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Question 991  NPV

The required return of a building 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.

The building firm is just about to start the project and the client has signed the contract. Initially the firm will pay $100 to the sub-contractors to carry out the work and then will receive an $11 payment from the client in one year and $121 when the project is finished in 2 years. Ignore credit risk.

But the building company is considering selling the project to a competitor at different points in time and is pondering the minimum price that they should sell it for.

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

Which of the below statements is NOT correct? The project is worth:



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 502  NPV, IRR, mutually exclusive projects

An investor owns an empty block of land that has local government approval to be developed into a petrol station, car wash or car park. The council will only allow a single development so the projects are mutually exclusive.

All of the development projects have the same risk and the required return of each is 10% pa. Each project has an immediate cost and once construction is finished in one year the land and development will be sold. The table below shows the estimated costs payable now, expected sale prices in one year and the internal rates of returns (IRR's).

Mutually Exclusive Projects
Project Cost
now ($)
Sale price in
one year ($)
IRR
(% pa)
Petrol station 9,000,000 11,000,000 22.22
Car wash 800,000 1,100,000 37.50
Car park 70,000 110,000 57.14
 

Which project should the investor accept?



Question 476  income and capital returns, idiom

The saying "buy low, sell high" suggests that investors should make a:



Question 404  income and capital returns, real estate

One and a half years ago Frank bought a house for $600,000. Now it's worth only $500,000, based on recent similar sales in the area.

The expected total return on Frank's residential property is 7% pa.

He rents his house out for $1,600 per month, paid in advance. Every 12 months he plans to increase the rental payments.

The present value of 12 months of rental payments is $18,617.27.

The future value of 12 months of rental payments one year in the future is $19,920.48.

What is the expected annual rental yield of the property? Ignore the costs of renting such as maintenance, real estate agent fees and so on.



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 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 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 525  income and capital returns, real and nominal returns and cash flows, inflation

Which of the following statements about cash in the form of notes and coins is NOT correct? Assume that inflation is positive.

Notes and coins:



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 575  inflation, real and nominal returns and cash flows

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



Question 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 280  equivalent annual cash flow

You own a nice suit which you wear once per week on nights out. You bought it one year ago for $600. In your experience, suits used once per week last for 6 years. So you expect yours to last for another 5 years.

Your younger brother said that retro is back in style so he wants to wants to borrow your suit once a week when he goes out. With the increased use, your suit will only last for another 4 years rather than 5.

What is the present value of the cost of letting your brother use your current suit for the next 4 years?

Assume: that bank interest rates are 10% pa, given as an effective annual rate; you will buy a new suit when your current one wears out and your brother will not use the new one; your brother will only use your current suit so he will only use it for the next four years; and the price of a new suit never changes.



Question 216  DDM

A stock just paid its annual dividend of $9. The share price is $60. The required return of the stock is 10% pa as an effective annual rate.

What is the implied growth rate of the dividend per year?



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 158  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{d_1}{r_\text{eff}-g_\text{eff}}###

Which expression is NOT equal to the expected capital return?



Question 347  PE ratio, Multiples valuation

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



Question 357  PE ratio, Multiples valuation

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



Question 463  PE ratio, Multiples valuation

Private equity firms are known to buy medium sized private companies operating in the same industry, merge them together into a larger company, and then sell it off in a public float (initial public offering, IPO).

If medium-sized private companies trade at PE ratios of 5 and larger listed companies trade at PE ratios of 15, what return can be achieved from this strategy?

Assume that:

  • The medium-sized companies can be bought, merged and sold in an IPO instantaneously.
  • There are no costs of finding, valuing, merging and restructuring the medium sized companies. Also, there is no competition to buy the medium-sized companies from other private equity firms.
  • The large merged firm's earnings are the sum of the medium firms' earnings.
  • The only reason for the difference in medium and large firm's PE ratios is due to the illiquidity of the medium firms' shares.
  • Return is defined as: ##r_{0→1} = (p_1-p_0+c_1)/p_0## , where time zero is just before the merger and time one is just after.



Question 281  equivalent annual cash flow

You just bought a nice dress which you plan to wear once per month on nights out. You bought it a moment ago for $600 (at t=0). In your experience, dresses used once per month last for 6 years.

