FINA 475 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Life Insurance, Cash Flow, Active Management

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ambermuskrat630

27 Nov 2017

School

USC, SC, Carolina, South Carolina

Department

Finance

Course

FINA 475

Professor

Putnam

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Document Summary

Public pension funds have allocations of about 2/3 in equities (real estate and private equity) and about 1/3 of fixed income. Asset allocation decision: how much to invest in major asset classes. Pension funds: sufficient cash flow from investments satisfy pension obligations. Life insurance: satisfy obligations in insurance policies and generate profit. Banks and thrifts: funds obtained from certificates of deposit, short-term money market instruments, floating rate notes. Goal: earn return on investment in excess of cost of acquiring. Investor wants to allocate amount x to fixed income sector. Will amount be managed by internal or external managers or a combination. Asset allocation among different sectors of the bond is made at 2 levels. Client decides how to allocate among each sector. If external money manager is hired, decide on asset management and amount to be allocated to each. Risk exposure and composition is result of recommendations/research provided by portfolio management team.

Related Questions

Derivative

Vanguard High Yield Corporate Fund
Materials
â¢ Website information (23/05/2016)
https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/snapshot?FundId=0029&FundIntExt=INT
â¢ Summary Prospectus (27/05/2015)
â¢ Prospectus (27/05/2015)
Anakinâs Job
In May 2016, Anakin leaves his job in Hollywood and returned to the finance industry. It is his
first love after all and the industry appears to be picking up again after the credit crunch of
2007-2008. He applies to be the risk analyst to the fund manager of the Vanguard High Yield
Corporate Fund as his quantitative training positions him well for a job that requires ever more
numerical and computational skills over the years. His solid background in applied analytics
in business management and humble demeanour help him clinch the post without much
difficulty.
The Vanguard Group is an American investment company that has approximately USD 3
trillion in asset-under-management. It is founded in 1975 by John Bogle who created the first
index fund (tied to the S&P 500 index) in the process. After an initial lull, the index grew
rapidly along with the bull market of the 1980s. The Group has since added various financial
services and products to its core business, particularly the ETFs.
Anakin is tasked by the fund manager to become thoroughly familiar with the structure of the
fund as is documented by files provided under âMaterialsâ. After that, he is to assess the
exposure of the High Yield Corporate Fund to risks in the market. He seeks the opinion of
Darth who is a veteran market analyst with the Vanguard Guard group for over 20 years.
Outlook
Darth has this to say about the economy and fixed income market:
" The US economy is improving steadily. It will not be long before the Fed decides to raise
interest rates. Once the Fed restarts the regime of rising rates, it will about 2 years for the yield
curve to rise by 100 basis points.
Consequently, in the more stringent economic environment, companies of lower credit
qualities, namely those of Caa and below, are expected to have their credit standing further
eroded. There is a 25% chance that a Caa-rated issuer may go into default and another 25%
chance that it may be downgraded to C.
The Greek debt problem, though much stabilized than before, is still a matter of grave concern
for the Eurozone. Expect the euro to depreciate against the dollar over the course of the next 6
months. A fall of 500 pips will not be a surprise. "
Assume Anakinsâ role and answer the following questions. Questions 1 and 2 concern the
Financial Environment. The Environment at large provides the context and sets the constraints
within which financial decisions are weighed and taken. Questions 3 and 4 pertain to the task
that Anakin needs to complete.

Question 4
The fund is affected by changes in the financial markets. When interest rates rise, the value of
the portfolio falls. Occurrences that are flagged by the rating agency to be credit events can
result in the downgrading of credit rating of bond issuers. Bonds that denominated in foreign
currency are affected by fluctuations in the foreign exchange market.
(a) Analyse generally the need for hedging the various market risks for the fund.

Take into account Darthâs outlook. Address some of these risk concerns by answering the
following question:
(b) Suppose that in the coming 2 years, the prevailing interest rates are expected to go up
by 100 basis points and you are concerned. Show how you could hedge away the
interest rate risk by using an interest rate swap, assuming that the fund by may
represented by a single 5-year par bond on the $18.4 billion net assets with semi-annual
5% coupon payments starting from the current date.
In your explanation, you may assume a scenario in which a flat yield curve increases
uniformly across all terms by 25 basis points per half-a-year.
(c) Credit default swaps may be used to ameliorate credit risk. Appraise the use of such
option-like derivative instruments in managing the risk of the portfolio by explaining
how such instruments function.

https://institutional.vanguard.com/VGApp/iip/site/institutional/investments/productoverview?fundId=0029

scarletmallard658

Amongst corporations, sole proprietorships and partnerships, approximately what percentage of revenues are generated by corporations?

50%

42%

33%

82%

Question 2

What should be the financial goal of any firm?

attracting and acquiring capital and investing it

maximization of the ownersâ wealth

offering quality products at fair prices

quality customer service

Question 3
4 pts
Which of the following statement(s) is \ are true regarding the corporate management team?

In a corporation, ownership and direct control are typically separate.

Board of Directors is elected by shareholders and has ultimate decision-making authority

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) â the Board typically delegates day-to-day decision making to the CEO.

All of the above

Question 4
4 pts
When calculating the present value of either a future single sum or a future annuity, it involves a process called discounting. The applicable interest rate to perform the discounting function is usually called the

yield to maturity

compound interest rate

discount rate

none of the above

Question 5
4 pts
_________________ are used to present additional information about items included in the financial statements and to present additional financial information.

stock certificates

Notes to financial statements

Preferred stocks

Convertible securities
Question 6
4 pts
What should be the financial goal of any firm?

maximization of the ownersâ wealth

attracting and acquiring capital and investing it

offering quality products at fair prices

quality customer service

Question 7
4 pts
A competitive market is one in which a _____ numbers of producers compete with each other to satisfy the wants and needs of a _____ number of consumers.

