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Question 363  income and capital returns, inflation, real and nominal returns and cash flows, real estate

A residential investment property has an expected nominal total return of 8% pa and nominal capital return of 3% pa.

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

What are the property's expected real total, capital and income returns? The answer choices below are given in the same order.



Question 44  NPV

The required return of a project is 10%, given as an effective annual rate. Assume that the cash flows shown in the table are paid all at once at the given point in time.

What is the Net Present Value (NPV) of the project?

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



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 60  pay back period

The required return of a project is 10%, given as an effective annual rate.

What is the payback period of the project in years?

Assume that the cash flows shown in the table are received smoothly over the year. So the $121 at time 2 is actually earned smoothly from t=1 to t=2.

Project Cash Flows
Time (yrs) Cash flow ($)
0 -100
1 11
2 121
 



Question 190  pay back period

A project has the following cash flows:

Project Cash Flows
Time (yrs) Cash flow ($)
0 -400
1 0
2 500
 

What is the payback period of the project in years?

Normally cash flows are assumed to happen at the given time. But here, assume that the cash flows are received smoothly over the year. So the $500 at time 2 is actually earned smoothly from t=1 to t=2.



Question 580  price gains and returns over time, time calculation, effective rate

How many years will it take for an asset's price to quadruple (be four times as big, say from $1 to $4) if the price grows by 15% pa?



Question 579  price gains and returns over time, time calculation, effective rate

How many years will it take for an asset's price to double if the price grows by 10% pa?



Question 478  income and capital returns

Total cash flows can be broken into income and capital cash flows. What is the name given to the income cash flow from owning shares?



Question 508  income and capital returns

Which of the following equations is NOT equal to the total return of an asset?

Let ##p_0## be the current price, ##p_1## the expected price in one year and ##c_1## the expected income in one year.



Question 477  income and capital returns

An asset's total expected return over the next year is given by:

###r_\text{total} = \dfrac{c_1+p_1-p_0}{p_0} ###

Where ##p_0## is the current price, ##c_1## is the expected income in one year and ##p_1## is the expected price in one year. The total return can be split into the income return and the capital return.

Which of the following is the expected capital return?



Question 151  income and capital returns

A share was bought for $30 (at t=0) and paid its annual dividend of $6 one year later (at t=1).

Just after the dividend was paid, the share price fell to $27 (at t=1). What were the total, capital and income returns given as effective annual rates?

The choices are given in the same order:

##r_\text{total}## , ##r_\text{capital}## , ##r_\text{dividend}##.



Question 21  income and capital returns, bond pricing

A fixed coupon bond was bought for $90 and paid its annual coupon of $3 one year later (at t=1 year). Just after the coupon was paid, the bond price was $92 (at t=1 year). What was the total return, capital return and income return? Calculate your answers as effective annual rates.

The choices are given in the same order: ## r_\text{total},r_\text{capital},r_\text{income} ##.



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 295  inflation, real and nominal returns and cash flows, NPV

When valuing assets using discounted cash flow (net present value) methods, it is important to consider inflation. To properly deal with inflation:

(I) Discount nominal cash flows by nominal discount rates.

(II) Discount nominal cash flows by real discount rates.

(III) Discount real cash flows by nominal discount rates.

(IV) Discount real cash flows by real discount rates.

Which of the above statements is or are correct?



Question 155  inflation, real and nominal returns and cash flows, Loan, effective rate conversion

You are a banker about to grant a 2 year loan to a customer. The loan's principal and interest will be repaid in a single payment at maturity, sometimes called a zero-coupon loan, discount loan or bullet loan.

You require a real return of 6% pa over the two years, given as an effective annual rate. Inflation is expected to be 2% this year and 4% next year, both given as effective annual rates.

You judge that the customer can afford to pay back $1,000,000 in 2 years, given as a nominal cash flow. How much should you lend to her right now?



Question 482  market capitalisation of equity

The below screenshot of Microsoft's (MSFT) details were taken from the Google Finance website on 28 Nov 2014. Some information has been deliberately blanked out.

Image of MSFT on Google finance on 28 Nov 2014

What was MSFT's market capitalisation of equity?



Question 444  investment decision, corporate financial decision theory

The investment decision primarily affects which part of a business?



Question 446  working capital decision, corporate financial decision theory

The working capital decision primarily affects which part of a business?



Question 445  financing decision, corporate financial decision theory

The financing decision primarily affects which part of a business?



Question 447  payout policy, corporate financial decision theory

Payout policy is most closely related to which part of a business?



Question 443  corporate financial decision theory, investment decision, financing decision, working capital decision, payout policy

Business people make lots of important decisions. Which of the following is the most important long term decision?



Question 466  limited liability, business structure

Which business structure or structures have the advantage of limited liability for equity investors?



Question 221  credit risk

You're considering making an investment in a particular company. They have preference shares, ordinary shares, senior debt and junior debt.

Which is the safest investment? Which has the highest expected returns?



Question 120  credit risk, payout policy

A newly floated farming company is financed with senior bonds, junior bonds, cumulative non-voting preferred stock and common stock. The new company has no retained profits and due to floods it was unable to record any revenues this year, leading to a loss. The firm is not bankrupt yet since it still has substantial contributed equity (same as paid-up capital).

On which securities must it pay interest or dividend payments in this terrible financial year?



Question 993  inflation, real and nominal returns and cash flows

In February 2020, the RBA cash rate was 0.75% pa and the Australian CPI inflation rate was 1.8% pa.

You currently have $100 in the bank which pays a 0.75% pa interest rate.

Apples currently cost $1 each at the shop and inflation is 1.8% pa which is the expected growth rate in the apple price.

This information is summarised in the table below, with some parts missing that correspond to the answer options. All rates are given as effective annual rates. Note that when payments are not specified as real, as in this question, they're conventionally assumed to be nominal.

Wealth in Dollars and Apples
Time (year) Bank account wealth ($) Apple price ($) Wealth in apples
0 100 1 100
1 100.75 1.018 (a)
2 (b) (c) (d)
 

 

Which of the following statements is NOT correct? Your:



Question 353  income and capital returns, inflation, real and nominal returns and cash flows, real estate

A residential investment property has an expected nominal total return of 6% pa and nominal capital return of 3% pa.

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

What are the property's expected real total, capital and income returns? The answer choices below are given in the same order.



Question 526  real and nominal returns and cash flows, inflation, no explanation

How can a nominal cash flow be precisely converted into a real cash flow?



Question 577  inflation, real and nominal returns and cash flows

What is the present value of a real payment of $500 in 2 years? The nominal discount rate is 7% pa and the inflation rate is 4% pa.



Question 515  corporate financial decision theory, idiom

The expression 'you have to spend money to make money' relates to which business decision?



Question 531  bankruptcy or insolvency, capital structure, risk, limited liability

Who is most in danger of being personally bankrupt? Assume that all of their businesses' assets are highly liquid and can therefore be sold immediately.



Question 524  risk, expected and historical returns, bankruptcy or insolvency, capital structure, corporate financial decision theory, limited liability

Which of the following statements is NOT correct?



Question 2  NPV, Annuity

Katya offers to pay you $10 at the end of every year for the next 5 years (t=1,2,3,4,5) if you pay her $50 now (t=0). You can borrow and lend from the bank at an interest rate of 10% pa, given as an effective annual rate. Ignore credit risk.

Will you or politely Katya's deal?


Question 288  Annuity

There are many ways to write the ordinary annuity formula.

Which of the following is NOT equal to the ordinary annuity formula?



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 499  NPV, Annuity

Some countries' interest rates are so low that they're zero.

If interest rates are 0% pa and are expected to stay at that level for the foreseeable future, what is the most that you would be prepared to pay a bank now if it offered to pay you $10 at the end of every year for the next 5 years?

In other words, what is the present value of five $10 payments at time 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 if interest rates are 0% pa?



Question 137  NPV, Annuity

The following cash flows are expected:

  • 10 yearly payments of $60, with the first payment in 3 years from now (first payment at t=3 and last at t=12).
  • 1 payment of $400 in 5 years and 6 months (t=5.5) from now.

What is the NPV of the cash flows if the discount rate is 10% given as an effective annual rate?



Question 356  NPV, Annuity

Your friend overheard that you need some cash and asks if you would like to borrow some money. She can lend you $5,000 now (t=0), and in return she wants you to pay her back $1,000 in two years (t=2) and every year after that for the next 5 years, so there will be 6 payments of $1,000 from t=2 to t=7 inclusive.

What is the net present value (NPV) of borrowing from your friend?

Assume that banks loan funds at interest rates of 10% pa, given as an effective annual rate.



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 451  DDM

The first payment of a constant perpetual annual cash flow is received at time 5. Let this cash flow be ##C_5## and the required return be ##r##.

So there will be equal annual cash flows at time 5, 6, 7 and so on forever, and all of the cash flows will be equal so ##C_5 = C_6 = C_7 = ...##

When the perpetuity formula is used to value this stream of cash flows, it will give a value (V) at time:



Question 28  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 would you call the expression ## C_1/P_0 ##?



Question 289  DDM, expected and historical returns, ROE

In the dividend discount model:

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

The return ##r## is supposed to be the:



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 161  DDM

A share just paid its semi-annual dividend of $10. The dividend is expected to grow at 2% every 6 months forever. This 2% growth rate is an effective 6 month rate. Therefore the next dividend will be $10.20 in six months. The required return of the stock 10% pa, given as an effective annual rate.

What is the price of the share now?



Question 36  DDM, perpetuity with growth

A stock pays annual dividends which are expected to continue forever. It just paid a dividend of $10. The growth rate in the dividend is 2% pa. You estimate that the stock's required return is 10% pa. Both the discount rate and growth rate are given as effective annual rates. Using the dividend discount model, what will be the share price?



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 ##?



Question 51  DDM

A stock pays semi-annual dividends. It just paid a dividend of $10. The growth rate in the dividend is 1% every 6 months, given as an effective 6 month rate. You estimate that the stock's required return is 21% pa, as an effective annual rate.

Using the dividend discount model, what will be the share price?



Question 270  real estate, DDM, effective rate conversion

You own an apartment which you rent out as an investment property.

What is the price of the apartment using discounted cash flow (DCF, same as NPV) valuation?

Assume that:

  • You just signed a contract to rent the apartment out to a tenant for the next 12 months at $2,000 per month, payable in advance (at the start of the month, t=0). The tenant is just about to pay you the first $2,000 payment.
  • The contract states that monthly rental payments are fixed for 12 months. After the contract ends, you plan to sign another contract but with rental payment increases of 3%. You intend to do this every year.
    So rental payments will increase at the start of the 13th month (t=12) to be $2,060 (=2,000(1+0.03)), and then they will be constant for the next 12 months.
    Rental payments will increase again at the start of the 25th month (t=24) to be $2,121.80 (=2,000(1+0.03)2), and then they will be constant for the next 12 months until the next year, and so on.
  • The required return of the apartment is 8.732% pa, given as an effective annual rate.
  • Ignore all taxes, maintenance, real estate agent, council and strata fees, periods of vacancy and other costs. Assume that the apartment will last forever and so will the rental payments.



Question 498  NPV, Annuity, perpetuity with growth, multi stage growth model

A business project is expected to cost $100 now (t=0), then pay $10 at the end of the third (t=3), fourth, fifth and sixth years, and then grow by 5% pa every year forever. So the cash flow will be $10.5 at the end of the seventh year (t=7), then $11.025 at the end of the eighth year (t=8) and so on perpetually. The total required return is 10℅ pa.

Which of the following formulas will NOT give the correct net present value of the project?



Question 348  PE ratio, Multiples valuation

Estimate the US bank JP Morgan's share price using a price earnings (PE) multiples approach with the following assumptions and figures only:

  • The major US banks JP Morgan Chase (JPM), Citi Group (C) and Wells Fargo (WFC) are comparable companies;
  • JP Morgan Chase's historical earnings per share (EPS) is $4.37;
  • Citi Group's share price is $50.05 and historical EPS is $4.26;
  • Wells Fargo's share price is $48.98 and historical EPS is $3.89.

Note: Figures sourced from Google Finance on 24 March 2014.



Question 358  PE ratio, Multiples valuation

Estimate the Chinese bank ICBC's share price using a backward-looking price earnings (PE) multiples approach with the following assumptions and figures only. Note that the renminbi (RMB) is the Chinese currency, also known as the yuan (CNY).

  • The 4 major Chinese banks ICBC, China Construction Bank (CCB), Bank of China (BOC) and Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) are comparable companies;
  • ICBC 's historical earnings per share (EPS) is RMB 0.74;
  • CCB's backward-looking PE ratio is 4.59;
  • BOC 's backward-looking PE ratio is 4.78;
  • ABC's backward-looking PE ratio is also 4.78;

Note: Figures sourced from Google Finance on 25 March 2014. Share prices are from the Shanghai stock exchange.



Question 341  Multiples valuation, PE ratio

Estimate Microsoft's (MSFT) share price using a price earnings (PE) multiples approach with the following assumptions and figures only:

  • Apple, Google and Microsoft are comparable companies,
  • Apple's (AAPL) share price is $526.24 and historical EPS is $40.32.
  • Google's (GOOG) share price is $1,215.65 and historical EPS is $36.23.
  • Micrsoft's (MSFT) historical earnings per share (EPS) is $2.71.

Source: Google Finance 28 Feb 2014.



Question 354  PE ratio, Multiples valuation

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

Only consider firms with positive earnings, disregard firms with negative earnings and therefore negative 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 364  PE ratio, Multiples valuation

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



Question 505  equivalent annual cash flow

A low-quality second-hand car can be bought now for $1,000 and will last for 1 year before it will be scrapped for nothing.

A high-quality second-hand car can be bought now for $4,900 and it will last for 5 years before it will be scrapped for nothing.

What is the equivalent annual cost of each car? Assume a discount rate of 10% pa, given as an effective annual rate.

