Fight Finance

Courses  Tags  Random  All  Recent  Scores

Question 126  IRR

What is the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of the project detailed in the table below?

Assume that the cash flows shown in the table are paid all at once at the given point in time. All answers are given as effective annual rates.

Project Cash Flows
Time (yrs) Cash flow ($)
0 -100
1 0
2 121
 



Question 269  time calculation, APR

A student won $1m in a lottery. Currently the money is in a bank account which pays interest at 6% pa, given as an APR compounding per month.

She plans to spend $20,000 at the beginning of every month from now on (so the first withdrawal will be at t=0). After each withdrawal, she will check how much money is left in the account. When there is less than $500,000 left, she will donate that remaining amount to charity.

In how many months will she make her last withdrawal and donate the remainder to charity?



Question 456  inflation, effective rate

In the 'Austin Powers' series of movies, the character Dr. Evil threatens to destroy the world unless the United Nations pays him a ransom (video 1, video 2). Dr. Evil makes the threat on two separate occasions:

  • In 1969 he demands a ransom of $1 million (=10^6), and again;
  • In 1997 he demands a ransom of $100 billion (=10^11).

If Dr. Evil's demands are equivalent in real terms, in other words $1 million will buy the same basket of goods in 1969 as $100 billion would in 1997, what was the implied inflation rate over the 28 years from 1969 to 1997?

The answer choices below are given as effective annual rates:


Question 407  income and capital returns, inflation, real and nominal returns and cash flows

A stock has a real expected total return of 7% pa and a real expected capital return of 2% pa.

Inflation is expected to be 2% pa. All rates are given as effective annual rates.

What is the nominal expected total return, capital return and dividend yield? The answers below are given in the same order.



Question 461  book and market values, ROE, ROA, market efficiency

One year ago a pharmaceutical firm floated by selling its 1 million shares for $100 each. Its book and market values of equity were both $100m. Its debt totalled $50m. The required return on the firm's assets was 15%, equity 20% and debt 5% pa.

In the year since then, the firm:

  • Earned net income of $29m.
  • Paid dividends totaling $10m.
  • Discovered a valuable new drug that will lead to a massive 1,000 times increase in the firm's net income in 10 years after the research is commercialised. News of the discovery was publicly announced. The firm's systematic risk remains unchanged.

Which of the following statements is NOT correct? All statements are about current figures, not figures one year ago.

Hint: Book return on assets (ROA) and book return on equity (ROE) are ratios that accountants like to use to measure a business's past performance.

###\text{ROA}= \dfrac{\text{Net income}}{\text{Book value of assets}}###

###\text{ROE}= \dfrac{\text{Net income}}{\text{Book value of equity}}###

The required return on assets ##r_V## is a return that financiers like to use to estimate a business's future required performance which compensates them for the firm's assets' risks. If the business were to achieve realised historical returns equal to its required returns, then investment into the business's assets would have been a zero-NPV decision, which is neither good nor bad but fair.

###r_\text{V, 0 to 1}= \dfrac{\text{Cash flow from assets}_\text{1}}{\text{Market value of assets}_\text{0}} = \dfrac{CFFA_\text{1}}{V_\text{0}}###

Similarly for equity and debt.



Question 575  inflation, real and nominal returns and cash flows

You expect a nominal payment of $100 in 5 years. The real discount rate is 10% pa and the inflation rate is 3% pa. Which of the following statements is NOT correct?



Question 554  inflation, real and nominal returns and cash flows

On his 20th birthday, a man makes a resolution. He will put $30 cash under his bed at the end of every month starting from today. His birthday today is the first day of the month. So the first addition to his cash stash will be in one month. He will write in his will that when he dies the cash under the bed should be given to charity.

If the man lives for another 60 years, how much money will be under his bed if he dies just after making his last (720th) addition?

Also, what will be the real value of that cash in today's prices if inflation is expected to 2.5% pa? Assume that the inflation rate is an effective annual rate and is not expected to change.

The answers are given in the same order, the amount of money under his bed in 60 years, and the real value of that money in today's prices.



Question 481  Annuity

This annuity formula ##\dfrac{C_1}{r}\left(1-\dfrac{1}{(1+r)^3} \right)## is equivalent to which of the following formulas? Note the 3.

In the below formulas, ##C_t## is a cash flow at time t. All of the cash flows are equal, but paid at different times.



Question 4  DDM

For a price of $13, Carla will sell you a share paying a dividend of $1 in one year and every year after that forever. The required return of the stock is 10% pa.