Your younger sister is a student with no money and wants to borrow your dress once a month when she hits the town. With the increased use, your dress will only last for another 3 years rather than 6.

What is the present value of the cost of letting your sister use your current dress for the next 3 years?

Assume: that bank interest rates are 10% pa, given as an effective annual rate; you will buy a new dress when your current one wears out; your sister will only use the current dress, not the next one that you will buy; and the price of a new dress never changes.



Question 195  equivalent annual cash flow

An industrial chicken farmer grows chickens for their meat. Chickens:

  1. Cost $0.50 each to buy as chicks. They are bought on the day they’re born, at t=0.
  2. Grow at a rate of $0.70 worth of meat per chicken per week for the first 6 weeks (t=0 to t=6).
  3. Grow at a rate of $0.40 worth of meat per chicken per week for the next 4 weeks (t=6 to t=10) since they’re older and grow more slowly.
  4. Feed costs are $0.30 per chicken per week for their whole life. Chicken feed is bought and fed to the chickens once per week at the beginning of the week. So the first amount of feed bought for a chicken at t=0 costs $0.30, and so on.
  5. Can be slaughtered (killed for their meat) and sold at no cost at the end of the week. The price received for the chicken is their total value of meat (note that the chicken grows fast then slow, see above).

The required return of the chicken farm is 0.5% given as an effective weekly rate.

Ignore taxes and the fixed costs of the factory. Ignore the chicken’s welfare and other environmental and ethical concerns.

Find the equivalent weekly cash flow of slaughtering a chicken at 6 weeks and at 10 weeks so the farmer can figure out the best time to slaughter his chickens. The choices below are given in the same order, 6 and 10 weeks.



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 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 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 128  debt terminology, needs refinement

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


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 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 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 273  CFFA, capital budgeting

Value the following business project to manufacture a new product.

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

Notes

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

Assumptions

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

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



Question 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 206  CFFA, interest expense, interest tax shield

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

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

Annual interest expense is equal to:



Question 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 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 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 367  CFFA, interest tax shield

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

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

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

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

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



Question 370  capital budgeting, NPV, interest tax shield, WACC, CFFA

Project Data
Project life 2 yrs
Initial investment in equipment $600k
Depreciation of equipment per year $250k
Expected sale price of equipment at end of project $200k
Revenue per job $12k
Variable cost per job $4k
Quantity of jobs per year 120
Fixed costs per year, paid at the end of each year $100k
Interest expense in first year (at t=1) $16.091k
Interest expense in second year (at t=2) $9.711k
Tax rate 30%
Government treasury bond yield 5%
Bank loan debt yield 6%
Levered cost of equity 12.5%
Market portfolio return 10%
Beta of assets 1.24
Beta of levered equity 1.5
Firm's and project's debt-to-equity ratio 25%
 

Notes

  1. The project will require an immediate purchase of $50k of inventory, which will all be sold at cost when the project ends. Current liabilities are negligible so they can be ignored.

Assumptions

  • The debt-to-equity ratio will be kept constant throughout the life of the project. The amount of interest expense at the end of each period has been correctly calculated to maintain this constant debt-to-equity ratio. Note that interest expense is different in each year.
  • Thousands are represented by 'k' (kilo).
  • All cash flows occur at the start or end of the year as appropriate, not in the middle or throughout the year.
  • All rates and cash flows are nominal. The inflation rate is 2% pa.
  • All rates are given as effective annual rates.
  • The 50% capital gains tax discount is not available since the project is undertaken by a firm, not an individual.

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



Question 401  capital budgeting, CFFA

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



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 366  opportunity cost, NPV, CFFA

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



Question 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 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 234  debt terminology

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



Question 620  bond pricing, income and capital returns

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



Question 229  bond pricing

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

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



Question 255  bond pricing

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

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



Question 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 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 254  time calculation, APR

Your main expense is fuel for your car which costs $100 per month. You just refueled, so you won't need any more fuel for another month (first payment at t=1 month).

You have $2,500 in a bank account which pays interest at a rate of 6% pa, payable monthly. Interest rates are not expected to change.