The answer choices are given as the equivalent annual cost of the low-quality car and then the high quality car.



Question 211  equivalent annual cash flow

You're advising your superstar client 40-cent who is weighing up buying a private jet or a luxury yacht. 40-cent is just as happy with either, but he wants to go with the more cost-effective option. These are the cash flows of the two options:

  • The private jet can be bought for $6m now, which will cost $12,000 per month in fuel, piloting and airport costs, payable at the end of each month. The jet will last for 12 years.
  • Or the luxury yacht can be bought for $4m now, which will cost $20,000 per month in fuel, crew and berthing costs, payable at the end of each month. The yacht will last for 20 years.

What's unusual about 40-cent is that he is so famous that he will actually be able to sell his jet or yacht for the same price as it was bought since the next generation of superstar musicians will buy it from him as a status symbol.

Bank interest rates are 10% pa, given as an effective annual rate. You can assume that 40-cent will live for another 60 years and that when the jet or yacht's life is at an end, he will buy a new one with the same details as above.

Would you advise 40-cent to buy the or the ?

Note that the effective monthly rate is ##r_\text{eff monthly}=(1+0.1)^{1/12}-1=0.00797414##


Question 548  equivalent annual cash flow, time calculation, no explanation

An Apple iPhone 6 smart phone can be bought now for $999. An Android Kogan Agora 4G+ smart phone can be bought now for $240.

If the Kogan phone lasts for one year, approximately how long must the Apple phone last for to have the same equivalent annual cost?

Assume that both phones have equivalent features besides their lifetimes, that both are worthless once they've outlasted their life, the discount rate is 10% pa given as an effective annual rate, and there are no extra costs or benefits from either phone.



Question 762  equivalent annual cash flow, no explanation

Radio-Rentals.com offers the Apple iphone 5S smart phone for rent at $12.95 per week paid in advance on a 2 year contract. After renting the phone, you must return it to Radio-Rentals.

Kogan.com offers the Apple iphone 5S smart phone for sale at $699. You estimate that the phone will last for 3 years before it will break and be worthless.

Currently, the effective annual interest rate is 11.351%, the effective monthly interest rate 0.9% and the effective weekly interest rate is 0.207%. Assume that there are exactly 52 weeks per year and 12 months per year.

Find the equivalent annual cost of renting the phone and also buying the phone. The answers below are listed in the same order.



Question 517  DDM

A stock is expected to pay its next dividend of $1 in one year. Future annual dividends are expected to grow by 2% pa. So the first dividend of $1 will be in one year, the year after that $1.02 (=1*(1+0.02)^1), and a year later $1.0404 (=1*(1+0.02)^2) and so on forever.

Its required total return is 10% pa. The total required return and growth rate of dividends are given as effective annual rates.

Calculate the current stock price.



Question 528  DDM, income and capital returns

The perpetuity with growth formula, also known as the dividend discount model (DDM) or Gordon growth model, is appropriate for valuing a company's shares. ##P_0## is the current share price, ##C_1## is next year's expected dividend, ##r## is the total required return and ##g## is the expected growth rate of the dividend.

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

The below graph shows the expected future price path of the company's shares. Which of the following statements about the graph is NOT correct?

Saw tooth graph of stock price path



Question 129  debt terminology

An 'interest rate' is the same thing as a 'coupon rate'. or ?


Question 130  debt terminology

An 'interest rate' is the same thing as a 'yield'. or ?


Question 374  debt terminology

Which of the following statements is NOT equivalent to the yield on debt?

Assume that the debt being referred to is fairly priced, but do not assume that it's priced at par.



Question 372  debt terminology

Which of the following statements is NOT correct? Borrowers:



Question 373  debt terminology

Which of the following statements is NOT correct? Lenders:



Question 290  APR, effective rate, debt terminology

Which of the below statements about effective rates and annualised percentage rates (APR's) is NOT correct?



Question 330  APR, effective rate, debt terminology

Which of the following statements about effective rates and annualised percentage rates (APR's) is NOT correct?



Question 16  credit card, APR, effective rate

A credit card offers an interest rate of 18% pa, compounding monthly.

Find the effective monthly rate, effective annual rate and the 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 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 131  APR, effective rate

Calculate the effective annual rates of the following three APR's:

  • A credit card offering an interest rate of 18% pa, compounding monthly.
  • A bond offering a yield of 6% pa, compounding semi-annually.
  • An annual dividend-paying stock offering a return of 10% pa compounding annually.

All answers are given in the same order:

##r_\text{credit card, eff yrly}##, ##r_\text{bond, eff yrly}##, ##r_\text{stock, eff yrly}##



Question 64  inflation, real and nominal returns and cash flows, APR, effective rate

In Germany, nominal yields on semi-annual coupon paying Government Bonds with 2 years until maturity are currently 0.04% pa.

The inflation rate is currently 1.4% 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 265  APR, Annuity

On his 20th birthday, a man makes a resolution. He will deposit $30 into a bank account at the end of every month starting from now, which is the start of the month. So the first payment will be in one month. He will write in his will that when he dies the money in the account should be given to charity.

The bank account pays interest at 6% pa compounding monthly, which is not expected to change.

If the man lives for another 60 years, how much money will be in the bank account if he dies just after making his last (720th) payment?



Question 19  fully amortising loan, APR

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 a fully amortising 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 loan payments are paid in arrears (at the end of the month).



Question 87  fully amortising loan, APR

You want to buy an apartment worth $500,000. You have saved a deposit of $50,000. The bank has agreed to lend you the $450,000 as a fully amortising mortgage loan with a term of 25 years. The interest rate is 6% pa and is not expected to change.

What will be your monthly payments?



Question 134  fully amortising loan, APR

You want to buy an apartment worth $400,000. You have saved a deposit of $80,000. The bank has agreed to lend you the $320,000 as a fully amortising mortgage loan with a term of 30 years. The interest rate is 6% pa and is not expected to change. What will be your monthly payments?



Question 149  fully amortising loan, APR

You want to buy an apartment priced at $500,000. You have saved a deposit of $50,000. The bank has agreed to lend you the $450,000 as a fully amortising loan with a term of 30 years. The interest rate is 6% pa and is not expected to change. What will be your monthly payments?



Question 259  fully amortising loan, APR

You want to buy a house priced at $400,000. You have saved a deposit of $40,000. The bank has agreed to lend you $360,000 as a fully amortising loan with a term of 30 years. The interest rate is 8% pa payable monthly and is not expected to change.

What will be your monthly payments?



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 203  fully amortising loan, APR

You just signed up for a 30 year fully amortising mortgage loan with monthly payments of $1,500 per month. The interest rate is 9% pa which is not expected to change.

How much did you borrow? After 10 years, how much will be owing on the mortgage? The interest rate is still 9% and is not expected to change.



Question 222  fully amortising loan, APR

You just agreed to a 30 year fully amortising mortgage loan with monthly payments of $2,500. The interest rate is 9% pa which is not expected to change.

How much did you borrow? After 10 years, how much will be owing on the mortgage? The interest rate is still 9% and is not expected to change. The below choices are given in the same order.



Question 204  time calculation, fully amortising loan, APR

You just signed up for a 30 year fully amortising mortgage loan with monthly payments of $1,500 per month. The interest rate is 9% pa which is not expected to change.

To your surprise, you can actually afford to pay $2,000 per month and your mortgage allows early repayments without fees. If you maintain these higher monthly payments, how long will it take to pay off your mortgage?



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 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 107  interest only loan

You want to buy an apartment worth $300,000. You have saved a deposit of $60,000.

The bank has agreed to lend you $240,000 as an interest only mortgage loan with a term of 30 years. The interest rate is 6% pa and is not expected to change. What will be your monthly payments?



Question 160  interest only loan

You want to buy an apartment priced at $500,000. You have saved a deposit of $50,000. The bank has agreed to lend you the $450,000 as an interest only loan with a term of 30 years. The interest rate is 6% pa and is not expected to change. What will be your monthly payments?



Question 298  interest only loan

A prospective home buyer can afford to pay $2,000 per month in mortgage loan repayments. The central bank recently lowered its policy rate by 0.25%, and residential home lenders cut their mortgage loan rates from 4.74% to 4.49%.

How much more can the prospective home buyer borrow now that interest rates are 4.49% rather than 4.74%? Give your answer as a proportional increase over the original amount he could borrow (##V_\text{before}##), so:

###\text{Proportional increase} = \frac{V_\text{after}-V_\text{before}}{V_\text{before}} ###

Assume that:

  • Interest rates are expected to be constant over the life of the loan.

  • Loans are interest-only and have a life of 30 years.

  • Mortgage loan payments are made every month in arrears and all interest rates are given as annualised percentage rates compounding per month.



Question 459  interest only loan, inflation

In Australia in the 1980's, inflation was around 8% pa, and residential mortgage loan interest rates were around 14%.

In 2013, inflation was around 2.5% pa, and residential mortgage loan interest rates were around 4.5%.

If a person can afford constant mortgage loan payments of $2,000 per month, how much more can they borrow when interest rates are 4.5% pa compared with 14.0% pa?

Give your answer as a proportional increase over the amount you could borrow when interest rates were high ##(V_\text{high rates})##, so:

###\text{Proportional increase} = \dfrac{V_\text{low rates}-V_\text{high rates}}{V_\text{high rates}} ###

Assume that:

  • Interest rates are expected to be constant over the life of the loan.
  • Loans are interest-only and have a life of 30 years.
  • Mortgage loan payments are made every month in arrears and all interest rates are given as annualised percentage rates (APR's) compounding per month.



Question 510  bond pricing

Calculate the price of a newly issued ten year bond with a face value of $100, a yield of 8% pa and a fixed coupon rate of 6% pa, paid semi-annually. So there are two coupons per year, paid in arrears every six months.



Question 11  bond pricing

For a price of $100, Vera will sell you a 2 year bond paying semi-annual coupons of 10% pa. The face value of the bond is $100. Other bonds with similar risk, maturity and coupon characteristics trade at a yield of 8% pa.

Would you like to her bond or politely ?


Question 15  bond pricing

For a price of $95, Nicole will sell you a 10 year bond paying semi-annual coupons of 8% pa. The face value of the bond is $100. Other bonds with the same risk, maturity and coupon characteristics trade at a yield of 8% pa.

Would you like to the bond or politely ?


Question 23  bond pricing, premium par and discount bonds

Bonds X and Y are issued by the same US 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 and Y's coupon rates are 8 and 12% pa respectively. Which of the following statements is true?



Question 38  bond pricing

A two year Government bond has a face value of $100, a yield of 0.5% and a fixed coupon rate of 0.5%, paid semi-annually. What is its price?



Question 48  IRR, NPV, bond pricing, premium par and discount bonds, market efficiency

The theory of fixed interest bond pricing is an application of the theory of Net Present Value (NPV). Also, a 'fairly priced' asset is not over- or under-priced. Buying or selling a fairly priced asset has an NPV of zero.

Considering this, which of the following statements is NOT correct?



Question 53  bond pricing

A two year Government bond has a face value of $100, a yield of 2.5% pa and a fixed coupon rate of 0.5% pa, paid semi-annually. What is its price?



Question 460  bond pricing, premium par and discount bonds

Below are some statements about loans and bonds. The first descriptive sentence is correct. But one of the second sentences about the loans' or bonds' prices is not correct. Which statement is NOT correct? Assume that interest rates are positive.

Note that coupons or interest payments are the periodic payments made throughout a bond or loan's life. The face or par value of a bond or loan is the amount paid at the end when the debt matures.



Question 332  bond pricing, premium par and discount bonds

Bonds X and Y are issued by the same US company. Both bonds yield 6% pa, and they have the same face value ($100), maturity, seniority, and payment frequency.

The only difference is that bond X pays coupons of 8% pa and bond Y pays coupons of 12% pa. Which of the following statements is true?



Question 287  bond pricing

A 30 year Japanese government bond was just issued at par with a yield of 1.7% pa. The fixed coupon payments are semi-annual. The bond has a face value of $100.

Six months later, just after the first coupon is paid, the yield of the bond increases to 2% pa. What is the bond's new price?



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 257  bond pricing

A 10 year bond has a face value of $100, a yield of 6% pa and a fixed coupon rate of 8% pa, paid semi-annually. What is its price?



Question 233  bond pricing

A four year bond has a face value of $100, a yield of 9% and a fixed coupon rate of 6%, paid semi-annually. What is its price?



Question 230  bond pricing, capital raising

A firm wishes to raise $10 million now. They will issue 6% pa semi-annual coupon bonds that will mature in 8 years and have a face value of $1,000 each. Bond yields are 10% pa, given as an APR compounding every 6 months, and the yield curve is flat.

How many bonds should the firm issue? All numbers are rounded up.



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 227  bond pricing, premium par and discount bonds

Which one of the following bonds is trading at a premium?



Question 163  bond pricing, premium par and discount bonds

Bonds X and Y are issued by different companies, but they both pay a semi-annual coupon of 10% pa and they have the same face value ($100), maturity (3 years) and yield (10%) as each other.

Which of the following statements is true?



Question 159  bond pricing

A three year bond has a fixed coupon rate of 12% pa, paid semi-annually. The bond's yield is currently 6% pa. The face value is $100. What is its price?



Question 153  bond pricing, premium par and discount bonds

Bonds X and Y are issued by different companies, but they both pay a semi-annual coupon of 10% pa and they have the same face value ($100) and maturity (3 years).

The only difference is that bond X and Y's yields are 8 and 12% pa respectively. Which of the following statements is true?



Question 138  bond pricing, premium par and discount bonds

Bonds A and B are issued by the same Australian company. Both bonds yield 7% pa, and they have the same face value ($100), maturity, seniority, and payment frequency.

The only difference is that bond A pays coupons of 10% pa and bond B pays coupons of 5% pa. Which of the following statements is true about the bonds' prices?



