Chapter 6
10. Asset A has an expected return of 20% and a standard deviation of 25%. The risk free rate is 10%. What is the reward-to-variability ratio? a. .40 b. .50 c. .75 d. .80
A. .40
An investor can design a risky portfolio based on two stocks, A and B. Stock A has an expected return of 18% and a standard deviation of return of 20%. Stock B has an expected return of 14% and a standard deviation of return of 5%. The correlation coefficient between the returns of A and B is 0.50. The risk-free rate of return is 10%. 33. The proportion of the optimal risky portfolio that should be invested in stock A is __________. a. 0% b. 40% c. 60% d. 100%
A. 0%
65. This stock has greater systematic risk than a stock with a beta of ____. a. 0.50 b. 2.00 c. 4.00 d. 1.50
A. 0.50
28. A portfolio is composed of two stocks, A and B. Stock A has a standard deviation of return of 24% while stock B has a standard deviation of return of 18%. Stock A comprises 60% of the portfolio while stock B comprises 40% of the portfolio. If the variance of return on the portfolio is .0380, the correlation coefficient between the returns on A and B is __________. a. 0.583 b. 0.225 c. 0.327 d. 0.128
A. 0.583
67. ____ percent of the variance is explained by this regression a. 12 b. 35 c. 4.05 d. 80
A. 12
An investor can design a risky portfolio based on two stocks, A and B. Stock A has an expected return of 18% and a standard deviation of return of 20%. Stock B has an expected return of 14% and a standard deviation of return of 5%. The correlation coefficient between the returns of A and B is 0.50. The risk-free rate of return is 10%. 34. The expected return on the optimal risky portfolio is __________. a. 14.0% b. 15.6% c. 16.4% d. 18.0%
A. 14.0%
46. Stock A has a beta of 1.2 and Stock B has a beta of 1. The returns of Stock A are ______ sensitive to changes in the market as the returns of Stock B. a. 20% more b. Slightly more c. 20% less d. Slightly less
A. 20% more
79. Which of the following is a correct expression concerning the formula for the standard deviation of returns of a two asset portfolio where the correlation coefficient is between +1 and -1? a. 2rp < (W1212 + W1212) b. 2rp = (W1212 + W1212) c. 2rp = (W1212 - W1212) d. 2rp > (W1212 + W1212)
A. 2rp < (W1212 + W1212)
68. The stock is ______ riskier than the typical stock. a. 32% b. 15.44% c. 12% d. 38%
A. 32%
80. What is the standard deviation of a portfolio of two stocks given the following data? Stock A has a standard deviation of 18%. Stock B has a standard deviation of 14%. The portfolio contains 40% of stock A and the correlation coefficient between the two stocks is -.23. a. 9.7% b. 12.2% c. 14.0% d. 15.6%
A. 9.7%
5. Asset A has an expected return of 15% and a reward-to-variability ratio of .4. Asset B has an expected return of 20% and a reward-to-variability ratio of .3. A risk-averse investor would prefer a portfolio using the risk-free asset and _______. a. Asset A b. Asset B c. No risky asset d. Can't tell from the data given
A. Asset A
2. The _______ decision should take precedence over the _____ decision. a. Asset allocation, stock selection b. Choice of fad, mutual fund selection c. Stock selection, asset allocation d. Stock selection, mutual fund selection
A. Asset allocation, stock selection
54. A security's beta coefficient will be negative if _____________. a. Its returns are negatively correlated with market index returns b. Its returns are positively correlated with market index returns c. Its stock price has historically been very stable d. Market demand for the firm's shares is very low
A. Its returns are negatively correlated with market index returns
27. Reward-to-variability ratios are ________ on the capital market line than (as) on the efficient frontier. a. Lower b. Higher c. The same d. Indeterminate
A. Lower
15. To eliminate the bias in calculating the variance and covariance of returns from historical data the average squared deviation must be multiplied by __________. a. N / (n-1) b. N * (n-1) c. (n-1) / n d. (n-1) * n
A. N / (n-1)
23. On a standard expected return vs standard deviation graph investors will prefer portfolios that lie to the a. Northeast b. Northwest c. Southeast d. Southwest
A. Northeast
86. Which stock is riskier to a non-diversified investor who puts all his money in only one of these stocks? a. Stock A is riskier b. Stock B is riskier c. Both stocks are equally risky d. You cannot tell from the information given
A. Stock A is riskier
60. If an investor does not diversify their portfolio and instead puts all of their money in one stock, the appropriate measure of security risk for that investor is the a. Stock's standard deviation b. Variance of the market c. Stock's beta d. Covariance with the market index
A. Stock's standard deviation
24. The term "complete portfolio" refers to a portfolio consisting of __________________. a. The risk-free asset combined with at least one risky asset b. The market portfolio combined with the minimum variance portfolio c. Securities from domestic markets combined with securities from foreign markets d. Common stocks combined with bonds
