WEALTH MANAGEMENT

& INVESTING
Level 7

Continuous Refer
Coursework Assignment

2022/23

Due date: 28th November 2023 15.00pm

Wealth Management & Investing Individual Assignment

 Mineworkers Support Charity (Yorkshire)

This charity is dedicated to giving charitable financial support to widows and orphans living
within a specific geographical area in Yorkshire. It is run by a group of elected trustees and has
investments and cash in excess of £3million.

The Trustees have discretion to donate the Charity's income to deserving cases who are invited
to apply following referral by social services and other organisations. These applications are
then assessed by a panel, and in qualifying cases, financial assistance is offered to help with
living costs, particularly in relation to education.

Scenario:

The Charity has approached you, as an independent financial advisor, to ask you to advise
and assist them going forward.

Specifically, the Trustees have asked for their existing investment portfolio to be reviewed and
redesigned as they have concerns about its present structure. They feel that it should be more
balanced; their concern is that the portfolio is exposed to excessive investment risks and are
seeking your advice in this respect.

The Charity has just benefitted from the sale of a small group of commercial retail units. The
sale has now completed, and the proceeds (£700,000) are being held in a bank money market
account, on one week's notice of withdrawal. This full cash balance is therefore available to be
invested.

You are reliably informed by the accountant working for the Charity that there is an adequate
cash balance in the Charity's current account to cover everyday expenditure, so there is no
requirement for the Trustees to retain any additional money in cash as an "emergency reserve".

The chairman of the Trustees has also mentioned that, following the appointment of some new
members, there has been some heated debate about the progress of the funds under their
control. He says that the following views have been expressed at a recent meeting:

"Financial advisors are just a bunch of rogues and charlatans and are only in it for the
commission they make by churning investments around. The one thing that they cannot control
is risk and, as a charity, security is clearly important to us."

"The stock market is just a casino and is no place for a well-respected charity such as ours. You
might as well stick all the money on the National Lottery".

Details of the Charity's investments are shown in the following table that you have been given;
unfortunately, the prices are out of date as they were last valued over six months ago. The first
request, from the Trustees is for you to calculate exactly what the total value of the
investments is at the time of your review. The Trustees have also expressed the following
concerns to you:

- the relatively high management fees which are payable for Investment Trusts. They are not
happy about this, and they don’t like the lack of transparency – they are not clear exactly what
shares are held within the portfolio.

- the Trustees are very keen to ensure their investments can be justified from an ethical point
of view. The Trustees have indicated to you that this is a very important consideration from the
perspective of the Charity.

- their fears about the level of inflation in the future and how they could mitigate any possible
rises in the level of inflation. They have fears that both interest rates and inflation may rise
during 2024.

The Trustees have requested that you review the existing portfolio by updating the valuations
and commenting on the range of investments held, including asset allocation and risk. And
then to recommend, with reasons:

- how you would respond to the concerns of the Trustees.

- the changes you would make to their current portfolio in terms of asset allocation and
diversification with your reasons.

- the construction of a new balanced investment portfolio, appropriate to meet the needs of
the Charity, including your specific recommendations for the investment of the additional
£700,000 currently held in cash.

ASSIGNMENT TASK:
 You must write a detailed report which:

a) Updates the performance data on the investment holdings and reviews the suitability of
the present investment portfolio to meet the Charity’s needs, including an analysis of
the main risks.

b) A brief discussion regarding the theoretical background to portfolio planning and risk
management and explanation of the strategy that you propose to implement.

c) Make recommendations for appropriate changes to create a new investment portfolio

which is appropriate for the needs of the Charity.

Note: The new portfolio should include the investment of the additional cash
holding. In creating the new portfolio, you should address all of the concerns
expressed by the Trustees.

Please refer to the attached marking grid for guidance as to the structure and mark weighting
for the various learning outcomes.

CURRENT INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO

Mineworkers Support Charity (Yorkshire)

GILTS
Nominal Stock Description Price Value
£150,000 1.75% Treasury 2022 £106.21 £159,315
£250,000 5.00% Treasury 2025 £121.00 £302,500
£200,000 1.25% Treasury 2027 £107.61 £215,220
£175,000 3.50% Treasury 2068 £168.58 £295,015

Investment Trusts
Shares Price (p) Value
70,000 Monks Investment Trust 380 £266,000
120,000 Fidelity China Special Situations 98 £117,600

Ordinary Shares Price (p) Value

25,000 Tesco 302 £75,500
32,000 Sainsbury 346 £110,720
18,500 RBS 345 £63,825
36,400 Barclays 248 £90,272
28,000 HSBC 630 £176,400
35,000 Lloyds Bank 78 £27,300
2,500 BAT 3325 £83,125
10,000 Imperial Tobacco 3616 £361,600
10,000 Diageo 1914 £191,400
10,000 BAE Systems 424 £42,400

Total Investment assets held (excluding cash): £2,578,192

PLUS £700,000 CASH HELD IN A LLOYDS MONEY MARKET ACCOUNT

Total Investment assets held (including cash): £3,278,192

FURTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Prices of the securities within the portfolio:
Choose a date on which you will do your research; use the date for updating asset prices in the
portfolio and the same date for selling / buying new assets as a result of your recommended
changes.