Question 133  bond pricing

A bond maturing in 10 years has a coupon rate of 4% pa, paid semi-annually. The bond's yield is currently 6% pa. The face value of the bond is $100. What is its price?



Question 63  bond pricing, NPV, market efficiency

The theory of fixed interest bond pricing is an application of the theory of Net Present Value (NPV). Also, a 'fairly priced' asset is not over- or under-priced. Buying or selling a fairly priced asset has an NPV of zero.

Considering this, which of the following statements is NOT correct?



Question 168  bond pricing

A four year bond has a face value of $100, a yield of 6% and a fixed coupon rate of 12%, paid semi-annually. What is its price?



Question 194  bond pricing, capital raising

A firm wishes to raise $8 million now. They will issue 7% pa semi-annual coupon bonds that will mature in 10 years and have a face value of $100 each. Bond yields are 10% pa, given as an APR compounding every 6 months, and the yield curve is flat.

How many bonds should the firm issue?



Question 178  bond pricing, premium par and discount bonds

Which one of the following bonds is trading at a discount?



Question 179  bond pricing, capital raising

A firm wishes to raise $20 million now. They will issue 8% pa semi-annual coupon bonds that will mature in 5 years and have a face value of $100 each. Bond yields are 6% pa, given as an APR compounding every 6 months, and the yield curve is flat.

How many bonds should the firm issue?



Question 183  bond pricing

A five year bond has a face value of $100, a yield of 12% and a fixed coupon rate of 6%, paid semi-annually.

What is the bond's price?



Question 193  bond pricing, premium par and discount bonds

Which one of the following bonds is trading at par?



Question 534  NPV, no explanation

You have $100,000 in the bank. The bank pays interest at 10% pa, given as an effective annual rate.

You wish to consume half as much now (t=0) as in one year (t=1) and have nothing left in the bank at the end.

How much can you consume at time zero and one? The answer choices are given in the same order.



Question 252  NPV

You have $100,000 in the bank. The bank pays interest at 10% pa, given as an effective annual rate.

You wish to consume an equal amount now (t=0), in one year (t=1) and in two years (t=2), and still have $50,000 in the bank after that (t=2).

How much can you consume at each time?



Question 1  NPV

Jan asks you for a loan. He wants $100 now and offers to pay you back $120 in 1 year. You can borrow and lend from the bank at an interest rate of 10% pa, given as an effective annual rate.

Ignore credit risk. Remember:

### V_0 = \frac{V_t}{(1+r_\text{eff})^t} ###

Will you or Jan's deal?


Question 176  CFFA

Why is Capital Expenditure (CapEx) subtracted in the Cash Flow From Assets (CFFA) formula?

###CFFA=NI+Depr-CapEx - \Delta NWC+IntExp###



Question 224  CFFA

Cash Flow From Assets (CFFA) can be defined as:



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 349  CFFA, depreciation tax shield

Which one of the following will decrease net income (NI) but increase cash flow from assets (CFFA) in this year for a tax-paying firm, all else remaining constant?

Remember:

###NI = (Rev-COGS-FC-Depr-IntExp).(1-t_c )### ###CFFA=NI+Depr-CapEx - \Delta NWC+IntExp###



Question 350  CFFA

Find Sidebar Corporation's Cash Flow From Assets (CFFA), also known as Free Cash Flow to the Firm (FCFF), over the year ending 30th June 2013.

Sidebar Corp
Income Statement for
year ending 30th June 2013
  $m
Sales 405
COGS 100
Depreciation 34
Rent expense 22
Interest expense 39
Taxable Income 210
Taxes at 30% 63
Net income 147
 
Sidebar Corp
Balance Sheet
as at 30th June 2013 2012
  $m $m
Cash 0 0
Inventory 70 50
Trade debtors 11 16
Rent paid in advance 4 3
PPE 700 680
Total assets 785 749
 
Trade creditors 11 19
Bond liabilities 400 390
Contributed equity 220 220
Retained profits 154 120
Total L and OE 785 749
 

 

Note: All figures are given in millions of dollars ($m).

The cash flow from assets was:



Question 359  CFFA

Which one of the following will have no effect on net income (NI) but decrease cash flow from assets (CFFA or FFCF) in this year for a tax-paying firm, all else remaining constant?

Remember:

###NI=(Rev-COGS-FC-Depr-IntExp).(1-t_c )### ###CFFA=NI+Depr-CapEx - ΔNWC+IntExp###



Question 360  CFFA

Find Ching-A-Lings Corporation's Cash Flow From Assets (CFFA), also known as Free Cash Flow to the Firm (FCFF), over the year ending 30th June 2013.

Ching-A-Lings Corp
Income Statement for
year ending 30th June 2013
  $m
Sales 100
COGS 20
Depreciation 20
Rent expense 11
Interest expense 19
Taxable Income 30
Taxes at 30% 9
Net income 21
 
Ching-A-Lings Corp
Balance Sheet
as at 30th June 2013 2012
  $m $m
Inventory 49 38
Trade debtors 14 2
Rent paid in advance 5 5
PPE 400 400
Total assets 468 445
 
Trade creditors 4 10
Bond liabilities 200 190
Contributed equity 145 145
Retained profits 119 100
Total L and OE 468 445
 

 

Note: All figures are given in millions of dollars ($m).

The cash flow from assets was:



Question 291  CFFA

Find Scubar Corporation's Cash Flow From Assets (CFFA), also known as Free Cash Flow to the Firm (FCFF), over the year ending 30th June 2013.

Scubar Corp
Income Statement for
year ending 30th June 2013
  $m
Sales 200
COGS 60
Depreciation 20
Rent expense 11
Interest expense 19
Taxable Income 90
Taxes at 30% 27
Net income 63
 
Scubar Corp
Balance Sheet
as at 30th June 2013 2012
  $m $m
Inventory 60 50
Trade debtors 19 6
Rent paid in advance 3 2
PPE 420 400
Total assets 502 458
 
Trade creditors 10 8
Bond liabilities 200 190
Contributed equity 130 130
Retained profits 162 130
Total L and OE 502 458
 

 

Note: All figures are given in millions of dollars ($m).

The cash flow from assets was:



Question 226  CFFA

Find World Bar's Cash Flow From Assets (CFFA), also known as Free Cash Flow to the Firm (FCFF), over the year ending 30th June 2013.

World Bar
Income Statement for
year ending 30th June 2013
  $m
Sales 300
COGS 150
Operating expense 50
Depreciation 40
Interest expense 10
Taxable income 50
Tax at 30% 15
Net income 35
 
World Bar
Balance Sheet
as at 30th June 2013 2012
  $m $m
Assets
Current assets 200 230
PPE    
    Cost 400 400
    Accumul. depr. 75 35
    Carrying amount 325 365
Total assets 525 595
 
Liabilities
Current liabilities 150 205
Non-current liabilities 235 250
Owners' equity
Retained earnings 100 100
Contributed equity 40 40
Total L and OE 525 595
 

 

Note: all figures above and below are given in millions of dollars ($m).



Question 209  CFFA

Find Piano Bar's Cash Flow From Assets (CFFA), also known as Free Cash Flow to the Firm (FCFF), over the year ending 30th June 2013.

Piano Bar
Income Statement for
year ending 30th June 2013
  $m
Sales 310
COGS 185
Operating expense 20
Depreciation 15
Interest expense 10
Income before tax 80
Tax at 30% 24
Net income 56
 
Piano Bar
Balance Sheet
as at 30th June 2013 2012
  $m $m
Assets
Current assets 240 230
PPE    
    Cost 420 400
    Accumul. depr. 50 35
    Carrying amount 370 365
Total assets 610 595
 
Liabilities
Current liabilities 180 190
Non-current liabilities 290 265
Owners' equity
Retained earnings 90 90
Contributed equity 50 50
Total L and OE 610 595
 

 

Note: all figures are given in millions of dollars ($m).



Question 361  CFFA

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

  • Make $5m in sales, $1.9m in net income and $2m in equity free cash flow (EFCF).
  • Pay dividends of $1m.
  • Complete a $1.3m share buy-back.

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 legally 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 188  CFFA

Find Trademark Corporation's Cash Flow From Assets (CFFA), also known as Free Cash Flow to the Firm (FCFF), over the year ending 30th June 2013.

Trademark Corp
Income Statement for
year ending 30th June 2013
  $m
Sales 100
COGS 25
Operating expense 5
Depreciation 20
Interest expense 20
Income before tax 30
Tax at 30% 9
Net income 21
 
Trademark Corp
Balance Sheet
as at 30th June 2013 2012
  $m $m
Assets
Current assets 120 80
PPE    
    Cost 150 140
    Accumul. depr. 60 40
    Carrying amount 90 100
Total assets 210 180
 
Liabilities
Current liabilities 75 65
Non-current liabilities 75 55
Owners' equity
Retained earnings 10 10
Contributed equity 50 50
Total L and OE 210 180
 

 

Note: all figures are given in millions of dollars ($m).



Question 208  CFFA

Find UniBar Corp's Cash Flow From Assets (CFFA), also known as Free Cash Flow to the Firm (FCFF), over the year ending 30th June 2013.

UniBar Corp
Income Statement for
year ending 30th June 2013
  $m
Sales 80
COGS 40
Operating expense 15
Depreciation 10
Interest expense 5
Income before tax 10
Tax at 30% 3
Net income 7
 
UniBar Corp
Balance Sheet
as at 30th June 2013 2012
  $m $m
Assets
Current assets 120 90
PPE    
    Cost 360 320
    Accumul. depr. 40 30
    Carrying amount 320 290
Total assets 440 380
 
Liabilities
Current liabilities 110 60
Non-current liabilities 190 180
Owners' equity
Retained earnings 95 95
Contributed equity 45 45
Total L and OE 440 380
 

 

Note: all figures are given in millions of dollars ($m).



Question 485  capital budgeting, opportunity cost, sunk cost

A young lady is trying to decide if she should attend university or not.

The young lady's parents say that she must attend university because otherwise all of her hard work studying and attending school during her childhood was a waste.

What's the correct way to classify this item from a capital budgeting perspective when trying to decide whether to attend university?

The hard work studying at school in her childhood should be classified as:



Question 300  NPV, opportunity cost

What is the net present value (NPV) of undertaking a full-time Australian undergraduate business degree as an Australian citizen? Only include the cash flows over the duration of the degree, ignore any benefits or costs of the degree after it's completed.

Assume the following:

  • The degree takes 3 years to complete and all students pass all subjects.
  • There are 2 semesters per year and 4 subjects per semester.
  • University fees per subject per semester are $1,277, paid at the start of each semester. Fees are expected to remain constant in real terms for the next 3 years.
  • There are 52 weeks per year.
  • The first semester is just about to start (t=0). The first semester lasts for 19 weeks (t=0 to 19).
  • The second semester starts immediately afterwards (t=19) and lasts for another 19 weeks (t=19 to 38).
  • The summer holidays begin after the second semester ends and last for 14 weeks (t=38 to 52). Then the first semester begins the next year, and so on.
  • Working full time at the grocery store instead of studying full-time pays $20/hr and you can work 35 hours per week. Wages are paid at the end of each week and are expected to remain constant in real terms.
  • Full-time students can work full-time during the summer holiday at the grocery store for the same rate of $20/hr for 35 hours per week.
  • The discount rate is 9.8% pa. All rates and cash flows are real. Inflation is expected to be 3% pa. All rates are effective annual.

The NPV of costs from undertaking the university degree is:



Question 491  capital budgeting, opportunity cost, sunk cost

A man is thinking about taking a day off from his casual painting job to relax.

He just woke up early in the morning and he's about to call his boss to say that he won't be coming in to work.

But he's thinking about the hours that he could work today (in the future) which are:



Question 486  capital budgeting, opportunity cost, sunk cost

A young lady is trying to decide if she should attend university. Her friends say that she should go to university because she is more likely to meet a clever young man than if she begins full time work straight away.

What's the correct way to classify this item from a capital budgeting perspective when trying to find the Net Present Value of going to university rather than working?

The opportunity to meet a desirable future spouse should be classified as:



Question 512  capital budgeting, CFFA

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

Project Data
Project life 2 years
Initial investment in equipment $6m
Depreciation of equipment per year for tax purposes $1m
Unit sales per year 4m
Sale price per unit $8
Variable cost per unit $3
Fixed costs per year, paid at the end of each year $1.5m
Tax rate 30%
 

Note 1: The equipment will have a book value of $4m at the end of the project for tax purposes. However, the equipment is expected to fetch $0.9 million when it is sold at t=2.

Note 2: Due to the project, the firm will have to purchase $0.8m of inventory initially, which it will sell at t=1. The firm will buy another $0.8m at t=1 and sell it all again at t=2 with zero inventory left. The project will have no effect on the firm's current liabilities.

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



Question 35  bond pricing, zero coupon bond, term structure of interest rates, forward interest rate

A European company just issued two bonds, a

  • 1 year zero coupon bond at a yield of 8% pa, and a
  • 2 year zero coupon bond at a yield of 10% pa.

What is the company's forward rate over the second year (from t=1 to t=2)? Give your answer as an effective annual rate, which is how the above bond yields are quoted.



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

An Australian company just issued two bonds paying semi-annual coupons:

  • 1 year zero coupon bond at a yield of 8% pa, and a
  • 2 year zero coupon bond at a yield of 10% pa.

What is the forward rate on the company's debt from years 1 to 2? Give your answer as an APR compounding every 6 months, which is how the above bond yields are quoted.



Question 32  time calculation, APR

You really want to go on a back packing trip to Europe when you finish university. Currently you have $1,500 in the bank. Bank interest rates are 8% pa, given as an APR compounding per month. If the holiday will cost $2,000, how long will it take for your bank account to reach that amount?