Would you like to Carla's share or politely ?


Question 7  DDM

For a price of $1040, Camille will sell you a share which just paid a dividend of $100, and is expected to pay dividends every year forever, growing at a rate of 5% pa.

So the next dividend will be ##100(1+0.05)^1=$105.00##, and the year after it will be ##100(1+0.05)^2=110.25## and so on.

The required return of the stock is 15% pa.

Would you like to the share or politely ?


Question 201  DDM, income and capital returns

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

###P_0=\dfrac{C_1}{r-g}###

If the assumptions of the DDM hold and the stock is fairly priced, which one of the following statements is NOT correct? The long term expected:



Question 497  income and capital returns, DDM, ex dividend date

A stock will pay you a dividend of $10 tonight if you buy it today. Thereafter the annual dividend is expected to grow by 5% pa, so the next dividend after the $10 one tonight will be $10.50 in one year, then in two years it will be $11.025 and so on. The stock's required return is 10% pa.

What is the stock price today and what do you expect the stock price to be tomorrow, approximately?



Question 217  NPV, DDM, multi stage growth model

A stock is expected to pay a dividend of $15 in one year (t=1), then $25 for 9 years after that (payments at t=2 ,3,...10), and on the 11th year (t=11) the dividend will be 2% less than at t=10, and will continue to shrink at the same rate every year after that forever. The required return of the stock is 10%. All rates are effective annual rates.

What is the price of the stock now?



Question 31  DDM, perpetuity with growth, effective rate conversion

What is the NPV of the following series of cash flows when the discount rate is 5% given as an effective annual rate?

The first payment of $10 is in 4 years, followed by payments every 6 months forever after that which shrink by 2% every 6 months. That is, the growth rate every 6 months is actually negative 2%, given as an effective 6 month rate. So the payment at ## t=4.5 ## years will be ## 10(1-0.02)^1=9.80 ##, and so on.



Question 40  DDM, perpetuity with growth

A stock is expected to pay the following dividends:

Cash Flows of a Stock
Time (yrs) 0 1 2 3 4 ...
Dividend ($) 0.00 1.00 1.05 1.10 1.15 ...
 

After year 4, the annual dividend will grow in perpetuity at 5% pa, so;

  • the dividend at t=5 will be $1.15(1+0.05),
  • the dividend at t=6 will be $1.15(1+0.05)^2, and so on.

The required return on the stock is 10% pa. Both the growth rate and required return are given as effective annual rates.

What will be the price of the stock in three and a half years (t = 3.5)?



Question 50  DDM, stock pricing, inflation, real and nominal returns and cash flows

Most listed Australian companies pay dividends twice per year, the 'interim' and 'final' dividends, which are roughly 6 months apart.

You are an equities analyst trying to value the company BHP. You decide to use the Dividend Discount Model (DDM) as a starting point, so you study BHP's dividend history and you find that BHP tends to pay the same interim and final dividend each year, and that both grow by the same rate.

You expect BHP will pay a $0.55 interim dividend in six months and a $0.55 final dividend in one year. You expect each to grow by 4% next year and forever, so the interim and final dividends next year will be $0.572 each, and so on in perpetuity.

Assume BHP's cost of equity is 8% pa. All rates are quoted as nominal effective rates. The dividends are nominal cash flows and the inflation rate is 2.5% pa.

What is the current price of a BHP share?



Question 465  NPV, perpetuity

The boss of WorkingForTheManCorp has a wicked (and unethical) idea. He plans to pay his poor workers one week late so that he can get more interest on his cash in the bank.

Every week he is supposed to pay his 1,000 employees $1,000 each. So $1 million is paid to employees every week.

The boss was just about to pay his employees today, until he thought of this idea so he will actually pay them one week (7 days) later for the work they did last week and every week in the future, forever.

Bank interest rates are 10% pa, given as a real effective annual rate. So ##r_\text{eff annual, real} = 0.1## and the real effective weekly rate is therefore ##r_\text{eff weekly, real} = (1+0.1)^{1/52}-1 = 0.001834569##

All rates and cash flows are real, the inflation rate is 3% pa and there are 52 weeks per year. The boss will always pay wages one week late. The business will operate forever with constant real wages and the same number of employees.

What is the net present value (NPV) of the boss's decision to pay later?



Question 347  PE ratio, Multiples valuation

Which of the following investable assets are NOT suitable for valuation using PE multiples techniques?



