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In the context of determining an optimal portfolio to recommend to two hypothetical investors, this strucutuerd analysis leads students through a series of steps examining return data for three stocks. The analysis first explores the effects of portfolio formation on returns and volatility. With the addition of a market index and a bond portfolio, students easily recognize how portfolios from from these to investment vehicles may be optimal. The analysis then explores stock betas as a measure of risk and the statistical properties of those betas. At the conclusion, students will have a practical understanding of the capital asset pricing model.

In January 2007, West Coast Fashions, Inc., a large designer and marketer of branded apparel, announced a strategic reorganization that would result in the divestiture of their wholly owned footwear subsidiary, Mercury Athletic. John Liedtke, the head of business development for Active Gear, a mid-sized athletic and casual footwear company, saw the potential acquisition of Mercury as a unique opportunity to roughly double the size of his business. The case uses the potential acquisition of Mercury Athletic as a vehicle to teach students basic DCF (discounted cash flow) valuation using the weighted average cost of capital (WACC).

Spreadsheet Supplement for 4050

This case provides a means to illustrate enterprise valuation analysis questions such as: 1) Given a stock price, what is the implied value attributable to the operating business? 2) Given a valuation multiple for an operating business, what is the implied target stock price? In addition, the case 1) illustrates how arbitrage acts to enforce the law of one price and keep markets efficient 2) provides a model case to understand why stocks can become mispriced 3) shows application of a "stub" valuation analysis 4) provides an illustration of a common hedge fund strategy (long/short equity) 5) show how to calculate margin requirements for a portfolio containing both long and short positions 6) illustrates the effects of leverage and capital requirements on investment returns 7) provides an example framework to calculate risk in a complex investment position.

A United States private equity fund, The Saboput Group, must decide whether to invest in a new technology park development in Chennai, India. The case provides the reader with a detailed investment memorandum from the local Indian operating partner, and the reader must review the memo and financial model to make an investment recommendation to Saboput's investment committee.

A United States private equity fund, The Saboput Group, must decide whether to invest in a new technology park development in Chennai, India. The B case provides the reader with due diligence observations, which reveal numerous potential problems with the investment. The reader must decide whether the The Saboput Group should go through with the investment.

This case focuses on the issue of corporate governance in the Middle East. A senior official at the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) is looking at a recent transaction in which Qatar Telecom (Qtel) acquired National Mobile Telecommunications Company KSC (Wataniya). The KSE official wondered whether, at the company level, inadequate corporate governance measures had allowed this alleged unequal treatment to pass unchallenged. More importantly, at the exchange level, the KSE official wondered what actions - if any - could have been taken to enhance the rights of minority shareholders.

When Yves Saint Laurent died in June 2008, his estate passed to his business partner, Pierre Bergé. Bergé decided to auction several items from Laurent's estate at Christie's international auction house, including two antique bronzes from China. The general feeling in China was that these artifacts had been looted and should be repatriated rather than auctioned. The case highlights issues of ethics, corporate governance and corporate responsibility.

This note describes the economic exposure that arises from changes in currency exchange rates. After illustrating the economic impact of exchange rate changes, including a discussion of real exchange rate changes, the note provides a summary of methods used to manage exposure. The use of forward rates and money markets is explored in detail.

In September, 2005 an investment analyst had recommended to the investment committee of Optimal Funds (the Fund) to invest $10 million in La-Z-Boy, in addition to the $20 million that the Fund had already invested. The analyst believed La-Z-Boy represented strong value yet, having only been on the job less than one year, he knew that he needed to provide sound judgment and analysis to convince the investment committee and to maintain his credibility. After determining the entry price for La-Z-Boy shares, the analyst was requested by the committee to provide several additional pieces of information including valuation and entry-price determination; comments on the higher beta and lower price-to-earnings ratio as compared to its industry average; risks and appropriate mitigation efforts of devoting 12 per cent of the fund to a single company (La-Z-Boy); diversification efforts of the fund; and comments on the fund's overall investment strategy. The analyst knew several other analysts were providing their own investment recommendations to the investment committee and that he had only two days to develop and strengthen his case for investing in La-Z-Boy.