Question 763  multi stage growth model, DDM

A stock is expected to pay its first dividend of $20 in 3 years (t=3), which it will continue to pay for the next nine years, so there will be ten $20 payments altogether with the last payment in year 12 (t=12).

From the thirteenth year onward, the dividend is expected to be 4% more than the previous year, forever. So the dividend in the thirteenth year (t=13) will be $20.80, then $21.632 in year 14, and so on forever. The required return of the stock is 10% pa. All rates are effective annual rates. Calculate the current (t=0) stock price.



Question 537  PE ratio, Multiples valuation, no explanation

Estimate the French bank Societe Generale's share price using a backward-looking price earnings (PE) multiples approach with the following assumptions and figures only. Note that EUR is the euro, the European monetary union's currency.

  • The 4 major European banks Credit Agricole (ACA), Deutsche Bank AG (DBK), UniCredit (UCG) and Banco Santander (SAN) are comparable companies to Societe Generale (GLE);
  • Societe Generale's (GLE's) historical earnings per share (EPS) is EUR 2.92;
  • ACA's backward-looking PE ratio is 16.29 and historical EPS is EUR 0.84;
  • DBK's backward-looking PE ratio is 25.01 and historical EPS is EUR 1.26;
  • SAN's backward-looking PE ratio is 14.71 and historical EPS is EUR 0.47;
  • UCG's backward-looking PE ratio is 15.78 and historical EPS is EUR 0.40;

Note: Figures sourced from Google Finance on 27 March 2015.



Question 547  PE ratio, Multiples valuation, DDM, income and capital returns, no explanation

A firm pays out all of its earnings as dividends. Because of this, the firm has no real growth in earnings, dividends or stock price since there is no re-investment back into the firm to buy new assets and make higher earnings. The dividend discount model is suitable to value this company.

The firm's revenues and costs are expected to increase by inflation in the foreseeable future. The firm has no debt. It operates in the services industry and has few physical assets so there is negligible depreciation expense and negligible net working capital required.

Which of the following statements about this firm's PE ratio is NOT correct? The PE ratio should:

Note: The inverse of x is 1/x.



Question 750  PE ratio, Multiples valuation

Itau Unibanco is a major listed bank in Brazil with a market capitalisation of equity equal to BRL 85.744 billion, EPS of BRL 3.96 and 2.97 billion shares on issue.

Banco Bradesco is another major bank with total earnings of BRL 8.77 billion and 2.52 billion shares on issue.

Estimate Banco Bradesco's current share price using a price-earnings multiples approach assuming that Itau Unibanco is a comparable firm.

Note that BRL is the Brazilian Real, their currency. Figures sourced from Google Finance on the market close of the BVMF on 24 July 2015.



Question 989  PE ratio, Multiples valuation, leverage, accounting ratio

A firm has 20 million stocks, earnings (or net income) of $100 million per annum and a 60% debt-to-equity ratio where both the debt and asset values are market values rather than book values. Similar firms have a PE ratio of 12.

Which of the below statements is NOT correct based on a PE multiples valuation?



Question 555  capital budgeting, CFFA

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

Project Data
Project life 2 years
Initial investment in equipment $8m
Depreciation of equipment per year for tax purposes $3m
Unit sales per year 10m
Sale price per unit $9
Variable cost per unit $4
Fixed costs per year, paid at the end of each year $2m
Tax rate 30%
 

Note 1: Due to the project, the firm will have to purchase $40m of inventory initially (at t=0). Half of this inventory will be sold at t=1 and the other half at t=2.

Note 2: The equipment will have a book value of $2m at the end of the project for tax purposes. However, the equipment is expected to fetch $1m when it is sold. Assume that the full capital loss is tax-deductible and taxed at the full corporate tax rate.

Note 3: The project will be fully funded by equity which investors will expect to pay dividends totaling $10m at the end of each year.

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



Question 401  capital budgeting, CFFA

The hardest and most important aspect of business project valuation is the estimation of the:



Question 487  capital budgeting, opportunity cost, sunk cost

A young lady is trying to decide if she should attend university or begin working straight away in her home town.

The young lady's grandma says that she should not go to university because she is less likely to marry the local village boy whom she likes because she will spend less time with him if she attends university.

What's the correct way to classify this item from a capital budgeting perspective when trying to decide whether to attend university?

The cost of not marrying the local village boy should be classified as:



Question 377  leverage, capital structure

Issuing debt doesn't give away control of the firm because debt holders can't cast votes to determine the company's affairs, such as at the annual general meeting (AGM), and can't appoint directors to the board. or ?


Question 379  leverage, capital structure, payout policy

Companies must pay interest and principal payments to debt-holders. They're compulsory. But companies are not forced to pay dividends to share holders. or ?


Question 301  leverage, capital structure, real estate

Your friend just bought a house for $1,000,000. He financed it using a $900,000 mortgage loan and a deposit of $100,000.

In the context of residential housing and mortgages, the 'equity' or 'net wealth' tied up in a house is the value of the house less the value of the mortgage loan. Assuming that your friend's only asset is his house, his net wealth is $100,000.

If house prices suddenly fall by 15%, what would be your friend's percentage change in net wealth?

Assume that:

  • No income (rent) was received from the house during the short time over which house prices fell.
  • Your friend will not declare bankruptcy, he will always pay off his debts.



Question 67  CFFA, interest tax shield

Here are the Net Income (NI) and Cash Flow From Assets (CFFA) equations:

###NI=(Rev-COGS-FC-Depr-IntExp).(1-t_c)###

###CFFA=NI+Depr-CapEx - \varDelta NWC+IntExp###

What is the formula for calculating annual interest expense (IntExp) which is used in the equations above?

Select one of the following answers. Note that D is the value of debt which is constant through time, and ##r_D## is the cost of debt.



Question 223  CFFA, interest tax shield

Which one of the following will increase the Cash Flow From Assets in this year for a tax-paying firm, all else remaining constant?



Question 296  CFFA, interest tax shield

Which one of the following will decrease net income (NI) but increase cash flow from assets (CFFA) in this year for a tax-paying firm, all else remaining constant?

Remember:

###NI=(Rev-COGS-FC-Depr-IntExp).(1-t_c )### ###CFFA=NI+Depr-CapEx - ΔNWC+IntExp###



Question 68  WACC, CFFA, capital budgeting

A manufacturing company is considering a new project in the more risky services industry. The cash flows from assets (CFFA) are estimated for the new project, with interest expense excluded from the calculations. To get the levered value of the project, what should these unlevered cash flows be discounted by?

Assume that the manufacturing firm has a target debt-to-assets ratio that it sticks to.



Question 375  interest tax shield, CFFA

One formula for calculating a levered firm's free cash flow (FFCF, or CFFA) is to use net operating profit after tax (NOPAT).

###\begin{aligned} FFCF &= NOPAT + Depr - CapEx -\Delta NWC \\ &= (Rev - COGS - Depr - FC)(1-t_c) + Depr - CapEx -\Delta NWC \\ \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 371  interest tax shield, CFFA

One method for calculating a firm's free cash flow (FFCF, or CFFA) is to ignore interest expense. That is, pretend that interest expense ##(IntExp)## is zero:

###\begin{aligned} FFCF &= (Rev - COGS - Depr - FC - IntExp)(1-t_c) + Depr - CapEx -\Delta NWC + IntExp \\ &= (Rev - COGS - Depr - FC - 0)(1-t_c) + Depr - CapEx -\Delta NWC - 0\\ \end{aligned}###
Does this annual FFCF with zero interest expense or the annual interest tax shield?


Question 413  CFFA, interest tax shield, depreciation tax shield

There are many ways to calculate a firm's free cash flow (FFCF), also called cash flow from assets (CFFA).

One method is to use the following formulas to transform net income (NI) into FFCF including interest and depreciation tax shields:

###FFCF=NI + Depr - CapEx -ΔNWC + IntExp###

###NI=(Rev - COGS - Depr - FC - IntExp).(1-t_c )###

Another popular method is to use EBITDA rather than net income. EBITDA is defined as:

###EBITDA=Rev - COGS - FC###

One of the below formulas correctly calculates FFCF from EBITDA, including interest and depreciation tax shields, giving an identical answer to that above. Which formula is correct?



Question 69  interest tax shield, capital structure, leverage, WACC

Which statement about risk, required return and capital structure is the most correct?



Question 78  WACC, capital structure

A company issues a large amount of bonds to raise money for new projects of similar risk to the company's existing projects. The net present value (NPV) of the new projects is positive but small. Assume a classical tax system. Which statement is NOT correct?



Question 84  WACC, capital structure, capital budgeting

A firm is considering a new project of similar risk to the current risk of the firm. This project will expand its existing business. The cash flows of the project have been calculated assuming that there is no interest expense. In other words, the cash flows assume that the project is all-equity financed.

In fact the firm has a target debt-to-equity ratio of 1, so the project will be financed with 50% debt and 50% equity. To find the levered value of the firm's assets, what discount rate should be applied to the project's unlevered cash flows? Assume a classical tax system.



Question 411  WACC, capital structure

A firm plans to issue equity and use the cash raised to pay off its debt. No assets will be bought or sold. Ignore the costs of financial distress.

Which of the following statements is NOT correct, all things remaining equal?



Question 121  capital structure, leverage, financial distress, interest tax shield

Fill in the missing words in the following sentence:

All things remaining equal, as a firm's amount of debt funding falls, benefits of interest tax shields __________ and the costs of financial distress __________.



Question 99  capital structure, interest tax shield, Miller and Modigliani, trade off theory of capital structure

A firm changes its capital structure by issuing a large amount of debt and using the funds to repurchase shares. Its assets are unchanged.

Assume that:

  • The firm and individual investors can borrow at the same rate and have the same tax rates.
  • The firm's debt and shares are fairly priced and the shares are repurchased at the market price, not at a premium.
  • There are no market frictions relating to debt such as asymmetric information or transaction costs.
  • Shareholders wealth is measured in terms of utiliity. Shareholders are wealth-maximising and risk-averse. They have a preferred level of overall leverage. Before the firm's capital restructure all shareholders were optimally levered.

According to Miller and Modigliani's theory, which statement is correct?



Question 507  leverage, accounting ratio

A firm has a debt-to-equity ratio of 60%. What is its debt-to-assets ratio?



Question 799  LVR, leverage, accounting ratio

In the home loan market, the acronym LVR stands for Loan to Valuation Ratio. If you bought a house worth one million dollars, partly funded by an $800,000 home loan, then your LVR was 80%. The LVR is equivalent to which of the following ratios?



Question 773  CFFA, WACC, interest tax shield, DDM

Use the below information to value a levered company with constant annual perpetual cash flows from assets. The next cash flow will be generated in one year from now, so a perpetuity can be used to value this firm. Both the operating and firm free cash flows are constant (but not equal to each other).

Data on a Levered Firm with Perpetual Cash Flows
Item abbreviation Value Item full name
##\text{OFCF}## $48.5m Operating free cash flow
##\text{FFCF or CFFA}## $50m Firm free cash flow or cash flow from assets
##g## 0% pa Growth rate of OFCF and FFCF
##\text{WACC}_\text{BeforeTax}## 10% pa Weighted average cost of capital before tax
##\text{WACC}_\text{AfterTax}## 9.7% pa Weighted average cost of capital after tax
##r_\text{D}## 5% pa Cost of debt
##r_\text{EL}## 11.25% pa Cost of levered equity
##D/V_L## 20% pa Debt to assets ratio, where the asset value includes tax shields
##t_c## 30% Corporate tax rate
 

 

What is the value of the levered firm including interest tax shields?



Question 113  WACC, CFFA, capital budgeting

The US firm Google operates in the online advertising business. In 2011 Google bought Motorola Mobility which manufactures mobile phones.

Assume the following:

  • Google had a 10% after-tax weighted average cost of capital (WACC) before it bought Motorola.
  • Motorola had a 20% after-tax WACC before it merged with Google.
  • Google and Motorola have the same level of gearing.
  • Both companies operate in a classical tax system.

You are a manager at Motorola. You must value a project for making mobile phones. Which method(s) will give the correct valuation of the mobile phone manufacturing project? Select the most correct answer.

The mobile phone manufacturing project's:



Question 658  CFFA, income statement, balance sheet, no explanation

To value a business's assets, the free cash flow of the firm (FCFF, also called CFFA) needs to be calculated. This requires figures from the firm's income statement and balance sheet. For what figures is the income statement needed? Note that the income statement is sometimes also called the profit and loss, P&L, or statement of financial performance.



Question 241  Miller and Modigliani, leverage, payout policy, diversification, NPV

One of Miller and Modigliani's (M&M's) important insights is that a firm's managers should not try to achieve a particular level of leverage in a world with zero taxes and perfect information since investors can make their own leverage. Therefore corporate capital structure policy is irrelevant since investors can achieve their own desired leverage at the personal level by borrowing or lending on their own.

This principal of 'home-made' or 'do-it-yourself' leverage can also be applied to other topics. Read the following statements to decide which are true:

(I) Payout policy: a firm's managers should not try to achieve a particular pattern of equity payout.

(II) Agency costs: a firm's managers should not try to minimise agency costs.

(III) Diversification: a firm's managers should not try to diversify across industries.

(IV) Shareholder wealth: a firm's managers should not try to maximise shareholders' wealth.

Which of the above statement(s) are true?



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 45  profitability index

The required return of a project is 10%, given as an effective annual rate. Assume that the cash flows shown in the table are paid all at once at the given point in time.

What is the Profitability Index (PI) of the project?

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



Question 174  profitability index

A project has the following cash flows:

Project Cash Flows
Time (yrs) Cash flow ($)
0 -400
1 200
2 250
 

What is the Profitability Index (PI) of the project? Assume that the cash flows shown in the table are paid all at once at the given point in time. The required return is 10% pa, given as an effective annual rate.