Question 357  PE ratio, Multiples valuation

Which of the following investable assets are NOT suitable for valuation using PE multiples techniques?



Question 364  PE ratio, Multiples valuation

Which firms tend to have high forward-looking price-earnings (PE) ratios?



Question 457  PE ratio, Multiples valuation

Which firms tend to have low forward-looking price-earnings (PE) ratios? Only consider firms with positive PE ratios.



Question 26  APR, effective rate

A European bond paying annual coupons of 6% offers a yield of 10% pa.

Convert the yield into an effective monthly rate, an effective annual rate and an effective daily rate. Assume that there are 365 days in a year.

All answers are given in the same order:

### r_\text{eff, monthly} , r_\text{eff, yearly} , r_\text{eff, daily} ###



Question 49  inflation, real and nominal returns and cash flows, APR, effective rate

In Australia, nominal yields on semi-annual coupon paying Government Bonds with 2 years until maturity are currently 2.83% pa.

The inflation rate is currently 2.2% pa, given as an APR compounding per quarter. The inflation rate is not expected to change over the next 2 years.

What is the real yield on these bonds, given as an APR compounding every 6 months?



Question 234  debt terminology

An 'interest only' loan can also be called a:



Question 187  fully amortising loan, APR

You just signed up for a 30 year fully amortising mortgage with monthly payments of $1,000 per month. The interest rate is 6% pa which is not expected to change.

How much did you borrow? After 20 years, how much will be owing on the mortgage? The interest rate is still 6% and is not expected to change.



Question 29  interest only loan

You want to buy an apartment priced at $300,000. You have saved a deposit of $30,000. The bank has agreed to lend you the $270,000 as an interest only loan with a term of 25 years. The interest rate is 12% pa and is not expected to change.

What will be your monthly payments? Remember that mortgage payments are paid in arrears (at the end of the month).



Question 57  interest only loan

You just borrowed $400,000 in the form of a 25 year interest-only mortgage with monthly payments of $3,000 per month. The interest rate is 9% pa which is not expected to change.

You actually plan to pay more than the required interest payment. You plan to pay $3,300 in mortgage payments every month, which your mortgage lender allows. These extra payments will reduce the principal and the minimum interest payment required each month.

At the maturity of the mortgage, what will be the principal? That is, after the last (300th) interest payment of $3,300 in 25 years, how much will be owing on the mortgage?



Question 239  income and capital returns, inflation, real and nominal returns and cash flows, interest only loan

A bank grants a borrower an interest-only residential mortgage loan with a very large 50% deposit and a nominal interest rate of 6% that is not expected to change. Assume that inflation is expected to be a constant 2% pa over the life of the loan. Ignore credit risk.

From the bank's point of view, what is the long term expected nominal capital return of the loan asset?



Question 33  bond pricing, premium par and discount bonds

Bonds A and B are issued by the same company. They have the same face value, maturity, seniority and coupon payment frequency. The only difference is that bond A has a 5% coupon rate, while bond B has a 10% coupon rate. The yield curve is flat, which means that yields are expected to stay the same.

Which bond would have the higher current price?



Question 56  income and capital returns, bond pricing, premium par and discount bonds

Which of the following statements about risk free government bonds is NOT correct?

Hint: Total return can be broken into income and capital returns as follows:

###\begin{aligned} r_\text{total} &= \frac{c_1}{p_0} + \frac{p_1-p_0}{p_0} \\ &= r_\text{income} + r_\text{capital} \end{aligned} ###

The capital return is the growth rate of the price.
The income return is the periodic cash flow. For a bond this is the coupon payment.


Question 207  income and capital returns, bond pricing, coupon rate, no explanation

For a bond that pays fixed semi-annual coupons, how is the annual coupon rate defined, and how is the bond's annual income yield from time 0 to 1 defined mathematically?

Let: ##P_0## be the bond price now,

##F_T## be the bond's face value,

##T## be the bond's maturity in years,

##r_\text{total}## be the bond's total yield,

##r_\text{income}## be the bond's income yield,

##r_\text{capital}## be the bond's capital yield, and

##C_t## be the bond's coupon at time t in years. So ##C_{0.5}## is the coupon in 6 months, ##C_1## is the coupon in 1 year, and so on.



Question 213  income and capital returns, bond pricing, premium par and discount bonds

The coupon rate of a fixed annual-coupon bond is constant (always the same).

