Mutual fund tracking assignment

Each student will be given 2 mutual funds, 1 from the stock mutual fund list and 1 from the bond mutual fund list. Invest $10,000 in each fund. Use a table format (example provided on Pilot) to record the initial number of shares purchased and closing price of each investment as of the close of the stock market on Friday of each week beginning with Friday, September 4 until the Friday, November 6, 2015 (10 weeks). You can access this information at the library using The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Investor’s Business Daily or other research material in the finance laboratory, Rike 294, and through different on-line services. You may find the MSN Money or Yahoo Finance sites particularly helpful. • Complete an Investment Data and Analysis Sheet (sample provided) for each of your mutual funds. The information can be found on Morningstar data sheet provide in class or at www.library.morningstar.com which is accessible from any computer in Rike Hall. In addition to the fund information, do the following: 1. Calculate the “low/high” ratio for each investment during the time you were investing (low/high ratio = divide the lowest observed price of each investment on any Friday close by the highest observed for the same investment). Show your work and explain what the ratio tells you about the fund. 2. Based on the above ratios, what conclusions would you make about each investment and their suitability for either short-term, intermediate term or long-term goals? Explain your rationale. 3. Calculate the total return, and annualized total return (annualized holding period yield) for each investment. Show your work. 4. Explain how in the future, when making your own investment decisions, you will decide on what investments to use for which term goal. 5. Write a short essay, typically 3-4 pages analyzing the risk and return characteristics of ONE of you funds according to the outline provided in Pilot. Investment Data Collection and Analysis Worksheet Name of Investment: __________________________________________________________ Ticker Symbol: _______________________ Investment Style (In what kinds of things does it invest?): Stock Fund: Large Value Large Blend Large Growth Mid Cap Value Mid Cap Blend Mid Cap Growth Small Cap Value Small Cap Blend Small Cap Growth Bond Fund: Short Term High Quality Intermediate Term HQ Long Term HQ Short Term Medium Quality Intermediate Term MQ Long Term MQ Short Term Low Quality Intermediate Term LQ Long Term LQ Other (explain): __________________________________________________________ Briefly describe the fund; in what does it invest; how does it invest; what is the investment style? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ What is the best fit market index for comparison? _________________________________ What is the beta of this fund compared to the best fit index? _________________________ What is the R2? _________________ Risk Continuum (How risky is the fund compared to the best fit index?): Very Low Low Medium High Very High Risk Continuum (How risky is the fund compared to all other types of investments?): Very Low Low Medium High Very High Explain your answer to the two risk questions. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Based on your assessment of risk, for what goal timeframe would you use this investment? Short-term Intermediate-term Long-term Calculate the low/high ratio for each fund. The low/high ratio is the lowest observed price over the tracking period divided by the highest observed price. What is the ratio if there is no price change over the term? What does the number say about price volatility of stocks vs bonds? Bond Fund Ticker Symbol __________ Ratio: __________ Stock Fund #1 Ticker Symbol __________ Ratio: __________ Calculate the total return for each fund: Bond Fund Ticker Symbol __________ Return: __________ Stock Fund Ticker Symbol __________ Return: __________ Calculate the annualized total return percentage or holding period return percentage for each fund: Bond Fund Ticker Symbol __________ Return: __________ Stock Fund Ticker Symbol __________ Return: __________ Complete the following table: Low/High Ratio Total Return Annualized Return Goal Timeframe Chosen Bond Fund Stock Fund 1. Compare the bond fund to the stock fund in general addressing their beta, R2, low/high ratio, overall risk compared to their return and the goal timeframe you chose? Can you draw any conclusions from your analysis? If so, explain.