Question 191  NPV, IRR, profitability index, pay back period

A project's Profitability Index (PI) is less than 1. Select the most correct statement:



Question 219  profitability index

A project has the following cash flows:

Project Cash Flows
Time (yrs) Cash flow ($)
0 -90
1 30
2 105
 

The required return of a project is 10%, given as an effective annual rate. Assume that the cash flows shown in the table are paid all at once at the given point in time.

What is the Profitability Index (PI) of the project?



Question 9  DDM, NPV

For a price of $129, Joanne will sell you a share which is expected to pay a $30 dividend in one year, and a $10 dividend every year after that forever. So the stock's dividends will be $30 at t=1, $10 at t=2, $10 at t=3, and $10 forever onwards.

The required return of the stock is 10% pa.

Would you like to the share or politely ?


Question 54  NPV, DDM

A stock is expected to pay the following dividends:

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

After year 4, the annual dividend will grow in perpetuity at -5% pa. Note that this is a negative growth rate, so the dividend will actually shrink. So,

  • the dividend at t=5 will be ##$1(1-0.05) = $0.95##,
  • the dividend at t=6 will be ##$1(1-0.05)^2 = $0.9025##, 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 is the current price of the stock?



Question 59  NPV

The required return of a project is 10%, given as an effective annual rate. Assume that the cash flows shown in the table are paid all at once at the given point in time.

What is the Net Present Value (NPV) of the project?

Project Cash Flows
Time (yrs) Cash flow ($)
0 -100
1 11
2 121
 



Question 198  NPV, DDM, no explanation

A stock is expected to pay the following dividends:

Cash Flows of a Stock
Time (yrs) 0 1 2 3 4 ...
Dividend ($) 0 6 12 18 20 ...
 

After year 4, the dividend will grow in perpetuity at 5% pa. The required return of the stock is 10% pa. Both the growth rate and required return are given as effective annual rates.

What is the current price of the stock?



Question 199  NPV, DDM, no explanation

A stock is expected to pay the following dividends:

Cash Flows of a Stock
Time (yrs) 0 1 2 3 4 ...
Dividend ($) 0 6 12 18 20 ...
 

After year 4, the dividend will grow in perpetuity at 5% pa. The required return of 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 7 years (t = 7), just after the dividend at that time has been paid?



Question 200  NPV, no explanation

A stock is expected to pay the following dividends:

Cash Flows of a Stock
Time (yrs) 0 1 2 3 4 ...
Dividend ($) 0 6 12 18 20 ...
 

After year 4, the dividend will grow in perpetuity at 5% pa. The required return of the stock is 10% pa. Both the growth rate and required return are given as effective annual rates.

If all of the dividends since time period zero were deposited into a bank account yielding 8% pa as an effective annual rate, how much money will be in the bank account in 2.5 years (in other words, at t=2.5)?



Question 753  NPV, perpetuity, DDM

The following cash flows are expected:

  • A perpetuity of yearly payments of $30, with the first payment in 5 years (first payment at t=5, which continues every year after that forever).
  • One payment of $100 in 6 years and 3 months (t=6.25).

What is the NPV of the cash flows if the discount rate is 10% given as an effective annual rate?



Question 752  IRR, NPV

All other things remaining equal, a project is worse if its:



Question 520  NPV, DDM

The following cash flows are expected:

  • Constant perpetual yearly payments of $70, with the first payment in 2.5 years from now (first payment at t=2.5).
  • A single payment of $600 in 3 years and 9 months (t=3.75) from now.

What is the NPV of the cash flows if the discount rate is 10% given as an effective annual rate?



Question 521  NPV, Annuity

The following cash flows are expected:

  • 10 yearly payments of $80, with the first payment in 6.5 years from now (first payment at t=6.5).
  • A single payment of $500 in 4 years and 3 months (t=4.25) from now.

What is the NPV of the cash flows if the discount rate is 10% given as an effective annual rate?



Question 52  IRR, pay back period

A three year project's NPV is negative. The cash flows of the project include a negative cash flow at the very start and positive cash flows over its short life. The required return of the project is 10% pa. Select the most correct statement.



Question 140  IRR, NPV, profitability index

A project has an internal rate of return (IRR) which is greater than its required return. Select the most correct statement.



Question 167  NPV, IRR

A project's net present value (NPV) is negative. Select the most correct statement.



Question 182  NPV, IRR, pay back period

A project's NPV is positive. Select the most correct statement:



Question 189  IRR

A project has the following cash flows:

Project Cash Flows
Time (yrs) Cash flow ($)
0 -400
1 0
2 500
 

The required return on the project is 10%, given as an effective annual rate.

What is the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of this project? The following choices are effective annual rates. Assume that the cash flows shown in the table are paid all at once at the given point in time.



Question 539  debt terminology, fully amortising loan, bond pricing

A 'fully amortising' loan can also be called a:



Question 551  fully amortising loan, time calculation, APR

You just entered into a fully amortising home loan with a principal of $600,000, a variable interest rate of 4.25% pa and a term of 25 years.

Immediately after settling the loan, the variable interest rate suddenly falls to 4% pa! You can't believe your luck. Despite this, you plan to continue paying the same home loan payments as you did before. How long will it now take to pay off your home loan?

Assume that the lower interest rate was granted immediately and that rates were and are now again expected to remain constant. Round your answer up to the nearest whole month.



Question 660  fully amortising loan, interest only loan, APR

How much more can you borrow using an interest-only loan compared to a 25-year fully amortising loan if interest rates are 6% pa compounding per month and are not expected to change? If it makes it easier, assume that you can afford to pay $2,000 per month on either loan. Express your answer as a proportional increase using the following formula:

###\text{Proportional Increase} = \dfrac{V_\text{0,interest only}}{V_\text{0,fully amortising}} - 1###



Question 754  fully amortising loan, interest only loan

How much more can you borrow using an interest-only loan compared to a 25-year fully amortising loan if interest rates are 4% pa compounding per month and are not expected to change? If it makes it easier, assume that you can afford to pay $2,000 per month on either loan. Express your answer as a proportional increase using the following formula:

###\text{Proportional Increase} = \dfrac{V_\text{0,interest only}}{V_\text{0,fully amortising}} - 1###



Question 582  APR, effective rate, effective rate conversion

A credit card company advertises an interest rate of 18% pa, payable monthly. Which of the following statements about the interest rate is NOT correct? All rates are given to four decimal places.



Question 662  APR, effective rate, effective rate conversion, no explanation

Which of the following interest rate labels does NOT make sense?



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 741  APR, effective rate

A home loan company advertises an interest rate of 4.5% pa, payable monthly. Which of the following statements about the interest rate is NOT correct?



Question 849  credit card, APR, no explanation

You just spent $1,000 on your credit card. The interest rate is 24% pa compounding monthly. Assume that your credit card account has no fees and no minimum monthly repayment.

If you can't make any interest or principal payments on your credit card debt over the next year, how much will you owe one year from now?



Question 770  expected and historical returns, income and capital returns, coupon rate, bond pricing

Which of the following statements is NOT correct? Assume that all events are a surprise and that all other things remain equal. So for example, don't assume that just because a company's dividends and profit rise that its required return will also rise, assume the required return stays the same.



Question 757  bond pricing, capital raising, no explanation

A firm wishes to raise $50 million now. They will issue 5% pa semi-annual coupon bonds that will mature in 10 years and have a face value of $100 each. Bond yields are 5% pa, given as an APR compounding every 6 months, and the yield curve is flat.

How many bonds should the firm issue?



Question 756  bond pricing, capital raising, no explanation

A firm wishes to raise $50 million now. They will issue 5% pa semi-annual coupon bonds that will mature in 3 years and have a face value of $100 each. Bond yields are 6% pa, given as an APR compounding every 6 months, and the yield curve is flat.

How many bonds should the firm issue?



Question 573  bond pricing, zero coupon bond, term structure of interest rates, expectations hypothesis, liquidity premium theory, forward interest rate, yield curve

In the below term structure of interest rates equation, all rates are effective annual yields and the numbers in subscript represent the years that the yields are measured over:

###(1+r_{0-3})^3 = (1+r_{0-1})(1+r_{1-2})(1+r_{2-3}) ###

Which of the following statements is NOT correct?



Question 572  bond pricing, zero coupon bond, term structure of interest rates, expectations hypothesis, forward interest rate, yield curve

In the below term structure of interest rates equation, all rates are effective annual yields and the numbers in subscript represent the years that the yields are measured over:

###(1+r_{0-3})^3 = (1+r_{0-1})(1+r_{1-2})(1+r_{2-3}) ###

Which of the following statements is NOT correct?



Question 536  idiom, bond pricing, capital structure, leverage

The expression 'my word is my bond' is often used in everyday language to make a serious promise.

Why do you think this expression uses the metaphor of a bond rather than a share?



Question 108  bond pricing, zero coupon bond, term structure of interest rates, forward interest rate

An Australian company just issued two bonds:

  • A 1 year zero coupon bond at a yield of 10% pa, and
  • A 2 year zero coupon bond at a yield of 8% pa.

What is the forward rate on the company's debt from years 1 to 2? Give your answer as an APR compounding every 6 months, which is how the above bond yields are quoted.



Question 111  portfolio risk, correlation

All things remaining equal, the variance of a portfolio of two positively-weighted stocks rises as:



Question 83  portfolio risk, standard deviation

Portfolio Details
Stock Expected
return
Standard
deviation
Correlation ##(\rho_{A,B})## Dollars
invested
A 0.1 0.4 0.5 60
B 0.2 0.6 140
 

What is the standard deviation (not variance) of returns of the above portfolio?



Question 293  covariance, correlation, portfolio risk

All things remaining equal, the higher the correlation of returns between two stocks:



Question 557  portfolio weights, portfolio return

An investor wants to make a portfolio of two stocks A and B with a target expected portfolio return of 6% pa.

  • Stock A has an expected return of 5% pa.
  • Stock B has an expected return of 10% pa.

What portfolio weights should the investor have in stocks A and B respectively?



Question 556  portfolio risk, portfolio return, standard deviation

An investor wants to make a portfolio of two stocks A and B with a target expected portfolio return of 12% pa.

  • Stock A has an expected return of 10% pa and a standard deviation of 20% pa.
  • Stock B has an expected return of 15% pa and a standard deviation of 30% pa.

The correlation coefficient between stock A and B's expected returns is 70%.

What will be the annual standard deviation of the portfolio with this 12% pa target return?



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 307  risk, variance

Let the variance of returns for a share per month be ##\sigma_\text{monthly}^2##.

What is the formula for the variance of the share's returns per year ##(\sigma_\text{yearly}^2)##?

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 308  risk, standard deviation, variance, no explanation

A stock's standard deviation of returns is expected to be:

  • 0.09 per month for the first 5 months;
  • 0.14 per month for the next 7 months.

What is the expected standard deviation of the stock per year ##(\sigma_\text{annual})##?

Assume that returns are independently and identically distributed (iid) and therefore have zero auto-correlation.



Question 560  standard deviation, variance, needs refinement

The standard deviation and variance of a stock's annual returns are calculated over a number of years. The units of the returns are percent per annum ##(\% pa)##.

What are the units of the standard deviation ##(\sigma)## and variance ##(\sigma^2)## of returns respectively?

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


Question 80  CAPM, risk, diversification

Diversification is achieved by investing in a large amount of stocks. What type of risk is reduced by diversification?



Question 110  CAPM, SML, NPV

The security market line (SML) shows the relationship between beta and expected return.

Buying investment projects that plot above the SML would lead to:



Question 71  CAPM, risk

Stock A has a beta of 0.5 and stock B has a beta of 1. Which statement is NOT correct?



Question 79  CAPM, risk

Which statement is the most correct?



Question 627  CAPM, SML, NPV, Jensens alpha

Image of CML SML graph

Assets A, B, M and ##r_f## are shown on the graphs above. Asset M is the market portfolio and ##r_f## is the risk free yield on government bonds. Which of the below statements is NOT correct?



Question 628  CAPM, SML, risk

Image of CML SML graph

Assets A, B, M and ##r_f## are shown on the graphs above. Asset M is the market portfolio and ##r_f## is the risk free yield on government bonds. Assume that investors can borrow and lend at the risk free rate. Which of the below statements is NOT correct?



Question 672  CAPM, beta

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.

What do you think will be the stock's expected return over the next year, given as an effective annual 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 302  WACC, CAPM

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



Question 119  market efficiency, fundamental analysis, joint hypothesis problem

Your friend claims that by reading 'The Economist' magazine's economic news articles, she can identify shares that will have positive abnormal expected returns over the next 2 years. Assuming that her claim is true, which statement(s) are correct?

(i) Weak form market efficiency is broken.

(ii) Semi-strong form market efficiency is broken.

(iii) Strong form market efficiency is broken.

(iv) The asset pricing model used to measure the abnormal returns (such as the CAPM) is either wrong (mis-specification error) or is measured using the wrong inputs (data errors) so the returns may not be abnormal but rather fair for the level of risk.

Select the most correct response:



Question 623  market efficiency

The efficient markets hypothesis (EMH) and no-arbitrage pricing theory are most closely related to which of the following concepts?



Question 789  rights issue, capital raising

A firm wishes to raise $30 million now. The firm's current market value of equity is $60m and the market price per share is $20. They estimate that they'll be able to issue shares in a rights issue at a subscription price of $15. Ignore the time value of money and assume that all shareholders exercise their rights. Which of the following statements is NOT correct?



Question 214  rights issue

In late 2003 the listed bank ANZ announced a 2-for-11 rights issue to fund the takeover of New Zealand bank NBNZ. Below is the chronology of events:

  • 23/10/2003. Share price closes at $18.30.

  • 24/10/2003. 2-for-11 rights issue announced at a subscription price of $13. The proceeds of the rights issue will be used to acquire New Zealand bank NBNZ. Trading halt announced in morning before market opens.

  • 28/10/2003. Trading halt lifted. Last (and only) day that shares trade cum-rights. Share price opens at $18.00 and closes at $18.14.