What can you say about the income return (##r_\text{income}##) of a fixed annual coupon bond? Remember that:

###r_\text{total} = r_\text{income} + r_\text{capital}###

###r_\text{total, 0 to 1} = \frac{c_1}{p_0} + \frac{p_1-p_0}{p_0}###

Assume that there is no change in the bond's total annual yield to maturity from when it is issued to when it matures.

Select the most correct statement.

From its date of issue until maturity, the income return of a fixed annual coupon:



Question 229  bond pricing

An investor bought two fixed-coupon bonds issued by the same company, a zero-coupon bond and a 7% pa semi-annual coupon bond. Both bonds have a face value of $1,000, mature in 10 years, and had a yield at the time of purchase of 8% pa.

A few years later, yields fell to 6% pa. Which of the following statements is correct? Note that a capital gain is an increase in price.



Question 255  bond pricing

In these tough economic times, central banks around the world have cut interest rates so low that they are practically zero. In some countries, government bond yields are also very close to zero.

A three year government bond with a face value of $100 and a coupon rate of 2% pa paid semi-annually was just issued at a yield of 0%. What is the price of the bond?



Question 266  bond pricing, premium par and discount bonds

Bonds X and Y are issued by the same company. Both bonds yield 10% pa, and they have the same face value ($100), maturity, seniority, and payment frequency.

The only difference is that bond X pays coupons of 6% pa and bond Y pays coupons of 8% pa. Which of the following statements is true?



Question 583  APR, effective rate, effective rate conversion

A semi-annual coupon bond has a yield of 3% pa. Which of the following statements about the yield is NOT correct? All rates are given to four decimal places.



Question 620  bond pricing, income and capital returns

Let the 'income return' of a bond be the coupon at the end of the period divided by the market price now at the start of the period ##(C_1/P_0)##. The expected income return of a premium fixed coupon bond is:



Question 143  bond pricing, zero coupon bond, term structure of interest rates, forward interest rate

An Australian company just issued two bonds:

  • A 6-month zero coupon bond at a yield of 6% pa, and
  • A 12 month zero coupon bond at a yield of 7% pa.

What is the company's forward rate from 6 to 12 months? Give your answer as an APR compounding every 6 months, which is how the above bond yields are quoted.



Question 728  inflation, real and nominal returns and cash flows, income and capital returns, no explanation

Which of the following statements about gold is NOT correct? Assume that the gold price increases by inflation. Gold has a:



Question 730  DDM, income and capital returns, no explanation

A stock’s current price is $1. Its expected total return is 10% pa and its long term expected capital return is 4% pa. It pays an annual dividend and the next one will be paid in one year. All rates are given as effective annual rates. The dividend discount model is thought to be a suitable model for the stock. Ignore taxes. Which of the following statements about the stock is NOT correct?



Question 732  real and nominal returns and cash flows, inflation, income and capital returns

An investor bought a bond for $100 (at t=0) and one year later it paid its annual coupon of $1 (at t=1). Just after the coupon was paid, the bond price was $100.50 (at t=1). Inflation over the past year (from t=0 to t=1) was 3% pa, given as an effective annual rate.

Which of the following statements is NOT correct? The bond investment produced a:



Question 733  DDM, income and capital returns

A share’s current price is $60. It’s expected to pay a dividend of $1.50 in one year. The growth rate of the dividend is 0.5% pa and the stock’s required total return is 3% pa. The stock’s price can be modeled using the dividend discount model (DDM):

##P_0=\dfrac{C_1}{r-g}##

Which of the following methods is NOT equal to the stock’s expected price in one year and six months (t=1.5 years)? Note that the symbolic formulas shown in each line below do equal the formulas with numbers. The formula is just repeated with symbols and then numbers in case it helps you to identify the incorrect statement more quickly.



Question 734  real and nominal returns and cash flows, inflation, DDM, no explanation

An equities analyst is using the dividend discount model to price a company's shares. The company operates domestically and has no plans to expand overseas. It is part of a mature industry with stable positive growth prospects.

The analyst has estimated the real required return (r) of the stock and the value of the dividend that the stock just paid a moment before ##(C_\text{0 before})##.

What is the highest perpetual real growth rate of dividends (g) that can be justified? Select the most correct statement from the following choices. The highest perpetual real expected growth rate of dividends that can be justified is the country's expected:



Question 238  CFFA, leverage, interest tax shield

A company increases the proportion of debt funding it uses to finance its assets by issuing bonds and using the cash to repurchase stock, leaving assets unchanged.