Derivatives:

The Fund is prohibited from entering into any derivative transactions.

Bibliography:

You are reminded that you must include a full reference section at the end of the assignment
and also include appropriate acknowledgements in the text of the assignment. You should
follow normal academic conventions e.g. the APA system. Please obtain information on
'Bibliography and Referencing' from the Adsetts Centre to ensure you are familiar with the
methods of referencing.

Marking Guidelines:

Please refer to the attached mark grid for guidance on the structure and mark weighting for the
various learning outcomes. Marks will be available via grade book on the Module Blackboard
site and marks, together with individual feedback will be emailed to all students.

Note: the marks awarded may be amended in accordance with the SHU policy on adopting
Categorical Marking strategy.

The WORD LIMIT for the assignment 2,500 words (+10% max). The word count (excluding
bibliography and appendices) must be stated on the front sheet of the assignment.

Note: it is anticipated that the Appendix will contain tables / graphs / charts /
articles etc. which support and help to evidence your work.

The coursework deadline is 28th November 2023 at 15.00pm. Assignments

should be submitted through the assignment submission portal on the Module
Blackboard site and via the Turnitin link on the BB site.

Late submission of course work will be dealt with under standard University regulations which
are available on the Registry part of the Student Intranet. Marks and feedback will be available
via grade book.

TURNITIN
 Overview of the system and rationale for using it.

Turnitin is a text-matching online service that can be used to teach about, detect, and deter
plagiarism. Students and staff can submit work to the service through Blackboard sites.

Turnitin then generates an originality report based on how much text matches sources in
Turnitin's database.

The Turnitin database consists of the following sources:

 Many websites (several billion)

 Online journals
 All previously submitted papers in the UK

A report is generated which highlights all matches and strength of matches to other sources.
Please note that Turnitin does not discriminate between properly referenced text and
plagiarised text. It just highlights text that staff (or students) should look at further and
evaluate.

One main benefit of Turnitin is as a learning tool for students, because they can view the
reports themselves. Students can put their own work through the system and receive a report
which can help point out to them areas where they may have referenced improperly.

It is strongly recommended that students submit a draft of their assignment to the system prior
to the formal assignment hand-in deadline so they can see for themselves whether there is any
evidence of plagiarism.

Students must submit their final version of the assignment into the Turnitin system by the
published deadline date and time.

Outcome 1
Evaluation of the suitability of the
current portfolio with an analysis
of the main risks
Outcome 2
Analysis of the theoretical
background to portfolio planning
and risk management
Outcome 2
Draw up a new portfolio to meet
the requirements of the charity
giving suitable reasons for the
recommendations and
addressing the concerns of the
trustees.
Outcome 3
Usage and critique of relevant
literature, accuracy and quality of
referencing in the text and
bibliography.
Written communication and
cogency of arguments
Wealth Management & Investing – COURSEWORK ASSESSMENT CRITERIA 2022/23
STUDENT NAME / NUMBER……………………………………………………………………
Below 40% 40 - 49%
Little attempt to Some attempt at
analyse the suitability analysis of the suitability
of the existing portfolio of the existing portfolio
or to evaluate risks and risk evaluation.
Little or no attempt at A basic description of
this task theory and the key
points
Little or no attempt at a An attempt at a
balanced portfolio. No balanced portfolio.
reasons for choice of Reasons for choice of
investments; trustees investments weak;
concern not addressed. some attempt to
address trustees’
concerns.
Little or no critical Some usage of relevant
evaluation of the set literature, but weak on
literature. Referencing the critical evaluation.
and bibliography very Referencing poor and
weak or non- existent. inaccurate.
Poorly written, hard to Able to follow points
follow, spelling and made, some spelling
grammatical errors. and grammatical errors.
50 - 59%
Reasonable attempt at
analysis of the suitability
of the existing portfolio
and risk evaluation.
Reasonable description
of theory, the key points
and their implications
Reasonable attempt at a
balanced portfolio.
Incomplete reasons for
choice of investments
and some trustee’s
concerns addressed.
Reasonable use of
relevant literature,
showing reading around
the subject, but some
weaknesses in
evaluation. Referencing
good.
Reader friendly and few
spelling and grammatical
errors.
60 - 69%
Good attempt at analysis of
the suitability of the existing
portfolio and risk evaluation.
Good description of theory,
the key points and their
implications
Good attempt at a balanced
portfolio. Good reasons for
choice of investments and
trustees concerns
substantially addressed.
Good review of available
literature with good evidence
of reading around the
subject. Critical evaluation of
literature good. Referencing
and bibliography very good.
Very reader friendly, few or
no spelling and grammatical
errors.
70% and above Max Actual
Mark Mark
An in-depth analysis of the of
the suitability of the existing 30
portfolio and risk evaluation.
A very clear understanding of
theory and description of the
key points and their
implications 15
Work shows a very good
attempt at a balanced portfolio.
Reasons for choice of 40
investments strongly argued
and backed up; trustees
concerns addressed.
Work shows strong evidence
of depth of reading and in-
depth critical analysis.
Referencing and bibliography
15
excellent.
Very reader friendly, few or no
spelling and grammatical
errors, imaginative / innovative
approach to communication,
Cheating regulations