  • 29/10/2003. Shares trade ex-rights.

All things remaining equal, what would you expect ANZ's stock price to open at on the first day that it trades ex-rights (29/10/2003)? Ignore the time value of money since time is negligibly short. Also ignore taxes.



Question 569  personal tax

The average weekly earnings of an Australian adult worker before tax was $1,542.40 per week in November 2014 according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Therefore average annual earnings before tax were $80,204.80 assuming 52 weeks per year. Personal income tax rates published by the Australian Tax Office are reproduced for the 2014-2015 financial year in the table below:

Taxable income Tax on this income
0 – $18,200 Nil
$18,201 – $37,000 19c for each $1 over $18,200
$37,001 – $80,000 $3,572 plus 32.5c for each $1 over $37,000
$80,001 – $180,000 $17,547 plus 37c for each $1 over $80,000
$180,001 and over $54,547 plus 45c for each $1 over $180,000
 

The above rates do not include the Medicare levy of 2%. Exclude the Medicare levy from your calculations

How much personal income tax would you have to pay per year if you earned $80,204.80 per annum before-tax?



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 448  franking credit, personal tax on dividends, imputation 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 Australian imputation tax system applies because the company generates all of its income in Australia and pays corporate tax to the Australian Tax Office. Therefore all of the company's dividends are fully franked. The sole shareholder is an Australian for tax purposes and can therefore use the franking credits to offset his personal income tax liability.

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



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 212  rights issue

In mid 2009 the listed mining company Rio Tinto announced a 21-for-40 renounceable rights issue. Below is the chronology of events:

  • 04/06/2009. Share price opens at $69.00 and closes at $66.90.

  • 05/06/2009. 21-for-40 rights issue announced at a subscription price of $28.29.

  • 16/06/2009. Last day that shares trade cum-rights. Share price opens at $76.40 and closes at $75.50.

  • 17/06/2009. Shares trade ex-rights. Rights trading commences.

All things remaining equal, what would you expect Rio Tinto's stock price to open at on the first day that it trades ex-rights (17/6/2009)? Ignore the time value of money since time is negligibly short. Also ignore taxes.



Question 803  capital raising, rights issue, initial public offering, on market repurchase, no explanation

Which one of the following capital raisings or payouts involve the sale of shares to existing shareholders only?



Question 666  rights issue, capital raising

A company conducts a 2 for 3 rights issue at a subscription price of $8 when the pre-announcement stock price was $9. Assume that all investors use their rights to buy those extra shares.

What is the percentage increase in the stock price and the number of shares outstanding? The answers are given in the same order.



Question 788  rights issue, capital raising

A firm wishes to raise $100 million now. The firm's current market value of equity is $300m and the market price per share is $5. They estimate that they'll be able to issue shares in a rights issue at a subscription price of $4. All answers are rounded to 6 decimal places. Ignore the time value of money and assume that all shareholders exercise their rights. Which of the following statements is NOT correct?



Question 513  stock split, reverse stock split, stock dividend, bonus issue, rights issue

Which of the following statements is NOT correct?



Question 708  continuously compounding rate, continuously compounding rate conversion

Convert a 10% continuously compounded annual rate ##(r_\text{cc annual})## into an effective annual rate ##(r_\text{eff annual})##. The equivalent effective annual rate is:



Question 710  continuously compounding rate, continuously compounding rate conversion

A continuously compounded monthly return of 1% ##(r_\text{cc monthly})## is equivalent to a continuously compounded annual return ##(r_\text{cc annual})## of:



Question 712  effective rate conversion

An effective monthly return of 1% ##(r_\text{eff monthly})## is equivalent to an effective annual return ##(r_\text{eff annual})## of:



Question 714  return distribution, no explanation

Which of the following quantities is commonly assumed to be normally distributed?



Question 716  return distribution

The below three graphs show probability density functions (PDF) of three different random variables Red, Green and Blue.

PDF graph

Which of the below statements is NOT correct?



Question 725  return distribution, mean and median returns

If a stock's future expected effective annual returns are log-normally distributed, what will be bigger, the stock's or effective annual return? Or would you expect them to be ?


Question 718  arithmetic and geometric averages

The symbol ##\text{GDR}_{0\rightarrow 1}## represents a stock's gross discrete return per annum over the first year. ##\text{GDR}_{0\rightarrow 1} = P_1/P_0##. The subscript indicates the time period that the return is mentioned over. So for example, ##\text{AAGDR}_{1 \rightarrow 3}## is the arithmetic average GDR measured over the two year period from years 1 to 3, but it is expressed as a per annum rate.

Which of the below statements about the arithmetic and geometric average GDR is NOT correct?



Question 811  log-normal distribution, mean and median returns, return distribution, arithmetic and geometric averages

Which of the following statements about probability distributions is NOT correct?



Question 721  mean and median returns, return distribution, arithmetic and geometric averages, continuously compounding rate

Fred owns some Commonwealth Bank (CBA) shares. He has calculated CBA’s monthly returns for each month in the past 20 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 1% per month using this formula:

###\bar{r}_\text{monthly}= \dfrac{ \displaystyle\sum\limits_{t=1}^T{\left( r_\text{t monthly} \right)} }{T} =0.01=1\% \text{ per month}###

He also found the standard deviation of these monthly returns which was 5% 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} =0.05=5\%\text{ per month}###

Which of the below statements about Fred’s CBA shares is NOT correct? Assume that the past historical average return is the true population average of future expected returns.



Question 722  mean and median returns, return distribution, arithmetic and geometric averages, continuously compounding rate

Here is a table of stock prices and returns. Which of the statements below the table is NOT correct?

Price and Return Population Statistics
Time Prices LGDR GDR NDR
0 100      
1 50 -0.6931 0.5 -0.5
2 100 0.6931 2 1
 
Arithmetic average 0 1.25 0.25
Arithmetic standard deviation 0.9802 1.0607 1.0607
 

 



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:



Question 571  foreign exchange rate

An Indonesian lady wishes to convert 1 million Indonesian rupiah (IDR) to Australian dollars (AUD). Exchange rates are 13,125 IDR per USD and 0.79 USD per AUD. How many AUD is the IDR 1 million worth?



Question 601  foreign exchange rate, American and European terms

Australians usually quote the Australian dollar in USD per 1 AUD. For example, in October 2015 the Australian dollar was quoted as 0.72 USD per AUD. Is this an or terms quote?


Question 602  foreign exchange rate, American and European terms

Chinese people usually quote the Chinese Yuan or Renminbi in RMB per 1 USD. For example, in October 2015 the Chinese Renminbi was 6.35 RMB per USD. Is this an or terms quote?


Question 313  foreign exchange rate, American and European terms

If the AUD appreciates against the USD, the American terms quote of the AUD will or ?



Question 317  foreign exchange rate, American and European terms

If the USD appreciates against the AUD, the European terms quote of the AUD will or ?



Question 319  foreign exchange rate, monetary policy, American and European terms

Investors expect the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to keep the policy rate steady at their next meeting.

Then unexpectedly, the RBA announce that they will increase the policy rate by 25 basis points due to fears that the economy is growing too fast and that inflation will be above their target rate of 2 to 3 per cent.

What do you expect to happen to Australia's exchange rate in the short term? The Australian dollar is likely to:



Question 626  cross currency interest rate parity, foreign exchange rate, forward foreign exchange rate

The Australian cash rate is expected to be 2% pa over the next one year, while the Japanese cash rate is expected to be 0% pa, both given as nominal effective annual rates. The current exchange rate is 100 JPY per AUD.

What is the implied 1 year forward foreign exchange rate?



Question 246  foreign exchange rate, forward foreign exchange rate, cross currency interest rate parity

Suppose the Australian cash rate is expected to be 8.15% pa and the US federal funds rate is expected to be 3.00% pa over the next 2 years, both given as nominal effective annual rates. The current exchange rate is at parity, so 1 USD = 1 AUD.

What is the implied 2 year forward foreign exchange rate?



Question 342  CFFA, capital budgeting

A new company's Firm Free Cash Flow (FFCF, same as CFFA) is forecast in the graph below.

Image of option graphs

To value the firm's assets, the terminal value needs to be calculated using the perpetuity with growth formula:

###V_{\text{terminal, }t-1} = \dfrac{FFCF_{\text{terminal, }t}}{r-g}###

Which point corresponds to the best time to calculate the terminal value?



Question 344  CFFA, capital budgeting

A new company's Firm Free Cash Flow (FFCF, same as CFFA) is forecast in the graph below.

Image of option graphs

To value the firm's assets, the terminal value needs to be calculated using the perpetuity with growth formula:

###V_{\text{terminal, }t-1} = \dfrac{FFCF_{\text{terminal, }t}}{r-g}###

Which point corresponds to the best time to calculate the terminal value?



Question 89  WACC, CFFA, interest tax shield

A retail furniture company buys furniture wholesale and distributes it through its retail stores. The owner believes that she has some good ideas for making stylish new furniture. She is considering a project to buy a factory and employ workers to manufacture the new furniture she's designed. Furniture manufacturing has more systematic risk than furniture retailing.

Her furniture retailing firm's after-tax WACC is 20%. Furniture manufacturing firms have an after-tax WACC of 30%. Both firms are optimally geared. Assume a classical tax system.

Which method(s) will give the correct valuation of the new furniture-making project? Select the most correct answer.



Question 376  leverage, capital structure, no explanation

Interest expense on debt is tax-deductible, but dividend payments on equity are not. or ?


Question 378  leverage, capital structure, no explanation

A levered company's required return on debt is always less than its required return on equity. or ?


Question 772  interest tax shield, capital structure, leverage

A firm issues debt and uses the funds to buy back equity. Assume that there are no costs of financial distress or transactions costs. Which of the following statements about interest tax shields is NOT correct?



Question 774  leverage, WACC, real estate

One year ago you bought a $1,000,000 house partly funded using a mortgage loan. The loan size was $800,000 and the other $200,000 was your wealth or 'equity' in the house asset.

The interest rate on the home loan was 4% pa.

Over the year, the house produced a net rental yield of 2% pa and a capital gain of 2.5% pa.

Assuming that all cash flows (interest payments and net rental payments) were paid and received at the end of the year, and all rates are given as effective annual rates, what was the total return on your wealth over the past year?

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 800  leverage, portfolio return, risk, portfolio risk, capital structure, no explanation

Which of the following assets would you expect to have the highest required rate of return? All values are current market values.



Question 941  negative gearing, leverage, capital structure, interest tax shield, real estate

Last year, two friends Lev and Nolev each bought similar investment properties for $1 million. Both earned net rents of $30,000 pa over the past year. They funded their purchases in different ways:

  • Lev used $200,000 of his own money and borrowed $800,000 from the bank in the form of an interest-only loan with an interest rate of 5% pa.
  • Nolev used $1,000,000 of his own money, he has no mortgage loan on his property.

Both Lev and Nolev also work in high-paying jobs and are subject personal marginal tax rates of 45%.

Which of the below statements about the past year is NOT correct?



Question 802  negative gearing, leverage, capital structure, no explanation

Which of the following statements about ‘negative gearing’ is NOT correct?



Question 801  negative gearing, leverage, capital structure, no explanation

The following steps set out the process of ‘negative gearing’ an investment property in Australia. Which of these steps or statements is NOT correct? To successfully achieve negative gearing on an investment property:



Question 237  WACC, Miller and Modigliani, interest tax shield

Which of the following discount rates should be the highest for a levered company? Ignore the costs of financial distress.



Question 987  interest tax shield, capital structure, debt terminology

What creates interest tax shields for a company?



Question 618  capital structure, no explanation

Who owns a company's shares? The:



Question 74  WACC, capital structure, CAPM

A firm's weighted average cost of capital before tax (##r_\text{WACC before tax}##) would increase due to:



Question 804  CFFA, WACC, interest tax shield, DDM

Use the below information to value a levered company with annual perpetual cash flows from assets that grow. The next cash flow will be generated in one year from now. Note that ‘k’ means kilo or 1,000. So the $30k is $30,000.

Data on a Levered Firm with Perpetual Cash Flows
Item abbreviation Value Item full name
##\text{OFCF}## $30k Operating free cash flow
##g## 1.5% pa Growth rate of OFCF
##r_\text{D}## 4% pa Cost of debt
##r_\text{EL}## 16.3% pa Cost of levered equity
##D/V_L## 80% pa Debt to assets ratio, where the asset value includes tax shields
##t_c## 30% Corporate tax rate
##n_\text{shares}## 100k Number of shares
 

 

Which of the following statements is NOT correct?



Question 766  CFFA, WACC, interest tax shield, DDM

Use the below information to value a levered company with constant annual perpetual cash flows from assets. The next cash flow will be generated in one year from now, so a perpetuity can be used to value this firm. Both the operating and firm free cash flows are constant (but not equal to each other).

Data on a Levered Firm with Perpetual Cash Flows
Item abbreviation Value Item full name
##\text{OFCF}## $100m Operating free cash flow
##\text{FFCF or CFFA}## $112m Firm free cash flow or cash flow from assets (includes interest tax shields)
##g## 0% pa Growth rate of OFCF and FFCF
##\text{WACC}_\text{BeforeTax}## 7% pa Weighted average cost of capital before tax
##\text{WACC}_\text{AfterTax}## 6.25% pa Weighted average cost of capital after tax
##r_\text{D}## 5% pa Cost of debt
##r_\text{EL}## 9% pa Cost of levered equity
##D/V_L## 50% pa Debt to assets ratio, where the asset value includes tax shields
##t_c## 30% Corporate tax rate
 

 

What is the value of the levered firm including interest tax shields?



Question 292  standard deviation, risk

Find the sample standard deviation of returns using the data in the table:

Stock Returns
Year Return pa  
2008 0.3
2009 0.02
2010 -0.2
2011 0.4
 

The returns above and standard deviations below are given in decimal form.