Assuming that you have no income, in how many months time will you not have enough money to fully refuel your car?



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 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 507  leverage, accounting ratio

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



Question 205  depreciation tax shield, CFFA

There are a number of ways that assets can be depreciated. Generally the government's tax office stipulates a certain method.

But if it didn't, what would be the ideal way to depreciate an asset from the perspective of a businesses owner?



Question 746  pay back period

A stock is expected to pay a dividend of $1 in one year. Its future annual dividends are expected to grow by 10% pa. So the first dividend of $1 is in one year, and the year after that the dividend will be $1.1 (=1*(1+0.1)^1), and a year later $1.21 (=1*(1+0.1)^2) and so on forever.

Its required total return is 30% pa. The total required return and growth rate of dividends are given as effective annual rates. The stock is fairly priced.

Calculate the pay back period of buying the stock and holding onto it forever, assuming that the dividends are received as at each time, not smoothly over each year.



Question 959  negative gearing, leverage, capital structure, interest tax shield, real estate

Last year, two friends Gear and Nogear invested in residential apartments. Each invested $1 million of their own money (their net wealth).

Apartments cost $1,000,000 last year and they earned net rents of $30,000 pa over the last year. Net rents are calculated as rent revenues less the costs of renting such as property maintenance, land tax and council rates. However, interest expense and personal income taxes are not deducted from net rents.

Gear and Nogear funded their purchases in different ways:

  • Gear used $1,000,000 of her own money and borrowed $4,000,000 from the bank in the form of an interest-only loan with an interest rate of 5% pa to buy 5 apartments.
  • Nogear used $1,000,000 of his own money to buy one apartment. He has no mortgage loan on his property.

Both Gear and Nogear 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 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 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 673  CAPM, beta, expected and historical returns

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

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

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



Question 630  mispriced asset, NPV, DDM, market efficiency

A company advertises an investment costing $1,000 which they say is underpriced. They say that it has an expected total return of 15% pa, but a required return of only 10% pa. Of the 15% pa total expected return, the dividend yield is expected to always be 7% pa and rest is the capital yield.

Assuming that the company's statements are correct, what is the NPV of buying the investment if the 15% total return lasts for the next 100 years (t=0 to 100), then reverts to 10% after that time? Also, what is the NPV of the investment if the 15% return lasts forever?

In both cases, assume that the required return of 10% remains constant, the dividends can only be re-invested at 10% pa and all returns are given as effective annual rates.

The answer choices below are given in the same order (15% for 100 years, and 15% forever):



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

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



Question 309  stock pricing, ex dividend date

A company announces that it will pay a dividend, as the market expected. The company's shares trade on the stock exchange which is open from 10am in the morning to 4pm in the afternoon each weekday. When would the share price be expected to fall by the amount of the dividend? Ignore taxes.

The share price is expected to fall during the:



Question 1018  RBA cash rate, monetary policy, foreign exchange rate

RBA Governor Phil Lowe says that when the RBA raises the cash rate (by surprise), the Australian dollar (AUD) tends to:



Question 1021  Federal funds rate, monetary policy, quantitative easing, tapering

US Fed Chair Jerome Powell held a news conference following the 25-26 January 2022 FOMC meeting.

Nick Timiraos reporting for The Wall Street Journal asked: "Raising rates and reducing the balance sheet both restrain the economy, both tighten monetary policy. How should we think about the relationship between the two? For example, how much passive runoff is equal to every quarter percentage point increase in your benchmark rate?"

Jerome Powell replied: "So, again, we think of the balance sheet as moving in a predictable manner, sort of in the background, and that the active tool meeting to meeting is not -- both of them, it's the federal funds rate. There are rules of thumbs. I'm reluctant to land on one of them that equate this. And there's also an element of uncertainty around the balance sheet. I think we have a much better sense, frankly, of how rate increases affect financial conditions and, hence, economic conditions. Balance sheet is still a relatively new thing for the markets and for us, so we're less certain about that." (US Fed, 2022)

When Nick Timiraos mentioned 'reducing the balance sheet', he's referring to:



Question 749  Multiples valuation, PE ratio, price to revenue ratio, price to book ratio, NPV

A real estate agent says that the price of a house in Sydney Australia is approximately equal to the gross weekly rent times 1000.