A. The risk-free asset combined with at least one risky asset
31. The standard deviation of return on investment A is .10 while the standard deviation of return on investment B is .04. If the correlation coefficient between the returns on A and B is -.50, the covariance of returns on A and B is __________. a. -.0447 b. -.0020 c. .0020 d. .0447
B. -.0020
72. Which of the following correlation coefficients will produce the most diversification benefits? a. -0.6 b. -0.9 c. 0.0 d. 0.4
B. -0.9
82. The expected return of portfolio is 8.9% and the risk free rate is 3.5%. If the portfolio standard deviation is 12.0%, what is the reward to variability ratio of the portfolio? a. 0.0 b. 0.45 c. 0.74 d. 1.35
B. 0.45
52. A stock has a correlation with the market of 0.45. The standard deviation of the market is 21% and the standard deviation of the stock is 35%. What is the stock's beta? a. 1.00 b. 0.75 c. 0.60 d. 0.55
B. 0.75
81. What is the standard deviation of a portfolio of two stocks given the following data? Stock A has a standard deviation of 30%. Stock B has a standard deviation of 18%. The portfolio contains 60% of stock A and the correlation coefficient between the two stocks is -1.0. a. 0.0% b. 10.8% c. 18.0% d. 24.0%
B. 10.8%
40. An investor can design a risky portfolio based on two stocks, A and B. The standard deviation of return on stock A is 20% while the standard deviation on stock B is 15%. The expected return on stock A is 20% while on stock B it is 10%. The correlation coefficient between the return on A and B is 0%. The expected return on the minimum variance portfolio is approximately __________. a. 10.00% b. 13.60% c. 15.00% d. 19.41%
B. 13.60%
30. A portfolio is composed of two stocks, A and B. Stock A has a standard deviation of return of 35% while stock B has a standard deviation of return of 15%. The correlation coefficient between the returns on A and B is 0.45. Stock A comprises 40% of the portfolio while stock B comprises 60% of the portfolio. The standard deviation of the return on this portfolio is __________. a. 23.00% b. 19.76% c. 18.45% d. 17.67%
B. 19.76%
66. The characteristic line for this stock is Rstock = ___ + ___ Rmarket. a. 0.35, 0.12 b. 4.05, 1.32 c. 15.44, 0.97 d. 0.26, 1.36
B. 4.05, 1.32
35. The risk-free rate of return is 10%. The standard deviation of return on the optimal risky portfolio is__________. a. 0% b. 5% c. 7%
B. 5%
36. The proportion of the optimal risky portfolio that should be invested in stock B is approximately __________. a. 29% b. 71% c. 44% d. 56%
B. 71%
83. A project has a 60% chance of doubling your investment in one year and a 40% chance of losing half your money. What is the standard deviation of this investment? a. 62% b. 73% c. 50% d. 25%
B. 73%
49. You are constructing a scatter plot of excess returns for Stock A versus the market index. If the correlation coefficient between Stock A and the index is -1 you will find that the points of the scatter diagram ______________________ and the line of best fit has a _______________. a. All fall on the line of best fit; positive slope b. All fall on the line of best fit; negative slope c. Are widely scattered around the line; positive slope d. Are widely scattered around the line; negative slope
B. All fall on the line of best fit; negative slope
8. The ________ is equal to the square root of the systematic variance divided by the total variance. a. Covariance b. Correlation coefficient c. Standard deviation d. Reward-to-variability ratio
B. Correlation coefficient
14. The risk that can be diversified away is ___________. a. Beta b. Firm specific risk c. Market risk d. Systematic risk
B. Firm specific risk
4. Based on the outcomes in the table below choose which of the statements is/are correct: I. The covariance of Security A and Security B is zero II. The correlation coefficient between Security A and C is negative III. The correlation coefficient between Security B and C is positive a. I only b. I and II only c. II and III only d. I, II and III
B. I and II only
44. The part of a stock's return that is systematic is a function of which of the following variables? I. Volatility in excess returns of the stock market II. The sensitivity of the stock's returns to changes in the stock market III. The variance in the stock's returns that is unrelated to the overall stock market a. I only b. I and II only c. II and III only d. I, II and III
B. I and II only
7. As you lengthen the time horizon of your investment period and decide to invest for multiple years you will find that I. the average risk per year may be smaller over longer investment horizons II. the variance of the total rate of return on your investment will be larger III. your overall risk on the investment will fall a. I only b. I and II only c. III only d. I, II and III
B. I and II only
