(A)
Case Summary:
The finance committee of an endowment fund decides to shift part of its investment in an index fund to a portfolio which is professionally managed. Upon investigation by a committee member, he proposes to choose a portfolio which has greater alpha value.
Characters in the case: A Committee member
Adequate Information: Alpha Value which is a performance ratio to help an investor evaluate risk-adjusted performance of a portfolio.
To determine if the proposed portfolio with greater alpha value should be chosen.

Explanation of Solution
Given Information:
The committee member proposes to choose an investment portfolio which has greater alpha value. Only this ratio will not help to determine the performance of the portfolio. Alpha along with Sharpe ratio is often used to rank the performance an investment portfolio.
Alpha is a ratio which reflects the performance of an investment relative to benchmark index which means that a positive alpha shows that the fund has beaten benchmark by 1% and so higher the alpha, better the fund. But alpha is just a number and expressed in percentage so alpha along with Sharpe ratio is used to determine the performance of the investment on risk-adjusted basis. Sharpe ratio helps to determine the real return on each unit of portfolio. Higher the ratio, better the
Thus to conclude, a positive alpha alone cannot determine the performance of the investment portfolio to give the Sharpe measure higher than the benchmark.
(B)
To determine if positive alpha shows the performance of the portfolio is inferior.
Introduction: Alpha is a performance measure of an investment relative to benchmark index which means a positive alpha has beaten the benchmark index and so better the fund while Sharpe ratio along with alpha helps to determine the real performance of the portfolio.

Answer to Problem 1PS
A positive alpha can be associated with inferior performance of a portfolio if the Sharpe ratio has decreased.
Explanation of Solution
A positive alpha shows the performance of the portfolio relative to its benchmark while the Sharpe ratio shows the real return on each unit of investment. Thus it might be that the alpha is positive but Sharpe ratio has declined. This will in turn reflect inferior performance of the investment.
Therefore, yes it is true that a positive alpha may reflect inferior performance of the investment
Want to see more full solutions like this?
Chapter 18 Solutions
ESSENTIALS OF INVESTMENTS SELECT CHAPT
- Question 6 A five-year $50,000 endowment insurance for (60) has $1,000 underwriting expenses, 25% of the first premium is commission for the agent of record and renewal expenses are 5% of subsequent premiums. Write the gross future loss random variable: Presuming a portfolio of 10,000 identical and independent policies, the expected loss and the variance of the loss of the portfolio are given below (note that the premium basis is not given or needed): E[L] = 10,000(36,956.49 - 3.8786P) V[L] 10,000 (50,000 + 14.52P)². 0.00095 Find the premium that results in a 97.5% probability of profit (i.e. ¹ (0.975) = 1.96). Premium: Please show your work belowarrow_forwardWhat corporate finance?? can you explain this? fully no aiarrow_forwardWhat is corporate finance? how this is usefull?arrow_forward
- Pam and Jim are saving money for their two children who they plan to send to university.The eldest child will enter university in 5 years while the younger will enter in 7 years. Each child is expected spend four years at university. University fees are currently R20 000 per year and are expected to grow at 5% per year. These fees are paid at the beginning of each year.Pam and Jim currently have R40 000 in their savings and their plan is to save a fixed amount each year for the next 5 years. The first deposit taking place at the end of the current year and the last deposit at the date the first university fees are paid.Pam and Jim expect to earn 10% per year on their investments.What amount should they invest each year to meet the cost of their children’s university fees?arrow_forwardPam and Jim are saving money for their two children who they plan to send to university.The eldest child will enter university in 5 years while the younger will enter in 7 years. Each child is expected spend four years at university. University fees are currently R20 000 per year and are expected to grow at 5% per year. These fees are paid at the beginning of each year.Pam and Jim currently have R40 000 in their savings and their plan is to save a fixed amount each year for the next 5 years. The first deposit taking place at the end of the current year and the last deposit at the date the first university fees are paid.Pam and Jim expect to earn 10% per year on their investments.What amount should they invest each year to meet the cost of their children’s university fees?arrow_forwardYou make a loan of R100 000, with annual payments being made at the end of each year for the next 5 years at a 10% interest rate. How much interest is paid in the second year?arrow_forward
