Investments

a) select financial instruments for investment/recommendation;

b) use investment strategies, as individual investors;

c) employ techniques learned in class; and

d) make a brief presentation to the class seeking critique.

Approach: Students will invest hypothetically choosing particular investments and investment strategies–chosen from a fairly broad array of companies, securities, and institutional contexts. The Project is a significant component of the course and allows the student to apply the conceptual frameworks and analytical tools learned in class. Students will write and present a two-phase page Investment Report detailing their analyses of publicly held companies in their portfolio, investment objectives, rationale, conclusions for decisions, financial overview, etc. Students will present their findings and make ‘educated’ recommendations on their investments to the class as a final presentation.

Phase 1: Prepare an Outline: Your outline is a general plan for your report and can include information about these areas: Amount to be invested: $100,000 (hypothetically)
List selected securities/instruments (at least five)
Portfolio return (expected vs. actual)
Requirements and risk preferences (income/capital gain, blend, preserve capital)
Rationale for decisions (diversification, hedging)
Portfolio composition (if a Portfolio approach is used with investments selected)
Information on assets in portfolio Market Information–research and reference, build a one-page statement of what you believe to be general and major investment risks and opportunities. You should give attention to developing and supporting your opinion by researching the issues noted in the text and our lectures for determining this outlook (global issues, market issues, government issues, etc.). You should identify from this, what you view as “best”/”worst” strategic places to be for the next three years and how this relates to your portfolio decisions.