69. Decreasing the number of stocks in a portfolio from 50 to 10 would likely __________________________. a. Increase the systematic risk of the portfolio b. Increase the unsystematic risk of the portfolio c. Increase the return of the portfolio d. Decrease the variation in returns the investor faces in any one year
B. Increase the unsystematic risk of the portfolio
59. Some diversification benefits can be achieved by combining securities in a portfolio as long as the correlation between the securities is ______________. a. 1 b. Less than 1 c. Between 0 and 1 d. Less than or equal to 0
B. Less than 1
25. Rational risk-averse investors will always prefer portfolios ______________. a. Located on the efficient frontier to those located on the capital market line b. Located on the capital market line to those located on the efficient frontier c. At or near the minimum variance point on the efficient frontier d. That are risk-free to all other asset choices
B. Located on the capital market line to those located on the efficient frontier
11. Diversification is most effective when security returns are __________. a. High b. Negatively correlated c. Positively correlated d. Uncorrelated
B. Negatively correlated
42. A measure of the riskiness of an asset held in isolation is _____________. a. Beta b. Standard deviation c. Covariance d. Semi-variance
B. Standard deviation
85. Which stock is riskier for an investor currently holding his portfolio in a well diversified portfolio of common stock? a. Stock A is riskier b. Stock B is riskier c. Both stocks are equally risky d. You cannot tell from the information given
B. Stock B is riskier
76. A portfolio of stocks fluctuates when the treasury yields change. Since this risk can not be eliminated through diversification, it is called a. Firm specific risk b. Systematic risk c. Unique risk d. None of the above
B. Systematic risk
17. Market risk is also called __________ and __________. a. Systematic risk, diversifiable risk b. Systematic risk, nondiversifiable risk c. Unique risk, nondiversifiable risk d. Unique risk, diversifiable risk
B. Systematic risk, nondiversifiable risk
20. Harry Markowitz is best known for his Nobel prize winning work on ______________. a. Strategies for active securities trading b. Techniques used to identify efficient portfolios of risky assets c. Techniques used to measure the systematic risk of securities d. Techniques used in valuing securities options
B. Techniques used to identify efficient portfolios of risky assets
50. The term excess-return refers to _______________. a. Returns earned illegally by means of insider trading b. The difference between the rate of return earned and the risk-free rate c. The difference between the rate of return earned on a particular security and the rate of return earned on other securities of equivalent risk d. The portion of the return on a security which represents tax liability and therefore cannot be reinvested
B. The difference between the rate of return earned and the risk-free rate
21. Suppose that a stock portfolio and a bond portfolio have a zero correlation. This means that a. The returns on the stock and bond portfolio tend to move inversely b. The returns on the stock and bond portfolio tend to vary independently of each other c. The returns on the stock and bond portfolio tend to move together d. The covariance of the stock and bond portfolio will be positive
B. The returns on the stock and bond portfolio tend to vary independently of each other
6. Adding additional risky assets to the investment opportunity set will generally move the efficient frontier _____ and to the _______. a. Up, right b. Up, left c. Down, right d. Down, left
B. Up, left
9. Which of the following statistics cannot be negative? a. Covariance b. Variance c. E[r] d. Correlation coefficient
B. Variance
29. The standard deviation of return on investment A is .10 while the standard deviation of return on investment B is .05. If the covariance of returns on A and B is .0030, the correlation coefficient between the returns on A and B is __________. a. .12 b. .36 c. .60 d. .77
C. .60
71. Which of the following correlations coefficients will produce the least diversification benefit? a. -0.6 b. -1.5 c. 0.0 d. 0.8
C. 0.0
55. The market value weighted average beta of firms included in the market index will always be ______________. a. 0 b. Between 0 and 1 c. 1 d. There is no particular rule concerning the average beta of firms included in the market index
C. 1
73. What is the most likely correlation coefficient between a stock index mutual fund and the S&P 500? a. -1.0 b. 0.0 c. 1.0 d. 0.50
C. 1.0
64. The beta of this stock is _____. a. 0.12 b. 0.35 c. 1.32 d. 4.05
C. 1.32
41. An investor can design a risky portfolio based on two stocks, A and B. The standard deviation of return on stock A is 20% while the standard deviation on stock B is 15%. The correlation coefficient between the return on A and B is 0%. The standard deviation of return on the minimum variance portfolio is __________. a. 0% b. 6% c. 12% d. 17%
C. 12%