Ignoring the costs of financial distress, which of the following statements is NOT correct:



Question 351  CFFA

Over the next year, the management of an unlevered company plans to:

  • Achieve firm free cash flow (FFCF or CFFA) of $1m.
  • Pay dividends of $1.8m
  • Complete a $1.3m share buy-back.
  • Spend $0.8m on new buildings without buying or selling any other fixed assets. This capital expenditure is included in the CFFA figure quoted above.

Assume that:

  • All amounts are received and paid at the end of the year so you can ignore the time value of money.
  • The firm has sufficient retained profits to pay the dividend and complete the buy back.
  • The firm plans to run a very tight ship, with no excess cash above operating requirements currently or over the next year.

How much new equity financing will the company need? In other words, what is the value of new shares that will need to be issued?



Question 366  opportunity cost, NPV, CFFA

Your friend is trying to find the net present value of an investment which:

  • Costs $1 million initially (t=0); and
  • Pays a single positive cash flow of $1.1 million in one year (t=1).

The investment has a total required return of 10% pa due to its moderate level of undiversifiable risk.

Your friend is aware of the importance of opportunity costs and the time value of money, but he is unsure of how to find the NPV of the project.

He knows that the opportunity cost of investing the $1m in the project is the expected gain from investing the money in shares instead. Like the project, shares also have an expected return of 10% since they have moderate undiversifiable risk. This opportunity cost is $0.1m ##(=1m \times 10\%)## which occurs in one year (t=1).

He knows that the time value of money should be accounted for, and this can be done by finding the present value of the cash flows in one year.

Your friend has listed a few different ways to find the NPV which are written down below.

Method 1: ##-1m + \dfrac{1.1m}{(1+0.1)^1} ##

Method 2: ##-1m + 1.1m - 1m \times 0.1 ##

Method 3: ##-1m + \dfrac{1.1m}{(1+0.1)^1} - 1m \times 0.1 ##

Which of the above calculations give the correct NPV? Select the most correct answer.



Question 511  capital budgeting, CFFA

Find the cash flow from assets (CFFA) of the following project.

One Year Mining Project Data
Project life 1 year
Initial investment in building mine and equipment $9m
Depreciation of mine and equipment over the year $8m
Kilograms of gold mined at end of year 1,000
Sale price per kilogram $0.05m
Variable cost per kilogram $0.03m
Before-tax cost of closing mine at end of year $4m
Tax rate 30%
 

Note 1: Due to the project, the firm also anticipates finding some rare diamonds which will give before-tax revenues of $1m at the end of the year.

Note 2: The land that will be mined actually has thermal springs and a family of koalas that could be sold to an eco-tourist resort for an after-tax amount of $3m right now. However, if the mine goes ahead then this natural beauty will be destroyed.

Note 3: The mining equipment will have a book value of $1m at the end of the year for tax purposes. However, the equipment is expected to fetch $2.5m when it is sold.

Find the project's CFFA at time zero and one. Answers are given in millions of dollars ($m), with the first cash flow at time zero, and the second at time one.



Question 273  CFFA, capital budgeting

Value the following business project to manufacture a new product.

Project Data
Project life 2 yrs
Initial investment in equipment $6m
Depreciation of equipment per year $3m
Expected sale price of equipment at end of project $0.6m
Unit sales per year 4m
Sale price per unit $8
Variable cost per unit $5
Fixed costs per year, paid at the end of each year $1m
Interest expense per year 0
Tax rate 30%
Weighted average cost of capital after tax per annum 10%
 

Notes

  1. The firm's current assets and current liabilities are $3m and $2m respectively right now. This net working capital will not be used in this project, it will be used in other unrelated projects.
    Due to the project, current assets (mostly inventory) will grow by $2m initially (at t = 0), and then by $0.2m at the end of the first year (t=1).
    Current liabilities (mostly trade creditors) will increase by $0.1m at the end of the first year (t=1).
    At the end of the project, the net working capital accumulated due to the project can be sold for the same price that it was bought.
  2. The project cost $0.5m to research which was incurred one year ago.

Assumptions

  • All cash flows occur at the start or end of the year as appropriate, not in the middle or throughout the year.
  • All rates and cash flows are real. The inflation rate is 3% pa.
  • All rates are given as effective annual rates.
  • The business considering the project is run as a 'sole tradership' (run by an individual without a company) and is therefore eligible for a 50% capital gains tax discount when the equipment is sold, as permitted by the Australian Tax Office.

What is the expected net present value (NPV) of the project?