What type of valuation method is the real estate agent using?



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 935  real estate, NPV, perpetuity with growth, multi stage growth model, DDM

You're thinking of buying an investment property that costs $1,000,000. The property's rent revenue over the next year is expected to be $50,000 pa and rent expenses are $20,000 pa, so net rent cash flow is $30,000. Assume that net rent is paid annually in arrears, so this next expected net rent cash flow of $30,000 is paid one year from now.

The year after, net rent is expected to fall by 2% pa. So net rent at year 2 is expected to be $29,400 (=30,000*(1-0.02)^1).

The year after that, net rent is expected to rise by 1% pa. So net rent at year 3 is expected to be $29,694 (=30,000*(1-0.02)^1*(1+0.01)^1).

From year 3 onwards, net rent is expected to rise at 2.5% pa forever. So net rent at year 4 is expected to be $30,436.35 (=30,000*(1-0.02)^1*(1+0.01)^1*(1+0.025)^1).

Assume that the total required return on your investment property is 6% pa. Ignore taxes. All returns are given as effective annual rates.

What is the net present value (NPV) of buying the investment property?



Question 1031  Multiples valuation

Investment bank Canaccord's Think Childcare (TNK) initiation of coverage states: "What's the Differentiator? TNK are operators, not consolidators - Other listed childcare companies have led highly successful consolidation strategies involving multiple arbitrage combined with scale benefits and operating efficiencies. TNK’s focus is on operating the centres to the best of their individual potentials..." (Canaccord, 2016). Multiples arbitrage involves:



Question 1029  Buffett ratio

Tesla CEO Elon Musk asked a question to ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood on 6 April 2021: "What do you think of the unusually high ratio of the S&P market cap to GDP?", to which Cathie Wood replied.

What are the units of this S&P500 market cap to GDP ratio, commonly known as the Buffett ratio?



Question 1025  real and nominal returns and cash flows

What proportion of managers are evaluating projects correctly, based on table 8 from Meier and Tarhan's (2006) survey of corporate managers?

Table 8: Consistency of nominal or real hurdle rates and cash flows
Hurdle rate Cash flows Total
Nominal Real
Nominal 29.8% 11.6% 41.3%
Real 19.8% 38.4% 58.7%
Total 49.6% 50.4% 100.0%
 

 

Table 8 footnote: The rows in this cross-tabulation show whether the firm uses a nominal or real hurdle rate, the columns indicate whether cash flows are calculated in nominal or real terms. The fractions denote the number of firms for each combination relative to the total of 123 respondents that responded to both separate survey questions.

What proportion of managers are evaluating projects correctly?



Question 1008  WACC, leverage, CFFA, EFCF

An analyst is valuing a levered company whose owners insist on keeping a constant market debt to assets ratio into the future.

The analyst is wondering how asset values and other things in her model will change when she changes the forecast sales growth rate.

Which of the below values will increase as the forecast growth rate of sales increases, with the debt to assets ratio remaining constant?

Assume that the cost of debt (yield) remains constant and the company’s asset beta will also remain constant since any expansion (or downsize) will involve buying (or selling) more of the same assets.

The analyst should expect which value or ratio to increase when the forecast growth rate of sales increases and the debt to assets ratio remains unchanged? In other words, which of the following values will NOT remain constant?



Question 905  market capitalisation of equity, PE ratio, payout ratio

The below graph shows the computer software company Microsoft's stock price (MSFT) at the market close on the NASDAQ on Friday 1 June 2018.

Based on the screenshot above, which of the following statements about MSFT is NOT correct? MSFT's:



Question 871  duration, Macaulay duration, modified duration, portfolio duration

Which of the following statements about Macaulay duration is NOT correct? The Macaulay duration:



Question 872  duration, Macaulay duration, modified duration, portfolio duration

A fixed coupon bond’s modified duration is 20 years, and yields are currently 10% pa compounded annually. Which of the following statements about the bond is NOT correct?



