Question 1
Question
Portfolio performance is:
Answer
-
rarely measured in absolute terms, mostly measured in relative terms
-
rarely measured in relative terms, mostly measured in absolute terms
-
only ever measured in relative terms
-
only ever measured in absolute terms
Question 2
Question
Which of the following is a limitation rather than an assumption of the Capital Asset Pricing
Model?
Answer
-
Investors are rational and risk averse
-
Investors hold a well-diversified portfolio
-
Investors make investment decisions based on mean variance analysis
-
Investors are rewarded for more than just their exposure to systemic risk
Question 3
Question
An investor allowed the principle of 'regret aversion' to influence his actions. This resulted in
him:
Answer
-
declining to buy a stock based purely on a previous bad experience
-
B buying a badly performing stock from a friend as recompense for recommending it in the
first place
-
holding a poorly performing stock for an irrationally long period
-
only selling stock once a specified loss threshold had been reached
Question 4
Question
Why is a time weighted return (TWR) preferred to a money weighted return (MWR) when
evaluating performance?
Answer
-
TWR only requires portfolio values at the start and end of the investment period along
with dates and size of each cash flow
-
TWR eliminates the timing effect of cash flows into and out of the fund
-
TWR measures the fund growth resulting from both the underlying performance of the
portfolio and the size and timing of cash flows into and out of the fund
-
TWR calculates the risk adjusted return per unit of risk
Question 5
Question
Four bond portfolios each hold a variety of stock. Which one of them is BEST described as
operating a barbell strategy?
Answer
-
Portfolio A, which consists solely of bills maturing in one year plus bonds maturing in 25
and 30 years
-
Portfolio B, which consists solely of bills maturing in six months plus bonds maturing in 5,
10, 15 and 20 years
-
Portfolio C, which consists solely of bonds maturing in 1, 3 and 5 years
-
Portfolio D, which consists solely of bonds maturing in 20, 25 and 30 years
Question 6
Question
Why do portfolios need a regular annual or periodic review?
Answer
-
To ensure that all assets are priced on a regular basis
-
To ensure that all assets are reconciled against the market
-
To ensure that all cash balances are reconciled against the actual bank
-
To ensure the portfolio still meets the client's objectives and is positioned correctly given
the market conditions
Question 7
Question
The excess return of a portfolio or security above that of the risk adjusted benchmark is known
as:
Answer
-
alpha
-
beta
-
duration
-
premium
Question 8
Question
An investment manager believes that markets are inefficient and that he can obtain abnormal
returns after transaction charges. Which investment style is he most likely to adopt?
Answer
-
Passive
-
Indexation
-
Active
-
Satellite
Question 9
Question
An individual has been advised to invest in some shares by a friend. He wants to make sure that
he invests in companies which do not have a volatile share price. To achieve this he should
select shares which have a beta factor of:
Question 10
Question
Which of the following is a feature in Arbitrage Pricing Theory (APT)?
Answer
-
APT relies on identified factors being correlated
-
The variables of APT include real economic factors
-
The principal component of APT is the return on an index of all shares
-
APT is equivalent to a single factor Capital Asset Pricing Model
Question 11
Question
Based on the principles of Modern Portfolio theory, an equity fund will operate on the
'efficient frontier' if:
Answer
-
the optimum level of systematic risk is obtained
-
the best level of diversification is achieved
-
the fund's alpha value is negative
-
the fund's beta value is one or more
Question 12
Question
Bond portfolio X exclusively contains relatively long-dated stock whereas Bond portfolio Y
operates a laddering strategy. This means that Bond X is likely to:
Answer
-
generate higher yields
-
present less of a credit risk
-
be more sensitive to interest rate changes
-
represent a more diversified approach
Question 13
Question
In which country can shareholders be assured that listed companies will comply with the OECD
Principles for Corporate Governance?
Question 14
Question
An investor has a requirement for an 8% return and is considering choosing Stock X to satisfy
this need. Based on the Capital Asset Pricing Model, if the beta value of this stock is
recalibrated from 1.2 to 1.3, this would:
Answer
-
increase the likelihood that the stock would be suitable
-
decrease the likelihood that the stock would be suitable
-
automatically trigger an increase in the investor's required rate
-
automatically trigger a decrease in the investor's required rate
Question 15
Question
Using Modern Portfolio Theory to create a two stock portfolio, which of the following is TRUE?
Answer
-
The lower the correlation of stock returns, the greater the portfolio's diversification
-
The higher the correlation of stock returns, the greater the portfolio's diversification
-
The higher the correlation of stock returns, the lower the level of total risk associated with
any given level of expected return
-
The lower the correlation of stock returns, the higher the level of total risk associated with
any given level of expected return
Question 16
Question
Which of the following does a passive investment manager principally invest in?