Copyright © 2011 Pearson Prentice Hall. All rights reserved. Chapter 13 Managing Your Own Portfolio

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Prentice Hall. All rights reserved.

Chapter 13

Managing Your Own Portfolio

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Prentice Hall. All rights reserved.13-2

Constructing a Portfolio Using Asset Allocation

• Individual investor characteristics and objectives determine relative income needs and ability to bear risk

• Investor characteristics to consider:– Level and stability of income, net worth– Age and family factors– Investment experience and ability to handle risk– Tax considerations

• Investor objectives to consider:– High level of current income– Significant capital appreciation


Portfolio Objectives and Policies

• Current Income/Capital Preservation Objective– Low-risk, conservative investment strategy– Emphasis on current income and capital preservation– Normally contains low-beta securities

• Capital Growth Objective– Higher-risk investment strategy– Emphasis on more speculative investments– Normally contains higher-beta securities

• Tax Efficient Objective– Emphasis on capital gains and longer holding periods to defer

income taxes



• Asset Allocation is the process of dividing an investment portfolio into various asset classes to preserve capital by protecting against negative developments while taking advantage of positive ones.

• In other words, don’t put all of your eggs in one basket, and choose your baskets carefully.



• An asset allocation scheme must be developed before buying any investment vehicles.

• Focus is on investment in various asset classes, rather than emphasis on selecting specific securities.

• As much as 90% or more of a portfolio’s return comes from asset allocation between various asset classes.


Approaches to Asset Allocation

• Fixed-Weightings Approach: asset allocation plan in which a fixed percentage of the portfolio is allocated to each asset category

• Flexible-Weightings Approach: asset allocation plan in which weights for each asset category are adjusted periodically based on market analysis

• Tactical Approach: asset allocation plan that uses stock-index futures and bond futures to change a portfolio’s asset allocation based on market behavior


Table 13.1 Alternative Asset Allocations


Applying Asset Allocation

• Consider impact of economic and other factors on your investment objective

• Design your asset allocation plan for the long haul (at least 7 to 10 years)

• Stress capital preservation

• Provide for periodic reviews to maintain consistency with changing investments goals

• Consider using mutual funds, especially for portfolios under $100,000


Investment Profile


Evaluating Performance of Individual Investments

• Step 1: Obtain Needed Data– Returns on owned investments– Economic and market activity

• Step 2: Compare Returns with Broad-Based Market Measures– DJIA, S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite Index, Lipper indexes

• Step 3: Compare Performance to Investment Goals– “Am I getting the proper return for the amount of investment risk I am

taking?”– “Do I have a problem investment?”

• Step 4: Determine appropriate action on each investment– Keep, sell, or monitor closely


Calculating Return: Holding Period Return

• Returns include current income and capital gains/losses

• Return for specific holding period


Measuring Portfolio Return:Holding Period Return

• Returns include current income and capital gains/losses for all investments held in portfolio


Measuring Portfolio Return:Sharpe’s Measure

• Compares the risk premium on a portfolio to the portfolio’s standard deviation of return

• In general, the higher the Sharpe’s measure, the better


Measuring Portfolio Return:Treynor’s Measure

• Uses the portfolio beta to measure the portfolio’s risk

• In general, the higher the Treynor’s measure, the better


Measuring Portfolio Return:Jensen’s Measure

• Uses the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) to calculate the portfolio’s excess return (actual return compared to required return)

• Positive returns are preferred; negative returns indicate required return was not earned


Examples of Portfolio Performance

Portfolio ReturnRisk Free Rate 3.700%Portfolio Beta 0.97Portfolio Stnd Dev 10.130%Km 12.000%Return (computed) 7.880%

Jensen Treynor SharpeReturn (computed) 7.880% Return (computed) 7.880%

CAPM Return (MKT) 11.751% Portfolio Beta 0.97 Standard Deviation 10.130%Return (computed) 7.880% Risk Free Rate 3.700% Risk Free Return 3.700%

Jensen -3.871% Treynor Measure 0.043 Sharpe Measure 0.41

Lawrence Byerly PhD © 2008 CTRL+SHIFT+B = MAIN MENU

Portfolio performance


Assessing Portfolio Performance

• Portfolio Revision: the process of selling certain issues in a portfolio and purchasing new ones to replace them

• Periodic reallocation and rebalancing are necessary

• Reasons to revise portfolio:– Changes in economic conditions– Major life event– Proportion of one asset class increases or decreases substantially– Expect to reach specific goal within two years– Percentage allocation of asset class varies from original allocation by

10% or more.


Timing Transactions

• Dollar-Cost Averaging

– Fixed dollar amount is invested at fixed intervals

– Discipline to invest on regular basis is vital

– Purchase more shares when prices are low and fewer shares when prices are high


Table 13.9 Dollar-Cost Averaging($500 per month, Wolverine Mutual Fund shares)


Timing Transactions (cont’d)

• Constant-Dollar Plan

– Speculative portion seeks capital gains

– Conservative portion seeks low risk

– When speculative portion increases to a predetermined dollar amount, profits are transferred to conservative portion

– If speculative portion decreases, funds are added from conservative portion


Table 13.10 Constant-Dollar Plan


Timing Transactions (cont’d)

• Constant-Ratio Plan– Similar to constant-dollar plan, only the ratio between

the speculative and conservative portions is fixed

• Variable-Ratio Plan– Similar to constant-ratio plan, only the ratio between

the speculative and conservative portions is allowed to fluctuate to predetermined levels

– Moderately aggressive strategy which tries to “buy low and sell high”


Table 13.11 Constant-Ratio Plan


Table 13.12 Variable-Ratio Plan


Other Portfolio Considerations

• Warehousing Liquidity– Keep portion of portfolio in low-risk, highly liquid investments to

protect against loss or to wait for future investment opportunities

• Tax Consequences– Use long-term capital gains when possible– Use capital losses to offset capital gains

• Achieving Investment Goals– When an investment becomes more or less risky, or it does not

meet its return objective, sell it– Don’t hold out for top price; take your profits and reinvest in more

suitable investment

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Copyright © 2011 Pearson Prentice Hall. All rights reserved. Chapter 13 Managing Your Own Portfolio