- Dr Z. Mthembu is the owner of Mr Granite, a business in the Western Cape. After more than 28 years of operation, the business is thinking about taking on a new project that would provide a profitable new clientele. With only R1.5 million in resources, the company is now working on two competing projects. The starting costs for Project X and Project Y are R625,000 and R600000, respectively. These projected are estimated for the next 7 years timeframe. According to SARS, the tax rate is 28%, and a discount rate of 11.25% is applied.Projects X Project YProject X Project Y129000 145000154000 145000312000 145000168000 14500098250 14500088750 14500016050 145000arrow_forwardDr Z. Mthembu is the owner of Mr Granite, a business in the Western Cape. After more than 28 years of operation, the business is thinking about taking on a new project that would provide a profitable new clientele. With only R1.5 million in resources, the company is now working on two competing projects. The starting costs for Project X and Project Y are R625,000 and R600000, respectively. These projected are estimated for the next 7 years timeframe. According to SARS, the tax rate is 28%, and a discount rate of 11.25% is applied.Projects X Project YProject X Project Y129000 145000154000 145000312000 145000168000 14500098250 14500088750 14500016050 145000arrow_forwardDr Z. Mthembu is the owner of Mr Granite, a business in the Western Cape. After more than 28 years of operation, the business is thinking about taking on a new project that would provide a profitable new clientele. With only R1.5 million in resources, the company is now working on two competing projects. The starting costs for Project X and Project Y are R625,000 and R600000, respectively. These projected are estimated for the next 7 years timeframe. According to SARS, the tax rate is 28%, and a discount rate of 11.25% is applied.Projects X Project YProject X Project Y129000 145000154000 145000312000 145000168000 14500098250 14500088750 14500016050 145000arrow_forward
- Dr Z. Mthembu is the owner of Mr Granite, a business in the Western Cape. After more than 28 years of operation, the business is thinking about taking on a new project that would provide a profitable new clientele. With only R1.5 million in resources, the company is now working on two competing projects. The starting costs for Project X and Project Y are R625,000 and R600000, respectively. These projected are estimated for the next 7 years timeframe. According to SARS, the tax rate is 28%, and a discount rate of 11.25% is applied.Projects X Project YProject X Project Y129000 145000154000 145000312000 145000168000 14500098250 14500088750 14500016050 145000arrow_forwardAn investor buys 100 shares of a $40 stock that pays an annual cash dividend of $2 a share (a 5 percent dividend yield) and signs up for the DRIP. a. If neither the dividend nor the price changes, how many shares will the investor have at the end of 10 years? How much will the position in the stock be worth? Answer: 5.000 shares purchased in year 1 5.250 shares purchased in year 2 6.078 shares purchased in year 5 62.889 total shares purchased b. If the price of the stock rises by 6 percent annually but the dividend remains at $2 a share, how many shares are purchased each year for the next 10 years? How much is the total position worth at the end of 10 years? Answer: 4.717 shares purchased in year 1 4.592 shares in year 3 3.898 shares in year 10 Value of position: $10,280 c. If the price of the stock rises by 6 percent annually but the dividend rises by only 3 percent annually, how many shares are purchased each year for the next 10 years? How much is the total position worth at the…arrow_forwardDr Z. Mthembu is the owner of Mr Granite, a business in the Western Cape. After more than 28 years of operation, the business is thinking about taking on a new project that would provide a profitable new clientele. With only R1.5 million in resources, the company is now working on two competing projects. The starting costs for Project X and Project Y are R625,000 and R600000, respectively. These projected are estimated for the next 7 years timeframe. According to SARS, the tax rate is 28%, and a discount rate of 11.25% is applied.Projects X Project YProject X Project Y129000 145000154000 145000312000 145000168000 14500098250 14500088750 14500016050 145000 Calculate the IRR for the two proposed Projectsarrow_forward
- Essentials Of InvestmentsFinanceISBN:9781260013924Author:Bodie, Zvi, Kane, Alex, MARCUS, Alan J.Publisher:Mcgraw-hill Education,
- Foundations Of FinanceFinanceISBN:9780134897264Author:KEOWN, Arthur J., Martin, John D., PETTY, J. WilliamPublisher:Pearson,Fundamentals of Financial Management (MindTap Cou...FinanceISBN:9781337395250Author:Eugene F. Brigham, Joel F. HoustonPublisher:Cengage LearningCorporate Finance (The Mcgraw-hill/Irwin Series i...FinanceISBN:9780077861759Author:Stephen A. Ross Franco Modigliani Professor of Financial Economics Professor, Randolph W Westerfield Robert R. Dockson Deans Chair in Bus. Admin., Jeffrey Jaffe, Bradford D Jordan ProfessorPublisher:McGraw-Hill Education