Question 995  duration

Find the Macaulay duration of a 2 year 5% pa semi-annual fixed coupon bond which has a $100 face value and currently has a yield to maturity of 8% pa. The Macaulay duration is:



Question 585  option

A man just sold a call option to his counterparty, a lady. The man has just now:



Question 587  option

Which of the following statements about option contracts is NOT correct? For every:



Question 640  option, future, no explanation

Which one of the below option and futures contracts gives the possibility of potentially unlimited gains?



Question 676  option, option profit, no explanation

Which of the below formulas gives the profit ##(\pi)## from being short a call option? Let the underlying asset price at maturity be ##S_T##, the exercise price be ##X_T## and the option price be ##f_{LC,0}##. Note that ##S_T##, ##X_T## and ##f_{LC,0}## are all positive numbers.



Question 677  option, option profit, no explanation

Which of the below formulas gives the profit ##(\pi)## from being long a put option? Let the underlying asset price at maturity be ##S_T##, the exercise price be ##X_T## and the option price be ##f_{LP,0}##. Note that ##S_T##, ##X_T## and ##f_{LP,0}## are all positive numbers.



Question 679  option, no explanation

A trader sells one crude oil European style call option contract on the CME expiring in one year with an exercise price of $44 per barrel for a price of $6.64. The crude oil spot price is $40.33. If the trader doesn’t close out her contract before maturity, then at maturity she will have the:



Question 687  option, no explanation

Which of the following statements about call options is NOT correct?



Question 690  option

A trader just bought a European style put option on CBA stock. The current option premium is $2, the exercise price is $75, the option matures in one year and the spot CBA stock price is $74.

Which of the following statements is NOT correct?



Question 422  takeover

Acquirer firm plans to launch a takeover of Target firm. The firms operate in different industries and the CEO's rationale for the merger is to increase diversification and thereby decrease risk. The deal is not expected to create any synergies. An 80% scrip and 20% cash offer will be made that pays the fair price for the target's shares. The cash will be paid out of the firms' cash holdings, no new debt or equity will be raised.

Firms Involved in the Takeover
Acquirer Target
Assets ($m) 6,000 700
Debt ($m) 4,800 400
Share price ($) 40 20
Number of shares (m) 30 15
 

Ignore transaction costs and fees. Assume that the firms' debt and equity are fairly priced, and that each firms' debts' risk, yield and values remain constant. The acquisition is planned to occur immediately, so ignore the time value of money.

Calculate the merged firm's share price and total number of shares after the takeover has been completed.



Question 421  takeover

Acquirer firm plans to launch a takeover of Target firm. The deal is expected to create a present value of synergies totaling $105 million. A scrip offer will be made that pays the fair price for the target's shares plus 75% of the total synergy value.

Firms Involved in the Takeover
Acquirer Target
Assets ($m) 6,000 700
Debt ($m) 4,800 400
Share price ($) 40 20
Number of shares (m) 30 15
 

Ignore transaction costs and fees. Assume that the firms' debt and equity are fairly priced, and that each firms' debts' risk, yield and values remain constant. The acquisition is planned to occur immediately, so ignore the time value of money.

Calculate the merged firm's share price and total number of shares after the takeover has been completed.



Question 795  option, Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing, option delta, no explanation

Which of the following quantities from the Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing formula gives the Delta of a European put option?



Question 797  option, Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing, option delta, no explanation

Which of the following quantities from the Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing formula gives the risk-neutral probability that a European put option will be exercised?



Question 383  Merton model of corporate debt, real option, option

In the Merton model of corporate debt, buying a levered company's debt is equivalent to buying the company's assets and:



Question 386  Merton model of corporate debt, real option, option

A risky firm will last for one period only (t=0 to 1), then it will be liquidated. So it's assets will be sold and the debt holders and equity holders will be paid out in that order. The firm has the following quantities:

##V## = Market value of assets.

##E## = Market value of (levered) equity.

##D## = Market value of zero coupon bonds.

##F_1## = Total face value of zero coupon bonds which is promised to be paid in one year.

Image of risky debt

The risky corporate debt graph above contains bold labels a to e. Which of the following statements about those labels is NOT correct?



Question 392  real option, option

An abandonment option is best modeled as a or option?