Question 406  leverage, WACC, margin loan, portfolio return

One year ago you bought $100,000 of shares partly funded using a margin loan. The margin loan size was $70,000 and the other $30,000 was your own wealth or 'equity' in the share assets.

The interest rate on the margin loan was 7.84% pa.

Over the year, the shares produced a dividend yield of 4% pa and a capital gain of 5% pa.

What was the total return on your wealth? Ignore taxes, assume that all cash flows (interest payments and dividends) were paid and received at the end of the year, and all rates above are effective annual rates.

Hint: Remember that wealth in this context is your equity (E) in the house asset (V = D+E) which is funded by the loan (D) and your deposit or equity (E).


Question 206  CFFA, interest expense, interest tax shield

Interest expense (IntExp) is an important part of a company's income statement (or 'profit and loss' or 'statement of financial performance').

How does an accountant calculate the annual interest expense of a fixed-coupon bond that has a liquid secondary market? Select the most correct answer:

Annual interest expense is equal to:



Question 367  CFFA, interest tax shield

There are many ways to calculate a firm's free cash flow (FFCF), also called cash flow from assets (CFFA). Some include the annual interest tax shield in the cash flow and some do not.

Which of the below FFCF formulas include the interest tax shield in the cash flow?

###(1) \quad FFCF=NI + Depr - CapEx -ΔNWC + IntExp### ###(2) \quad FFCF=NI + Depr - CapEx -ΔNWC + IntExp.(1-t_c)### ###(3) \quad FFCF=EBIT.(1-t_c )+ Depr- CapEx -ΔNWC+IntExp.t_c### ###(4) \quad FFCF=EBIT.(1-t_c) + Depr- CapEx -ΔNWC### ###(5) \quad FFCF=EBITDA.(1-t_c )+Depr.t_c- CapEx -ΔNWC+IntExp.t_c### ###(6) \quad FFCF=EBITDA.(1-t_c )+Depr.t_c- CapEx -ΔNWC### ###(7) \quad FFCF=EBIT-Tax + Depr - CapEx -ΔNWC### ###(8) \quad FFCF=EBIT-Tax + Depr - CapEx -ΔNWC-IntExp.t_c### ###(9) \quad FFCF=EBITDA-Tax - CapEx -ΔNWC### ###(10) \quad FFCF=EBITDA-Tax - CapEx -ΔNWC-IntExp.t_c###

The formulas for net income (NI also called earnings), EBIT and EBITDA are given below. Assume that depreciation and amortisation are both represented by 'Depr' and that 'FC' represents fixed costs such as rent.

###NI=(Rev - COGS - Depr - FC - IntExp).(1-t_c )### ###EBIT=Rev - COGS - FC-Depr### ###EBITDA=Rev - COGS - FC### ###Tax =(Rev - COGS - Depr - FC - IntExp).t_c= \dfrac{NI.t_c}{1-t_c}###



Question 368  interest tax shield, CFFA

A method commonly seen in textbooks for calculating a levered firm's free cash flow (FFCF, or CFFA) is the following:

###\begin{aligned} FFCF &= (Rev - COGS - Depr - FC - IntExp)(1-t_c) + \\ &\space\space\space+ Depr - CapEx -\Delta NWC + IntExp(1-t_c) \\ \end{aligned}###
Does this annual FFCF or the annual interest tax shield?


Question 369  interest tax shield, CFFA

One formula for calculating a levered firm's free cash flow (FFCF, or CFFA) is to use earnings before interest and tax (EBIT).

###\begin{aligned} FFCF &= (EBIT)(1-t_c) + Depr - CapEx -\Delta NWC + IntExp.t_c \\ &= (Rev - COGS - Depr - FC)(1-t_c) + Depr - CapEx -\Delta NWC + IntExp.t_c \\ \end{aligned} \\###
Does this annual FFCF or the annual interest tax shield?


Question 91  WACC, capital structure

A firm has a debt-to-assets ratio of 50%. The firm then issues a large amount of equity to raise money for new projects of similar systematic risk to the company's existing projects. Assume a classical tax system. Which statement is correct?



Question 565  correlation

What is the correlation of a variable X with a constant C?

The corr(X, C) or ##\rho_{X,C}## equals:



Question 561  covariance, correlation

The covariance and correlation of two stocks X and Y's annual returns are calculated over a number of years. The units of the returns are in percent per annum ##(\% pa)##.

What are the units of the covariance ##(\sigma_{X,Y})## and correlation ##(\rho_{X,Y})## of returns respectively?