Large, small

Small, small

Large, large

Small, large

Question 8
4 pts
The Valuation Principle is an analysis between the value of the ______ of a financial alternative and the value of its ______.

revenues, income

benefits, costs

expenses, costs

Question 9
4 pts
The Net Present Value rule implies that we should compare a projectâs net present value (NPV) to___________. (zero \ future value \ the past).

Zero

Future Value

The Past

An Estimate

Question 10
4 pts
The internal rate of return (IRR) rule will _______ agree with the Net Present Value rule on a given investment project.

always

never

sometimes

none of the above

Question 11
5 pts
The law of one price exists due to arbitrage opportunities. If the price of a security, commodity or asset is different in two different markets, then an arbitrageur will ______ the asset in the more expensive market and ________ it where prices are lower.

sell, purchase

purchase, sell

purchase, purchase

sell, sell

Question 12
5 pts
Approaching every problem using a timeline is a(n) ________ idea because timelines identify events in a transaction or investment which might otherwise be easily overlooked.

good

bad

indifferent

unrealistic

Question 13
5 pts
The present value (PV) of a stream of cash flows is the _______ the present values of each individual cash flow

difference between

product of

sum of

same as

Question 14
5 pts
As the number of periods increases, present value (increases\decreases\stays the same).

increases

decreases

stays the same

is unrelated

Question 15
5 pts
When a constant cash flow will occur at regular intervals for a finite number of periods of time, it is called a(n) __________.

annuity

perpetuity

interest payment

principle payment

Question 16
5 pts
When a constant cash flow will occur at regular intervals forever, it is called a(n) ___________.

annuity

perpetuity

interest payment

principle payment

Question 17
5 pts
The NPV measures the ______ change in shareholder wealth that arises from undertaking a project.

consistent

dollar

annual

semi-annual

Question 18
5 pts
When calculating the present value of either a future single sum or a future annuity, the applicable interest rate is usually called the _______ rate

compounding

inverted

market

discount

Question 19
5 pts
To endow a perpetuity is the same as calculating the present value (PV) of a perpetuity. Say you want to endow an annual graduation party at your alma mater. You want the event to be a memorable one, so you budget $30,000 per year forever for the party. If the university earns 8% per year on its investments, and if the first party is in one yearâs time, how much will you need to donate to endow the party?
The formula for PV of a perpetuity = C\r; = $30,000 \ 0.08; =

$3,750

$37,500

$375,000

$3,750,000

Question 20
5 pts
With an Ordinary Annuity, payments are required at the ________ of each period. An example of this is bonds which usually pay coupon payments at the end of every six months until the bond's maturity date.

beginning

middle

end

payments are not required

Question 21
5 pts
Sales of securities that the seller does not own is called a:

stop-loss order

short sale

limit order

maintenance margin

Question 22
5 pts
What is the name of the market where money market securities, bonds, and mortgages are originated and traded?

debt securities market

foreign exchange market

derivative securities market

equity securities market

Question 23
5 pts
If an investor feels the price of a stock will decline in the future, which trade should the investor undertake?

market order

buy on margin

limit order

short sale

Question 24
5 pts
For risk averse investors, how much return is expected for taking on more risk?

lower

equal

zero

higher

Question 25
5 pts
A ___________________ is a highly regulated document which details the issuers operations and finances and must be provided to each buyer of a newly issued security.

Prospectus

An underwriting agreement

A best efforts agreement

none of the above

Question 26
5 pts
Which of the following statements about liquidity ratios is true?

The lower the quick ratio relative to the current ratio, the safer a firm is in terms of liquidity.

The higher the current ratio, the more likely a firm is able to pay its short-term obligations.

The quick ratio is always between 0 and 1.

All the above statements are true.

Question 27
5 pts
The ability of a firm to meet its short-term debt obligations as they come due is indicated by which of the following ratios:

liquidity ratios

asset utilization ratios

financial leverage ratios

profitability ratios

Question 28
5 pts
Which one of the following financial statements reports a firmâs assets and the claims on assets?

balance sheet

income statement

statement of changes in financial position

cash flow statement

Question 29
5 pts
The extent to which assets are used to support sales is indicated by which of the following ratios:

liquidity ratios

asset utilization ratios

financial leverage ratios

profitability ratios

Question 30
5 pts
The extent to which assets are financed by borrowed funds and other liabilities is indicated by:

liquidity ratios

asset utilization ratios

financial leverage ratios

profitability ratios

Question 31
5 pts
The basic price that equates the demand for and supply of loanable funds in the financial markets is the __________:

interest rate

yield curve

term structure

cash price

none of the above

Question 32
5 pts
Federal obligations usually issued for maturities of two to ten years are called:

Treasury bonds

Treasury notes

Treasury bills

Agency issues

Question 33
5 pts
An increase in the demand for loan-able funds, holding supply constant, will cause interest rates to:

increase

decrease

stay the same

none of the above

Question 34
5 pts
As interest rates rise, the prices of existing bonds will:

rise

stay the same

fall

either a or b

Question 35
5 pts
In an inflationary period, interest rates have a tendency to:

rise

fall

stay the same

act erratically

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FINA 475 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Life Insurance, Cash Flow, Active Management

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