The following information must be read very carefully

Introduction

Cheating happens when a student tries to obtain, or obtains, an unfair advantage. The University will not
condone any act of cheating because the act undermines the mutual trust which is essential in an
academic community. The procedures below define different forms of cheating and explain the processes
that the University will follow if cheating is suspected.

In addition to these procedures students on professional courses may also be subject to Professional
Statutory Body regulations and procedures, these procedures will be specified in individual course
documentation.

Principles Underpinning Actions Against Cheating

• The University wants everyone to value the quality and standards of its awards; this is undermined by
cheating
• Plagiarism and collusion are forms of cheating or 'academic misconduct' and all cases will be dealt with
as such
• Regulations and procedures for dealing with cheating should be as fair, transparent and consistent as
possible
• If plagiarism, collusion or other forms of cheating are alleged there must be sufficient evidence to
substantiate the allegations on a balance of probability
• Investigating and dealing with plagiarism and collusion mainly involves academic judgements
• The University reserves the right to use any reasonable and fair means of identifying plagiarism and
collusion
• The investigation and consideration of all forms of cheating, and the consequences arising, should not
be considered within the Assessment Board structure but by a separate panel
• Decisions made under the University's School Academic Conduct Panel procedure may not be changed
by Assessment Boards
• Information should be recorded to facilitate monitoring and review of the procedures
• The length of time information is kept on individual student files should be determined by the severity of
the cheating.
Different Forms of Cheating

The following gives examples of some forms of cheating:

Plagiarism: this is where someone tries to pass off another's work, thoughts or ideas as their own,
whether deliberately or unintentionally, without appropriate acknowledgement. Plagiarism can take a
number of forms, including:

complete plagiarism: the substantial and unauthorised use of the work or ideas of another person
without acknowledgement of the source, including copying the work of another student, eg writing,
computer programmes, designs, experiment results, music or copying of text directly from a website
without acknowledgement.

partial plagiarism: the inclusion of several sentences or more from another person’s work which has not
been referenced in accordance with SHU conventions on academic referencing and citation; the
summarising of another person’s work by simply changing a few words or altering the order of
presentation, without acknowledgement. This may be intentional with the aim being to deceive the
marker, and unintentional as a result, for example, of poor study skills.

self-plagiarism or duplication: copying work that was originally completed and submitted by the student
and resubmitted for another purpose, without acknowledgement of this, unless resubmission is allowed.

collusion: this is where a student undertakes work with others, without acknowledgement, e.g.
• submits as entirely his/her own work, work done in collaboration with another person, with the intention
to gain an unfair advantage, or
• colludes with another student to complete work which is intended to be submitted as that other student's
own unaided work or
• knowingly permits another student to copy all or part of his/her own work and to submit it as that
student's own unaided work

If collusion is suspected and if after investigation it cannot be established which individual(s) is/are
responsible, all students involved will be deemed responsible, provided there is sufficient evidence to
substantiate the allegations on the balance of probability.

Falsifying data: this is where a student presents data in laboratory reports, projects, dissertations, etc
based on experimental/ experiential work which the student claims to have carried out but which he/she
has invented or obtained by unfair means.

Impersonation: this is the assumption by one person of the identity of another person with the intent to
deceive or to gain unfair advantage.

Dishonest practice: this covers any form of dishonest practice not specifically identified by the above
definitions, eg actual or attempted bribery, making false declarations to receive special consideration