Hint: Visit Wikipedia to understand the difference between percentage points ##(\text{pp})## and percent ##(\%)##.


Question 306  risk, standard deviation

Let the standard deviation of returns for a share per month be ##\sigma_\text{monthly}##.

What is the formula for the standard deviation of the share's returns per year ##(\sigma_\text{yearly})##?

Assume that returns are independently and identically distributed (iid) so they have zero auto correlation, meaning that if the return was higher than average today, it does not indicate that the return tomorrow will be higher or lower than average.



Question 706  utility, risk aversion, utility function

Mr Blue, Miss Red and Mrs Green are people with different utility functions.

Note that a fair gamble is a bet that has an expected value of zero, such as paying $0.50 to win $1 in a coin flip with heads or nothing if it lands tails. Fairly priced insurance is when the expected present value of the insurance premiums is equal to the expected loss from the disaster that the insurance protects against, such as the cost of rebuilding a home after a catastrophic fire.

Which of the following statements is NOT correct?

Utility curves



Question 705  utility, risk aversion, utility function

Mr Blue, Miss Red and Mrs Green are people with different utility functions.

Which of the following statements is NOT correct?

Utility curves



Question 79  CAPM, risk

Which statement is the most correct?



Question 673  CAPM, beta, expected and historical returns

A stock has a beta of 1.5. The market's expected total return is 10% pa and the risk free rate is 5% pa, both given as effective annual rates.

In the last 5 minutes, bad economic news was released showing a higher chance of recession. Over this time the share market fell by 1%. The risk free rate was unchanged.

What do you think was the stock's historical return over the last 5 minutes, given as an effective 5 minute rate?



Question 674  CAPM, beta, expected and historical returns

A stock has a beta of 1.5. The market's expected total return is 10% pa and the risk free rate is 5% pa, both given as effective annual rates.

Over the last year, bad economic news was released showing a higher chance of recession. Over this time the share market fell by 1%. So ##r_{m} = (P_{0} - P_{-1})/P_{-1} = -0.01##, where the current time is zero and one year ago is time -1. The risk free rate was unchanged.

What do you think was the stock's historical return over the last year, given as an effective annual rate?



Question 116  capital structure, CAPM

A firm changes its capital structure by issuing a large amount of equity and using the funds to repay debt. Its assets are unchanged. Ignore interest tax shields.

According to the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), which statement is correct?



Question 410  CAPM, capital budgeting

The CAPM can be used to find a business's expected opportunity cost of capital:

###r_i=r_f+β_i (r_m-r_f)###

What should be used as the risk free rate ##r_f##?



Question 114  WACC, capital structure, risk

A firm's WACC before tax would decrease due to:



Question 302  WACC, CAPM

Which of the following statements about the weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is NOT correct?



Question 417  NPV, market efficiency, DDM

A managed fund charges fees based on the amount of money that you keep with them. The fee is 2% of the end-of-year amount, paid at the end of every year.

This fee is charged regardless of whether the fund makes gains or losses on your money.

The fund offers to invest your money in shares which have an expected return of 10% pa before fees.

You are thinking of investing $100,000 in the fund and keeping it there for 40 years when you plan to retire.

How much money do you expect to have in the fund in 40 years? Also, what is the future value of the fees that the fund expects to earn from you? Give both amounts as future values in 40 years. Assume that:

  • The fund has no private information.
  • Markets are weak and semi-strong form efficient.
  • The fund's transaction costs are negligible.
  • The cost and trouble of investing your money in shares by yourself, without the managed fund, is negligible.
  • The fund invests its fees in the same companies as it invests your funds in, but with no fees.

The below answer choices list your expected wealth in 40 years and then the fund's expected wealth in 40 years.



Question 449  personal tax on dividends, classical tax system

A small private company has a single shareholder. This year the firm earned a $100 profit before tax. All of the firm's after tax profits will be paid out as dividends to the owner.

The corporate tax rate is 30% and the sole shareholder's personal marginal tax rate is 45%.

The United States' classical tax system applies because the company generates all of its income in the US and pays corporate tax to the Internal Revenue Service. The shareholder is also an American for tax purposes.

What will be the personal tax payable by the shareholder and the corporate tax payable by the company?