Question 934  standard deviation, risk

Which of the following statements about an asset’s standard deviation of returns is NOT correct? All other things remaining equal, the higher the asset’s standard deviation of returns:



Question 833  option, delta, theta, standard deviation, no explanation

Which of the following statements about an option (either a call or put) and its underlying stock is NOT correct?



Question 72  CAPM, portfolio beta, portfolio risk

Portfolio Details
Stock Expected
return
Standard
deviation
Correlation Beta Dollars
invested
A 0.2 0.4 0.12 0.5 40
B 0.3 0.8 1.5 80
 

What is the beta of the above portfolio?



Question 450  CAPM, risk, portfolio risk, no explanation

The accounting identity states that the book value of a company's assets (A) equals its liabilities (L) plus owners equity (OE), so A = L + OE.

The finance version states that the market value of a company's assets (V) equals the market value of its debt (D) plus equity (E), so V = D + E.

Therefore a business's assets can be seen as a portfolio of the debt and equity that fund the assets.

Let ##\sigma_\text{V total}^2## be the total variance of returns on assets, ##\sigma_\text{V syst}^2## be the systematic variance of returns on assets, and ##\sigma_\text{V idio}^2## be the idiosyncratic variance of returns on assets, and ##\rho_\text{D idio, E idio}## be the correlation between the idiosyncratic returns on debt and equity.

Which of the following equations is NOT correct?



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 284  covariance, correlation

The following table shows a sample of historical total returns of shares in two different companies A and B.

Stock Returns
Total effective annual returns
Year ##r_A## ##r_B##
2007 0.2 0.4
2008 0.04 -0.2
2009 -0.1 -0.3
2010 0.18 0.5
 

What is the historical sample covariance (##\hat{\sigma}_{A,B}##) and correlation (##\rho_{A,B}##) of stock A and B's total effective annual returns?



Question 809  Markowitz portfolio theory, CAPM, Jensens alpha, CML, systematic and idiosyncratic risk

A graph of assets’ expected returns ##(\mu)## versus standard deviations ##(\sigma)## is given in the graph below. The CML is the capital market line.

Image of CML graph

Which of the following statements about this graph, Markowitz portfolio theory and the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) theory is NOT correct?



Question 279  diversification

Do you think that the following statement is or ? “Buying a single company stock usually provides a safer return than a stock mutual fund.”


Question 66  CAPM, SML

Government bonds currently have a return of 5% pa. A stock has an expected return of 6% pa and the market return is 7% pa. What is the beta of the stock?



Question 76  CAPM, SML

Government bonds currently have a return of 5%. A stock has a beta of 2 and the market return is 7%. What is the expected return of the stock?



Question 85  WACC, CAPM

A company has:

  • 140 million shares outstanding.
  • The market price of one share is currently $2.
  • The company's debentures are publicly traded and their market price is equal to 93% of the face value.
  • The debentures have a total face value of $50,000,000 and the current yield to maturity of corporate debentures is 12% per annum.
  • The risk-free rate is 8.50% and the market return is 13.7%.
  • Market analysts estimated that the company's stock has a beta of 0.90.
  • The corporate tax rate is 30%.

What is the company's after-tax weighted average cost of capital (WACC) in a classical tax system?



Question 86  CAPM

Treasury bonds currently have a return of 5% pa. A stock has a beta of 0.5 and the market return is 10% pa. What is the expected return of the stock?



Question 88  WACC, CAPM

A firm can issue 3 year annual coupon bonds at a yield of 10% pa and a coupon rate of 8% pa.

The beta of its levered equity is 2. The market's expected return is 10% pa and 3 year government bonds yield 6% pa with a coupon rate of 4% pa.

The market value of equity is $1 million and the market value of debt is $1 million. The corporate tax rate is 30%.

What is the firm's after-tax WACC? Assume a classical tax system.



Question 90  CAPM, risk

According to the theory of the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), total variance can be broken into two components, systematic variance and idiosyncratic variance. Which of the following events would be considered the most diversifiable according to the theory of the CAPM?



Question 98  capital structure, CAPM

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

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



Question 106  CAPM

A fairly priced stock has an expected return of 15% pa. Treasury bonds yield 5% pa and the market portfolio's expected return is 10% pa. What is the beta of the stock?



Question 231  CAPM

A fairly priced stock has a beta that is the same as the market portfolio's beta. Treasury bonds yield 5% pa and the market portfolio's expected return is 10% pa. What is the expected return of the stock?



Question 232  CAPM, DDM

A stock has a beta of 0.5. Its next dividend is expected to be $3, paid one year from now. Dividends are expected to be paid annually and grow by 2% pa forever. Treasury bonds yield 5% pa and the market portfolio's expected return is 10% pa. All returns are effective annual rates.

What is the price of the stock now?



Question 235  SML, NPV, CAPM, risk

The security market line (SML) shows the relationship between beta and expected return.

Investment projects that plot on the SML would have:



Question 940  CAPM, DDM

A stock has a beta of 1.2. Its next dividend is expected to be $20, paid one year from now.

Dividends are expected to be paid annually and grow by 1.5% pa forever.

Treasury bonds yield 3% pa and the market portfolio's expected return is 7% pa. All returns are effective annual rates.

What is the price of the stock now?



Question 939  CAPM, systematic and idiosyncratic risk

A common phrase heard in financial markets is that ‘high risk investments deserve high returns’. To make this statement consistent with the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), a high amount of what specific type of risk deserves a high return?

Investors deserve high returns when they buy assets with high:



Question 937  CAPM, SML

The market's expected total return is 10% pa and the risk free rate is 5% pa, both given as effective annual rates.

A stock has a beta of 0.7.

What do you think will be the stock's expected return over the next year, given as an effective annual rate?



Question 938  CAPM, SML

The market's expected total return is 10% pa and the risk free rate is 5% pa, both given as effective annual rates.

A stock has a beta of 0.7.

In the last 5 minutes, bad economic news was released showing a higher chance of recession. Over this time the share market fell by 2%. 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 617  systematic and idiosyncratic risk, risk, CAPM

A stock's required total return will increase when its:



Question 657  systematic and idiosyncratic risk, CAPM, no explanation

A stock's required total return will decrease when its:



Question 244  CAPM, SML, NPV, risk

Examine the following graph which shows stocks' betas ##(\beta)## and expected returns ##(\mu)##:

Image of CAPM SML graph

Assume that the CAPM holds and that future expectations of stocks' returns and betas are correctly measured. Which statement is NOT correct?



Question 105  NPV, risk, market efficiency

A person is thinking about borrowing $100 from the bank at 7% pa and investing it in shares with an expected return of 10% pa. One year later the person intends to sell the shares and pay back the loan in full. Both the loan and the shares are fairly priced.

What is the Net Present Value (NPV) of this one year investment? Note that you are asked to find the present value (##V_0##), not the value in one year (##V_1##).



Question 340  market efficiency, opportunity cost

A managed fund charges fees based on the amount of money that you keep with them. The fee is 2% of the start-of-year amount, but it is 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.

What is the Net Present Value (NPV) of investing your money in the fund? Note that the question is not asking how much money you will have in 40 years, it is asking: what is the NPV of investing in the fund? 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.



Question 813  market efficiency

The famous investor Warren Buffett is one of few portfolio managers who appears to have consistently beaten the market. His company Berkshire Hathaway (BRK) appears to have outperformed the US S&P500 market index, shown in the graph below.

Image of CML graph

Read the below statements about Warren Buffett and the implications for the Efficient Markets Hypothesis (EMH) theory of Eugene Fama. Assume that the first sentence is true. Analyse the second sentence and select the answer option which is NOT correct. In other words, find the false statement in the second sentence.



Question 590  future, market efficiency

Which of the following statements about futures contracts on shares is NOT correct, assuming that markets are efficient?

When an equity future is first negotiated (at t=0):



Question 455  income and capital returns, payout policy, DDM, market efficiency

A fairly priced unlevered firm plans to pay a dividend of $1 next year (t=1) which is expected to grow by 3% pa every year after that. The firm's required return on equity is 8% pa.

The firm is thinking about reducing its future dividend payments by 10% so that it can use the extra cash to invest in more projects which are expected to return 8% pa, and have the same risk as the existing projects. Therefore, next year's dividend will be $0.90. No new equity or debt will be issued to fund the new projects, they'll all be funded by the cut in dividends.

What will be the stock's new annual capital return (proportional increase in price per year) if the change in payout policy goes ahead?

Assume that payout policy is irrelevant to firm value (so there's no signalling effects) and that all rates are effective annual rates.



Question 633  personal tax

In 2014 the median starting salaries of male and female Australian bachelor degree accounting graduates aged less than 25 years in their first full-time industry job was $50,000 before tax, according to Graduate Careers Australia. See page 9 of this report. Personal income tax rates published by the Australian Tax Office are reproduced for the 2014-2015 financial year in the table below.

Taxable income Tax on this income
0 – $18,200 Nil
$18,201 – $37,000 19c for each $1 over $18,200
$37,001 – $80,000 $3,572 plus 32.5c for each $1 over $37,000
$80,001 – $180,000 $17,547 plus 37c for each $1 over $80,000
$180,001 and over $54,547 plus 45c for each $1 over $180,000
 

The above rates do not include the Medicare levy of 2%. Exclude the Medicare levy from your calculations

How much personal income tax would you have to pay per year if you earned $50,000 per annum before-tax?



Question 469  franking credit, personal tax on dividends, imputation tax system, no explanation

A firm pays a fully franked cash dividend of $70 to one of its Australian shareholders who has a personal marginal tax rate of 45%. The corporate tax rate is 30%.

What will be the shareholder's personal tax payable due to the dividend payment?



Question 494  franking credit, personal tax on dividends, imputation tax system

A firm pays a fully franked cash dividend of $100 to one of its Australian shareholders who has a personal marginal tax rate of 15%. The corporate tax rate is 30%.

What will be the shareholder's personal tax payable due to the dividend payment?



Question 942  dividend date, ex dividend date

To receive the dividend you must own the stock when the market closes on which date?



Question 748  income and capital returns, DDM, ex dividend date

A stock will pay you a dividend of $2 tonight if you buy it today.

Thereafter the annual dividend is expected to grow by 3% pa, so the next dividend after the $2 one tonight will be $2.06 in one year, then in two years it will be $2.1218 and so on. The stock's required return is 8% pa.

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



Question 986  initial public offering, capital raising

In an initial public offering (IPO), a:



Question 755  bond pricing, capital raising

A firm wishes to raise $50 million now. They will issue 7% pa semi-annual coupon bonds that will mature in 6 years and have a face value of $100 each. Bond yields are 5% pa, given as an APR compounding every 6 months, and the yield curve is flat.

How many bonds should the firm issue?



Question 70  payout policy

Due to floods overseas, there is a cut in the supply of the mineral iron ore and its price increases dramatically. An Australian iron ore mining company therefore expects a large but temporary increase in its profit and cash flows. The mining company does not have any positive NPV projects to begin, so what should it do? Select the most correct answer.



Question 711  continuously compounding rate, continuously compounding rate conversion

A continuously compounded semi-annual return of 5% ##(r_\text{cc 6mth})## is equivalent to a continuously compounded annual return ##(r_\text{cc annual})## of:



Question 634  continuously compounding rate

A $100 stock has a continuously compounded expected total return of 10% pa. Its dividend yield is 2% pa with continuous compounding. What do you expect its price to be in one year?



Question 719  mean and median returns, return distribution, arithmetic and geometric averages, continuously compounding rate

A stock has an arithmetic average continuously compounded return (AALGDR) of 10% pa, a standard deviation of continuously compounded returns (SDLGDR) of 80% pa and current stock price of $1. Assume that stock prices are log-normally distributed. The graph below summarises this information and provides some helpful formulas.

graph

In one year, what do you expect the median and mean prices to be? The answer options are given in the same order.



Question 720  mean and median returns, return distribution, arithmetic and geometric averages, continuously compounding rate

A stock has an arithmetic average continuously compounded return (AALGDR) of 10% pa, a standard deviation of continuously compounded returns (SDLGDR) of 80% pa and current stock price of $1. Assume that stock prices are log-normally distributed.

In 5 years, what do you expect the median and mean prices to be? The answer options are given in the same order.



Question 723  mean and median returns, return distribution, arithmetic and geometric averages, continuously compounding rate

Here is a table of stock prices and returns. Which of the statements below the table is NOT correct?

Price and Return Population Statistics
Time Prices LGDR GDR NDR
0 100      
1 99 -0.010050 0.990000 -0.010000
2 180.40 0.600057 1.822222 0.822222
3 112.73 0.470181 0.624889 0.375111
 
Arithmetic average 0.0399 1.1457 0.1457
Arithmetic standard deviation 0.4384 0.5011 0.5011
 

 



Question 596  future, continuously compounding rate

An equity index is currently at 5,000 points. The 2 year futures price is 5,400 points and the total required return is 8% pa with continuous compounding. Each index point is worth $25.

What is the implied continuous dividend yield as a continuously compounded rate per annum?



Question 707  continuously compounding rate, continuously compounding rate conversion

Convert a 10% effective annual rate ##(r_\text{eff annual})## into a continuously compounded annual rate ##(r_\text{cc annual})##. The equivalent continuously compounded annual rate is:



Question 635  continuously compounding rate

A $100 stock has a continuously compounded expected total return of 10% pa. Its dividend yield is 2% pa with continuous compounding. What do you expect its price to be in 2.5 years?



Question 724  return distribution, mean and median returns

If a stock's future expected continuously compounded annual returns are normally distributed, what will be bigger, the stock's or continuously compounded annual return? Or would you expect them to be ?


Question 726  return distribution, mean and median returns

If a stock's expected future prices are log-normally distributed, what will be bigger, the stock's or future price? Or would you expect them to be ?


