Fight Finance

Question 18  DDM, income and capital returns

The following equation is the Dividend Discount Model, also known as the 'Gordon Growth Model' or the 'Perpetuity with growth' equation.

### p_{0} = \frac{c_1}{r_{\text{eff}} - g_{\text{eff}}} ###

What is the discount rate '## r_\text{eff} ##' in this equation?

(a) The expected total return of the stock.

(b) The expected capital return of the stock.

(c) The expected dividend return of the stock.

(d) The expected income return of the stock.

(e) The expected growth rate of the stock price.

Question 37  IRR

If a project's net present value (NPV) is zero, then its internal rate of return (IRR) will be:

(a) Positive infinity (##+\infty##)

(b) Zero (0).

(c) Less than the project's required return.

(d) More than the project's required return.

(e) Equal to the project's required return.

Question 41  DDM, income and capital returns

The following is the Dividend Discount Model (DDM) used to price stocks:

### P_0 = \frac{d_1}{r-g} ###

Assume that the assumptions of the DDM hold and that the time period is measured in years.

Which of the following is equal to the expected dividend in 3 years, ## d_3 ##?

(a) ## d_1(1+g)^3 ##

(b) ## P_3(r-g) ##

(c) ## d_2(1+g)^2 ##

(d) ## P_0(1+g)^3(r-g) ##

(e) ## P_0(1+g)^2(r-g) ##

Question 127  interest expense

A zero coupon bond that matures in 6 months has a face value of $1,000.

The firm that issued this bond is trying to forecast its income statement for the year. It needs to calculate the interest expense of the bond this year.

The bond is highly illiquid and hasn't traded on the market. But the finance department have assessed the bond's fair value to be $950 and this is its book value right now at the start of the year.

Assume that:

• the firm uses the 'effective interest method' to calculate interest expense.
• the market value of the bond is the same as the book value.
• the firm is only interested in this bond's interest expense. Do not include the interest expense for a new bond issued to refinance the current one, as would normally happen.

What will be the interest expense of the bond this year for the purpose of forecasting the income statement?

(a) $0

(b) $50.0000

(c) $51.3158

(d) $102.6316

(e) $1,000.0000

Question 267  term structure of interest rates

A European company just issued two bonds, a

• 3 year zero coupon bond at a yield of 6% pa, and a
• 4 year zero coupon bond at a yield of 6.5% pa.

What is the company's forward rate over the fourth year (from t=3 to t=4)? Give your answer as an effective annual rate, which is how the above bond yields are quoted.

(a) 0.1634

(b) 0.0801

(c) 0.0704

(d) 0.07

(e) 0.0095

Question 278  inflation, real and nominal returns and cash flows

Imagine that the interest rate on your savings account was 1% per year and inflation was 2% per year.

After one year, would you be able to buy , exactly the as or than today with the money in this account?

Question 311  foreign exchange rate

When someone says that they're "buying American dollars" (USD), what type of asset are they probably buying? They're probably buying:

(a) Short term debt denominated in USD, for example lending to a US bank as a USD deposit.

(b) Long term debt denominated in USD, for example lending to a US company by buying their USD bonds.

(c) Shares denominated in USD, for example buying shares in Coca-Cola which is listed on the NYSE.

(d) Real estate denominated in USD, for example buying an apartment in Chicago.

(e) Commodities with USD, for example buying gold, wheat, or coal.

Question 488  income and capital returns, payout policy, payout ratio, DDM

Two companies BigDiv and ZeroDiv are exactly the same except for their dividend payouts.

BigDiv pays large dividends and ZeroDiv doesn't pay any dividends.

Currently the two firms have the same earnings, assets, number of shares, share price, expected total return and risk.

Assume a perfect world with no taxes, no transaction costs, no asymmetric information and that all assets including business projects are fairly priced and therefore zero-NPV.

All things remaining equal, which of the following statements is NOT correct?

(a) BigDiv is expected to have a lower capital return than ZeroDiv in the future.

(b) BigDiv is expected to have a lower total return than ZeroDiv in the future.

(c) ZeroDiv's assets are likely to grow faster than BigDiv's.

(d) ZeroDiv's share price will increase faster than BigDiv's.

(e) BigDiv currently has a higher payout ratio than ZeroDiv.

Question 825  future, hedging, tailing the hedge, speculation, no explanation

An equity index fund manager controls a USD500 million diversified equity portfolio with a beta of 0.9. The equity manager expects a significant rally in equity prices next year. The market does not think that this will happen. If the fund manager wishes to increase his portfolio beta to 1.5, how many S&P500 futures should he buy?

The US market equity index is the S&P500. One year CME futures on the S&P500 currently trade at 2,155 points and the spot price is 2,180 points. Each point is worth $250.

The number of one year S&P500 futures contracts that the fund manager should buy is:

(a) 550

(b) 557

(c) 826

(d) 835

(e) 1392

Question 969  foreign exchange rate, no explanation

RBA analyst Adam Hamilton wrote in the December 2018 Bulletin article ‘Understanding Exchange Rates and Why They Are Important’ the following passage about bilateral exchange rates:

A bilateral exchange rate refers to the value of one currency relative to another. It is the most commonly referenced type of exchange rate. Most bilateral exchange rates are quoted against the US dollar (USD), as it is the most traded currency globally. Looking at the Australian dollar (AUD), the AUD/USD exchange rate gives you the amount of US dollars that you will receive for each Australian dollar that you convert (or sell). For example, an AUD/USD exchange rate of 0.75 means that you will get US75 cents for every 1 AUD.

An appreciation of the Australian dollar is an increase in its value compared with a foreign currency. This means that each Australian dollar buys you more foreign currency than before. Equivalently, if you are buying an item that is priced in foreign currency it will now cost you less in Australian dollars than before. If there is a depreciation of the Australian dollar, the opposite is true.

Based on this information, which of the following statements is NOT correct?

(a) 'US75 cents for every 1 AUD’ is an American terms quote of the AUD.

(b) 'US75 cents for every 1 AUD’ is equivalent to 0.75AUD per USD.

(c) The AUD would have appreciated against the USD if the quote moved from US75 to US80 cents for every 1 AUD.

(d) Importers of US goods into Australia would pay less in AUD and be happy if the exchange rate moved from US75 to US80 cents for every 1 AUD, all other things remaining equal.

(e) Exporters of Australian goods into the USA would receive less in AUD and be unhappy if the exchange rate moved from US75 to US80 cents for every 1 AUD, all other things remaining equal.