Question 624  franking credit, personal tax on dividends, imputation tax system, no explanation

Which of the following statements about Australian franking credits is NOT correct? Franking credits:



Question 202  DDM, payout policy

Currently, a mining company has a share price of $6 and pays constant annual dividends of $0.50. The next dividend will be paid in 1 year. Suddenly and unexpectedly the mining company announces that due to higher than expected profits, all of these windfall profits will be paid as a special dividend of $0.30 in 1 year.

If investors believe that the windfall profits and dividend is a one-off event, what will be the new share price? If investors believe that the additional dividend is actually permanent and will continue to be paid, what will be the new share price? Assume that the required return on equity is unchanged. Choose from the following, where the first share price includes the one-off increase in earnings and dividends for the first year only ##(P_\text{0 one-off})## , and the second assumes that the increase is permanent ##(P_\text{0 permanent})##:


Note: When a firm makes excess profits they sometimes pay them out as special dividends. Special dividends are just like ordinary dividends but they are one-off and investors do not expect them to continue, unlike ordinary dividends which are expected to persist.


Question 568  rights issue, capital raising, capital structure

A company conducts a 1 for 5 rights issue at a subscription price of $7 when the pre-announcement stock price was $10. What is the percentage change in the stock price and the number of shares outstanding? The answers are given in the same order. Ignore all taxes, transaction costs and signalling effects.



Question 709  continuously compounding rate, APR

Which of the following interest rate quotes is NOT equivalent to a 10% effective annual rate of return? Assume that each year has 12 months, each month has 30 days, each day has 24 hours, each hour has 60 minutes and each minute has 60 seconds. APR stands for Annualised Percentage Rate.



Question 776  market efficiency, systematic and idiosyncratic risk, beta, income and capital returns

Which of the following statements about returns is NOT correct? A stock's:



Question 778  CML, systematic and idiosyncratic risk, portfolio risk, CAPM

The capital market line (CML) is shown in the graph below. The total standard deviation is denoted by σ and the expected return is μ. Assume that markets are efficient so all assets are fairly priced.

Image of CML graph

Which of the below statements is NOT correct?



Question 779  mean and median returns, return distribution, arithmetic and geometric averages, continuously compounding rate

Fred owns some BHP shares. He has calculated BHP’s monthly returns for each month in the past 30 years using this formula:

###r_\text{t monthly}=\ln⁡ \left( \dfrac{P_t}{P_{t-1}} \right)###

He then took the arithmetic average and found it to be 0.8% per month using this formula:

###\bar{r}_\text{monthly}= \dfrac{ \displaystyle\sum\limits_{t=1}^T{\left( r_\text{t monthly} \right)} }{T} =0.008=0.8\% \text{ per month}###

He also found the standard deviation of these monthly returns which was 15% per month:

###\sigma_\text{monthly} = \dfrac{ \displaystyle\sum\limits_{t=1}^T{\left( \left( r_\text{t monthly} - \bar{r}_\text{monthly} \right)^2 \right)} }{T} =0.15=15\%\text{ per month}###

Assume that the past historical average return is the true population average of future expected returns and the stock's returns calculated above ##(r_\text{t monthly})## are normally distributed. Which of the below statements about Fred’s BHP shares is NOT correct?



Question 780  mispriced asset, NPV, DDM, market efficiency, no explanation

A company advertises an investment costing $1,000 which they say is under priced. They say that it has an expected total return of 15% pa, but a required return of only 10% pa. Of the 15% pa total expected return, the dividend yield is expected to be 4% pa and the capital yield 11% pa. Assume that the company's statements are correct.

What is the NPV of buying the investment if the 15% total return lasts for the next 100 years (t=0 to 100), then reverts to 10% after that time? Also, what is the NPV of the investment if the 15% return lasts forever?

In both cases, assume that the required return of 10% remains constant, the dividends can only be re-invested at 10% pa and all returns are given as effective annual rates. The answer choices below are given in the same order (15% for 100 years, and 15% forever):



Question 668  buy and hold, market efficiency, idiom

A quote from the famous investor Warren Buffet: "Much success can be attributed to inactivity. Most investors cannot resist the temptation to constantly buy and sell."

Buffet is referring to the buy-and-hold strategy which is to buy and never sell shares. Which of the following is a disadvantage of a buy-and-hold strategy? Assume that share markets are semi-strong form efficient. Which of the following is NOT an advantage of the strict buy-and-hold strategy? A disadvantage of the buy-and-hold strategy is that it reduces:



Question 618  capital structure, no explanation

Who owns a company's shares? The:



Question 629  yield curve, forward interest rate

Which of the following statements about yield curves is NOT correct?