Question 790  mean and median returns, return distribution, arithmetic and geometric averages, continuously compounding rate, log-normal distribution, VaR, confidence interval

A risk manager has identified that their hedge fund’s continuously compounded portfolio returns are normally distributed with a mean of 10% pa and a standard deviation of 30% pa. The hedge fund’s portfolio is currently valued at $100 million. Assume that there is no estimation error in these figures and that the normal cumulative density function at 1.644853627 is 95%.

Which of the following statements is NOT correct? All answers are rounded to the nearest dollar.



Question 245  foreign exchange rate, monetary policy, foreign exchange rate direct quote, no explanation

Investors expect Australia's central bank, the RBA, to leave the policy rate unchanged at their next meeting.

Then unexpectedly, the policy rate is reduced due to fears that Australia's GDP growth is slowing.

What do you expect to happen to Australia's exchange rate? Direct and indirect quotes are given from the perspective of an Australian.

The Australian dollar will:



Question 312  foreign exchange rate, American and European terms

If the current AUD exchange rate is USD 0.9686 = AUD 1, what is the American terms quote of the AUD against the USD?



Question 314  foreign exchange rate, American and European terms

If the USD appreciates against the AUD, the American terms quote of the AUD will or ?



Question 316  foreign exchange rate, American and European terms

If the AUD appreciates against the USD, the European terms quote of the AUD will or ?



Question 318  foreign exchange rate, American and European terms

How is the AUD normally quoted in Australia? Using or terms?


Question 320  foreign exchange rate, monetary policy, American and European terms

Investors expect the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to decrease the overnight cash rate at their next meeting.

Then unexpectedly, the RBA announce that they will keep the policy rate unchanged.

What do you expect to happen to Australia's exchange rate in the short term? The Australian dollar is likely to:



Question 323  foreign exchange rate, monetary policy, American and European terms

The market expects the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to increase the policy rate by 25 basis points at their next meeting.

As expected, the RBA increases the policy rate by 25 basis points.

What do you expect to happen to Australia's exchange rate in the short term? The Australian dollar will:



Question 325  foreign exchange rate

In the 1997 Asian financial crisis many countries' exchange rates depreciated rapidly against the US dollar (USD). The Thai, Indonesian, Malaysian, Korean and Filipino currencies were severely affected. The below graph shows these Asian countries' currencies in USD per one unit of their currency, indexed to 100 in June 1997.

Image of Asian currencies in the 1997 Asian financial crisis, sourced from the RBA

Of the statements below, which is NOT correct? The Asian countries':



Question 335  foreign exchange rate, American and European terms

Investors expect Australia's central bank, the RBA, to reduce the policy rate at their next meeting due to fears that the economy is slowing. Then unexpectedly, the policy rate is actually kept unchanged.

What do you expect to happen to Australia's exchange rate?



Question 570  foreign exchange rate

An American wishes to convert USD 1 million to Australian dollars (AUD). The exchange rate is 0.8 USD per AUD. How much is the USD 1 million worth in AUD?



Question 600  foreign exchange rate

A Chinese man wishes to convert AUD 1 million into Chinese Renminbi (RMB, also called the Yuan (CNY)). The exchange rate is 6.35 RMB per USD, and 0.72 USD per AUD. How much is the AUD 1 million worth in RMB?



Question 603  foreign exchange rate, American and European terms

Vietnamese people usually quote the Vietnamese Dong in VND per 1 USD. For example, in October 2015 the Vietnamese Dong was 22,300 VND per USD. Is this an or terms quote?


Question 606  foreign exchange rate, American and European terms

Which of the following FX quotes (current in October 2015) is given in American terms?



Question 667  forward foreign exchange rate, foreign exchange rate, cross currency interest rate parity, no explanation

The Australian cash rate is expected to be 2% pa over the next one year, while the US cash rate is expected to be 0% pa, both given as nominal effective annual rates. The current exchange rate is 0.73 USD per AUD.

What is the implied 1 year USD per AUD forward foreign exchange rate?



Question 973  foreign exchange rate, monetary policy, no explanation

Suppose the market expects the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to increase the policy rate by 25 basis points at their next meeting. The current exchange rate is 0.8 USD per AUD.

Then unexpectedly, the RBA announce that they will leave the policy rate unchanged due to increasing unemployment and fears of a potential recession.

What do you expect to happen to Australia's exchange rate on the day when the surprise announcement is made? The Australian dollar is likely to:



Question 876  foreign exchange rate, forward foreign exchange rate, cross currency interest rate parity

Suppose the yield curve in the USA and Germany is flat and the:

  • USD federal funds rate at the Federal Reserve is 1% pa;
  • EUR deposit facility at the European Central Bank is -0.4% pa (note the negative sign);
  • Spot EUR exchange rate is 1 USD per EUR;
  • One year forward EUR exchange rate is 1.011 USD per EUR.

You suspect that there’s an arbitrage opportunity. Which one of the following statements about the potential arbitrage opportunity is NOT correct?



Question 878  foreign exchange rate, American and European terms

If the Australian dollar quote of 0.8 USD per AUD suddenly falls to 0.7 USD per AUD, has the Australian dollar or against the US dollar?



Question 882  Asian currency crisis, foreign exchange rate, original sin, no explanation

In the 1997 Asian currency crisis, the businesses most vulnerable to bankruptcy were those that:



Question 888  foreign exchange rate, speculation, no explanation

The current Australian exchange rate is 0.8 USD per AUD.

If you think that the AUD will depreciate against the USD, contrary to the rest of the market, how could you profit? Right now you should:



Question 142  DDM, income and capital returns

When using the dividend discount model to price a stock:

### p_{0} = \frac{d_1}{r - g} ###

The growth rate of dividends (g):



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 409  NPV, capital structure, capital budgeting

A pharmaceutical firm has just discovered a valuable new drug. So far the news has been kept a secret.

The net present value of making and commercialising the drug is $200 million, but $600 million of bonds will need to be issued to fund the project and buy the necessary plant and equipment.

The firm will release the news of the discovery and bond raising to shareholders simultaneously in the same announcement. The bonds will be issued shortly after.

Once the announcement is made and the bonds are issued, what is the expected increase in the value of the firm's assets (ΔV), market capitalisation of debt (ΔD) and market cap of equity (ΔE)?

The triangle symbol is the Greek letter capital delta which means change or increase in mathematics.

Ignore the benefit of interest tax shields from having more debt.

Remember: ##ΔV = ΔD+ΔE##



Question 806  stock split, no explanation

A firm conducts a two-for-one stock split. Which of the following consequences would NOT be expected?



Question 564  covariance

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

The cov(X, C) or ##\sigma_{X,C}## equals:



Question 303  WACC, CAPM, CFFA

There are many different ways to value a firm's assets. Which of the following will NOT give the correct market value of a levered firm's assets ##(V_L)##? Assume that:

  • The firm is financed by listed common stock and vanilla annual fixed coupon bonds, which are both traded in a liquid market.
  • The bonds' yield is equal to the coupon rate, so the bonds are issued at par. The yield curve is flat and yields are not expected to change. When bonds mature they will be rolled over by issuing the same number of new bonds with the same expected yield and coupon rate, and so on forever.
  • Tax rates on the dividends and capital gains received by investors are equal, and capital gains tax is paid every year, even on unrealised gains regardless of when the asset is sold.
  • There is no re-investment of the firm's cash back into the business. All of the firm's excess cash flow is paid out as dividends so real growth is zero.
  • The firm operates in a mature industry with zero real growth.
  • All cash flows and rates in the below equations are real (not nominal) and are expected to be stable forever. Therefore the perpetuity equation with no growth is suitable for valuation.

Where:

###r_\text{WACC before tax} = r_D.\frac{D}{V_L} + r_{EL}.\frac{E_L}{V_L} = \text{Weighted average cost of capital before tax}### ###r_\text{WACC after tax} = r_D.(1-t_c).\frac{D}{V_L} + r_{EL}.\frac{E_L}{V_L} = \text{Weighted average cost of capital after tax}### ###NI_L=(Rev-COGS-FC-Depr-\mathbf{IntExp}).(1-t_c) = \text{Net Income Levered}### ###CFFA_L=NI_L+Depr-CapEx - \varDelta NWC+\mathbf{IntExp} = \text{Cash Flow From Assets Levered}### ###NI_U=(Rev-COGS-FC-Depr).(1-t_c) = \text{Net Income Unlevered}### ###CFFA_U=NI_U+Depr-CapEx - \varDelta NWC= \text{Cash Flow From Assets Unlevered}###

Question 661  systematic and idiosyncratic risk, CAPM

A stock's total standard deviation of returns is 20% pa. The market portfolio's total standard deviation of returns is 15% pa. The beta of the stock is 0.8.

What is the stock's diversifiable standard deviation?



Question 777  CAPM, beta

The market's expected total return is 10% pa and the risk free rate is 5% pa, both given as effective annual rates.

A stock has a beta of 0.5.

In the last 5 minutes, the federal government unexpectedly raised taxes. Over this time the share market fell by 3%. 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 922  Stutzer portfolio performance indicator, Sharpe ratio, no explanation

Stutzer’s Portfolio Performance Indicator (PPI) ranks portfolios similarly to what other performance metric, assuming that the portfolios’ continuously compounded returns (LGDR’s) are normally distributed?



Question 514  corporate financial decision theory, idiom

The expression 'cash is king' emphasizes the importance of having enough cash to pay your short term debts to avoid bankruptcy. Which business decision is this expression most closely related to?



Question 767  idiom, corporate financial decision theory, no explanation

The sayings "Don't cry over spilt milk", "Don't regret the things that you can't change" and "What's done is done" are most closely related to which financial concept?



Question 769  short selling, idiom, no explanation

"Buy low, sell high" is a well-known saying. It suggests that investors should buy low then sell high, in that order.

How would you re-phrase that saying to describe short selling?



Question 652  future, continuously compounding rate

An equity index is currently at 5,200 points. The 6 month futures price is 5,300 points and the total required return is 6% pa with continuous compounding. Each index point is worth $25.

What is the implied dividend yield as a continuously compounded rate per annum?



Question 792  mean and median returns, return distribution, arithmetic and geometric averages, continuously compounding rate, log-normal distribution, confidence interval

A risk manager has identified that their investment fund’s continuously compounded portfolio returns are normally distributed with a mean of 10% pa and a standard deviation of 40% pa. The fund’s portfolio is currently valued at $1 million. Assume that there is no estimation error in the above figures. To simplify your calculations, all answers below use 2.33 as an approximation for the normal inverse cumulative density function at 99%. All answers are rounded to the nearest dollar. Assume one month is 1/12 of a year. Which of the following statements is NOT correct?



Question 907  continuously compounding rate, return types, return distribution, price gains and returns over time

For an asset's price to double from say $1 to $2 in one year, what must its continuously compounded return ##(r_{CC})## be? If the price now is ##P_0## and the price in one year is ##P_1## then the continuously compounded return over the next year is:

###r_\text{CC annual} = \ln{\left[ \dfrac{P_1}{P_0} \right]} = \text{LGDR}_\text{annual}###



Question 906  effective rate, return types, net discrete return, return distribution, price gains and returns over time

For an asset's price to double from say $1 to $2 in one year, what must its effective annual return be? Note that an effective annual return is also called a net discrete return per annum. If the price now is ##P_0## and the price in one year is ##P_1## then the effective annul return over the next year is:

###r_\text{effective annual} = \dfrac{P_1 - P_0}{P_0} = \text{NDR}_\text{annual}###



Question 883  monetary policy, impossible trinity, foreign exchange rate

It’s often thought that the ideal currency or exchange rate regime would:

1. Be fixed against the USD;

2. Be convertible to and from USD for traders and investors so there are open goods, services and capital markets, and;

3. Allow independent monetary policy set by the country’s central bank, independent of the US central bank. So the country can set its own interest rate independent of the US Federal Reserve’s USD interest rate.

However, not all of these characteristics can be achieved. One must be sacrificed. This is the 'impossible trinity'.

Which of the following exchange rate regimes sacrifices convertibility?



Question 885  foreign exchange rate, no explanation

A Brazilian lady wishes to convert 1 million Brazilian Real (BRL) into Chinese Renminbi (RMB, also called the Yuan or CNY). The exchange rate is 3.42 BRL per USD and 6.27 RMB per USD. How much is the BRL 1 million worth in RMB?



Question 886  foreign exchange rate, no explanation

A British man wants to calculate how many British pounds (GBP) he needs to buy a 1 million euro (EUR) apartment in Germany. The exchange rate is 1.42 USD per GBP and 1.23 USD per EUR. What is the EUR 1 million equivalent to in GBP?



Question 887  foreign exchange rate, no explanation

Examine the graph of the AUD versus the USD, EUR and JPY. Note that RHS means right hand side and LHS left hand side which indicates which axis each line corresponds to. Assume inflation rates in each country were equal over the time period 1984 to 2018.

Image of USD vs JPY and EUR graph

Which of the following statements is NOT correct?



Question 891  foreign exchange rate, monetary policy, no explanation

Suppose the market expects the Bank of Japan (BoJ) to decrease their short term interest rate by 15 basis points at their next meeting. The current short term interest rate is -0.1% pa and the exchange rate is 100 JPY per USD.

Then unexpectedly, the BoJ announce that they will leave the short term interest rate unchanged.

What do you expect to happen to Japan’s exchange rate on the day when the surprise announcement is made? The Japanese Yen (JPY) is likely to suddenly:



Question 970  foreign exchange rate, no explanation

Examine the below graph.

Which of the below statements is NOT correct?



Question 842  monetary policy, institution

Which Australian institution is in charge of monetary policy?



Question 843  monetary policy, institution, no explanation

The Australian central bank implements monetary policy by directly controlling which interest rate?



Question 848  monetary policy, no explanation

Which of the following is NOT the Australian central bank’s responsibility?