This case examines the importance of forecasting expected returns in asset allocation decisions. While the case is targeted to MBA students in an investments or portfolio management course, it is also appropriate for an advanced undergraduate course. It is written from the perspective of a new employee at a small investment management firm that was surprised by the market crash of 2008 and subsequent market rebound in 2009. The CIO of the firm is meeting with an important client to explain his asset allocation recommendations for 2008 and 2009 and to suggest a new allocation going forward. He enlists the help of this new employee in preparing the materials for this presentation. The case requires students to analyze the ability of simple valuation ratios to forecast returns. Students will use a smoothed price-to-earnings ratio to forecast future returns and given step-by-step instructions for the analysis. In addition, students must use their regression results to form a simple (two-asset) tactical asset allocation strategy to better understand the importance of forecasting expected returns for asset allocation decisions and how such forecasts could be used to form a simple tactical asset allocation model. Students also will examine the issues associated with performance measurement for a tactical asset allocation or market-timing investment strategy.

This technical note provides a simple, yet powerful, optimization exercise to demonstrate the benefits of diversification in a portfolio and the importance of asset allocation. While the note is targeted for MBA students in an investments or portfolio management course, it is also appropriate for an advanced undergraduate course.

What issues commonly arise in international financial management? Kenichi Watanabe and Takumi Shibata, CEO and COO of Nomura Holdings Inc., one of the leading investment banks in Asia, have the opportunity to expand their firm internationally through the acquisition of various parts of Lehman Brothers, an insolvent global investment bank. In evaluating this opportunity, students must consider the complexities of such expansion, including the challenges posed by a multinational insolvency, the difficulties of post-merger integration in a cross-border acquisition, and more general issues related to currency hedging and international taxation.

The owner of a small financial services firm is evaluating the performance of four funds to determine whether to offer them to his clients. The funds span a variety of objectives and include a recently initiated fund. The case explores issues related to the evaluation of mutual fund performance, including the selection of benchmarks and the effect of fees. The case provides a natural and compelling context in which to discuss market efficiency.

This case examines the importance of liquidity to financial markets, using the dramatic volatility of mutual fund flows in 2008 as an example. While the case is targeted to MBA students in an investments or portfolio management course, it is also appropriate for an advanced undergraduate course. It is written from the perspective of a fund manager who has experienced significant redemptions in 2008 and is considering whether or not to use ReFlow Management LLC's "liquidity provision" service. The case requires students to examine the nature and magnitude of mutual fund trading costs, how fund flows may induce additional trading and how ReFlow's innovative service attempts to resolve these issues. Through this analysis, students will better understand what is meant by the term "liquidity" and how liquidity, or a lack thereof, can negatively impact portfolio performance.

Spreadsheet Supplement for UV2561 AND UV4737.

Weijian Shan, Managing Partner of Newbridge Capital, faces a tough decision in regard to his firm's investment in Shenzhen Development Bank, China's fifteenth largest commercial bank. After signing a binding agreement to sell an effective controlling stake in SDB to Newbridge, the government-owned sellers and SDB reneged on the deal and dissolved the transitional management committee appointed by Newbridge. Weijian Shan and his deal team must work out an action plan to revive and renegotiate the transaction or decide to give up pursuing the deal altogether.

Monsanto is facing an uncertain near term financial outlook and the case challenges students to generate an operating forecast (income statement and balance sheet operating accounts). The case naturally lends itself to sensitivity analysis related to sales growth assumptions. The case is intended to cover the basics of forecasting without introducing the complexities associated with financing.

This note reviews the four central parity conditions that underlie most theories regarding the relationship between exchange rates, inflation and interest rates. The concepts are illustrated through a unified example exploring the relation between the U.S. dollar and Norwegian krone. The note presents both an intuitive understanding of the relations as well as precise mathematical formulas frequently employed in analysis.

Student spreadsheet to case UV1066