than current income needs, including risky
securities offering higher expected returns.
e. Propose a mix of stocks, bonds and cash for Jean. What’s a reasonable spending policy?
From where will the cash flow come?
Spending policy: $15,500 ($26,500 in expenses less the $11,000 in other income). This
represents a required return of 2.8% on the $540,000 in investable assets.
Tax rates should be low at her income level and we can assume 0.
Start with a simple 50/50 mix of stocks and bonds. Assuming expected real, after-tax returns
of 5% on stocks and a 2% return on bonds (see chapters 3 and beyond) would provide a
3.5% total expected real return, 0.7% in excess of the required return. The required return
would be earned in spite of a potential occurrence of a permanent 20% decline in expected
returns. As an alternative, the spending level could be increased by $3,400, on an expected
basis, without reducing the real value of the original principal. A lower equity allocation
would yield lower total returns, but would generate less volatile asset values over the short
term.
Current cash flow from a 77/23% equity/bond allocation is $12,000. At 2009-end levels of a
1.85% equity dividend yield on an S&P500 index ETF, net of fees and 3.75% bond yield on a
Fourthly, The generall saith, that the English fleete fled awaye,
and left their Oares for haste behind them in the Sea.
IT was strange that they shoulde leaue behinde them Oares in the Sea,
being there was not in the English fleete either Gally or This lie was made in
gallyasse, which required the vse of Oares, as for the the Generals owne
forge.
Oares of their ship-boates and other such small vessels,
they had stoed them aboarde their Shippes, and were no impediment vnto
them, but most necessarie for them to vse, and therfore not likely they
would cast them ouerboard: But it is most likely, that the Generall fell
into some pleasant dreame at Sea, wherein hee did see a false apparition
of victorie against the English, & for lacke of matter did set this downe
in his letter for newes to his countrie: It is sinne to belye A commendation of
the Deuill, and therefore the Generall shal haue his right, the Generall
the letter is so well contriued, (and yet with no great eloquence) but with
such art, that ther are not many more lines, then there are lyes, which
sheweth that there are wonderfull and extraordinarie gifts in the
Generall: But I am perswaded if Don Bernaldino had thought that his
letter should haue beene Printed, hee woulde haue omitted many thinges
contained in the letter, for the Doctor did vse him The Generall doth
somwhat hardly in shewing the letter openly, and more in practise to lye, for
recreation.
suffering it to be Printed: for friends may like good
fellowes send lyes one to the other for recreation, and feed their friends
with some small taste thereof, so it be kept close, without danger to
incurre the tytle of a lying Generall: But as the matter is now handled
throgh the simplycitie of the Doctor, I cannot see but the General Don
Bernaldino, is like to carrie the tytle equally twixt both his shoulders.
three of the last shot at them: Their Viceadmiral with success they had in
this fight.
diuers others of their Ships, were so beaten, that they left
off the fight, and were forced to lye in the winde, for that they durst not
lye of either board by reason of their many and great Leakes, which they
had receiued by our greate shot. The Generall with the rest of their fleete,
tacking about fell in our wake, thinking to get the winde, The English Admirall
which in the beginning we sought to hinder. But our carried his Creset
light, notwithstanding
General seeing that in holding the winde we should the enemie was vppon
his brode side.
shoote our selues into the Bay, gaue them the winde. All
that night they kept themselues vppon our broade side, notwithstanding
our Admirall carryed his Cresset light all night: hauing greate care of our
smallest Shippes: This fight continued about fower howers til it was
neere night, in the which fight, thanks be to God, there was slaine so
fewe persons of our English fleete as I thinke the like conflict hath not
beene performed with so little losse of men: What harme The English receiued
befell the Spaniards in their fleete I leaue to your little losse in this
conflict.
iudgements. Yet our eyes can witnesse their Shippes were
sore beaten and raked thorough, whereby there was such falling backe
and lying by the Lee to stoppe their leakes, as some of them were driuen
to haste awaye, and rather to runne on shore to saue themselues then
sincke in the Sea: Besides within two howers after our fight with them,
wee saw one of their great Shippes on fire which burnt into the Sea, and
all the Sterne of another of their Shippes blowen vp: And in the morning
a Shippe of our fleete was runne so neere the land, that to double the
Cape current hee must of necessitie tacke about & fall in the wake of the
enemie, which caused our Generall in the Garland and the Defiance to
tacke about, which two ships forced the three Shippes of the enemies
which were put forth to take our Shipp, (or else to cause her runne on
grounde) to returne to their fleete to saue themselues, hoysing all their
sayles for haste: This morning they were faire by vs hauing the winde of
vs, being but thirteene sayle of their twentie to be seene, The remainder of the
then we stroke our toppe sayles thinking to haue fought Spanish fleete were
but thirteene sayles.
with them again, which they perceiuing tacked about
from vs, & after that neuer durst nor would come neere vs: What became
of the rest of their fleet we know not, but true it was that they were in
great distresse mightily beaten and torne, by hauing receiued many
Bullets from vs. All this day wee had sight of them, but they shewed
little will to fight or come neere vs, so we keeping our course west, and
by North, about sixe of the clocke at night lost the sight of them. And
this is a true discourse of our fight with the Spanish fleete. The which the
Author heereof will iustifie with the aduentrue of his life, against any
Spaniard seruing in that action, that shal contradict the same.
FINIS.
Henrie Sauile.
T H O MA S B A S -
K E RV I L E K N I G H T,
His approbation to this Booke.
I Thomas Baskeruile Knight, Generall of her Maiesties late Indian
armado in the late conflict had betweene the Spanish fleete and vs,
hauing perused the Spanish letter written by Don Bernaldino Delgadillo
de Auellaneda, General of the King of Spaines Nauie, and also hauing
perused Captaine Henry Sauile his answeres vnto the six exceptions in
the Generals letter with his discourse of the manner of our fight with the
Spanish fleete, do say, that the said Henrie Sauile hath answered the
letter, and set downe the order of the fight sincerely according to truth,
for testimonie of which I haue hereunto set my hand.
And if Don Bernaldino Delgadillo de Auellaneda the General shal take
any exceptions to this my approbation, or stand in the iustification of his
lying letter written to Doctor Peter Flores, President of the Contraction
house for the Indies, and by him for Bernaldinoes glorie lately put in
Printe: I then saye that hee falsely lyed, and that I will maintaine against
him with whatsoeuer Armes he shall make choyce of. And because the
kingdomes wherein we abide are enemies, by reason of which there is no
meanes in either of them, to maintaine that I haue written. Let him make
choice of any indifferent kingdome, of equall distance from either
Realme, and I will there be ready to maintaine as much as I haue
written: But if by my imployments into Fraunce, I be so stayed by her
Maiesties Commaundementes, that I cannot out of that Realme meete
him in anye other, I cannot see why hee shoulde take anye exception to
that, considering the equalitie of the place, and that the Armies of both
our Princes be there resident.
FINIS.
Tho. B.
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