38. The standard deviation of the returns on the optimal risky portfolio is __________. a. 25.5% b. 22.3% c. 21.4% d. 20.7%
C. 21.4%
32. Consider two perfectly negatively correlated risky securities, A and B. Security A has an expected rate of return of 16% and a standard deviation of return of 20%. B has an expected rate of return 10% and a standard deviation of return of 30%. The weight of security B in the global minimum variance is __________. a. 10% b. 20% c. 40% d. 60%
C. 40%
63. You find that the annual standard deviation of a stock's returns is equal to 25%. For a 3 year holding period the standard deviation of your total return would equal ________. a. 75% b. 25% c. 43% d. 55%
C. 43%
39. An investor can design a risky portfolio based on two stocks, A and B. The standard deviation of return on stock A is 24% while the standard deviation on stock B is 14%. The correlation coefficient between the return on A and B is 0.35. The expected return on stock A is 25% while on stock B it is 11%. The proportion of the minimum variance portfolio that would be invested in stock B is __________. a. 45% b. 67% c. 85% d. 92%
C. 85%
19. Which one of the following stock return statistics is usually the least stable over time? a. Covariance of returns b. Variance of returns c. Average return d. Correlation coefficient
C. Average return
70. If you want to know the portfolio standard deviation for a three stock portfolio you will have to a. Calculate two covariances and one trivariance b. Calculate only two covariances c. Calculate three covariances d. Average the variances of the individual stocks
C. Calculate three covariances
51. You are recalculating the risk of ACE stock in relation to the market index and you find the ratio of the systematic variance to the total variance has risen. You must also find that the _____________. a. Covariance between ACE and the market has fallen b. Correlation coefficient between ACE and the market has fallen c. Correlation coefficient between ACE and the market has risen d. Unsystematic risk of ACE has risen
C. Correlation coefficient between ACE and the market has risen
16. Consider an investment opportunity set formed with two securities that are perfectly negatively correlated. The global minimum variance portfolio has a standard deviation that is always __________. a. Equal to the sum of the securities standard deviations b. Equal to -1 c. Equal to 0 d. Greater than 0
C. Equal to 0
26. The optimal risky portfolio can be identified by finding _____________. I. the minimum variance point on the efficient frontier II. the maximum return point on the efficient frontier the minimum variance point on the efficient frontier III. the tangency point of the capital market line and the efficient frontier IV. the line with the steepest slope that connects the risk free rate to the efficient frontier a. I and II only b. II and III only c. III and IV only d. I and IV only
C. III and IV only
48. According to Tobin's separation property, portfolio choice can be separated into two independent tasks consisting of __________ and ___________. a. Identifying all investor imposed constraints; identifying the set of securities that conform to the investor's constraints and offer the best risk-return tradeoffs b. Identifying the investor's degree of risk aversion; choosing securities from industry groups that are consistent with the investor's risk profile c. Identifying the optimal risky portfolio; constructing a complete portfolio from T-bills and the optimal risky portfolio based on the investor's degree of risk aversion d. Choosing which risky assets an investor prefers according to their risk aversion level; minimizing the CAL by lending at the risk-free rate
C. Identifying the optimal risky portfolio; constructing a complete portfolio from T-bills and the optimal risky portfolio based on the investor's degree of risk aversion
22. You put half of your money in a stock portfolio that has an expected return of 14% and a standard deviation of 24%. You put the rest of you money in a risky bond portfolio that has an expected return of 6% and a standard deviation of 12%. The stock and bond portfolio have a correlation 0.55. The standard deviation of the resulting portfolio will be _________________. a. More than 18% but less than 24% b. Equal to 18% c. Less than 18% d. Zero
C. Less than 18%
13. Beta is a measure of __________. a. Firm specific risk b. Diversifiable risk c. Market risk d. Unique risk
C. Market risk
56. Diversification can reduce or eliminate __________ risk. a. All b. Systematic c. Non-systematic d. Only an insignificant
C. Non-systematic
7. An investor's degree of risk aversion will determine his or her _______. a. Optimal risky portfolio b. Risk-free rate c. Optimal mix of the risk-free asset and optimal risky asset d. Capital allocation line
C. Optimal mix of the risk-free asset and optimal risky asset
61. Which of the following provides the best example of a systematic risk event? a. A strike by union workers hurts a firm's quarterly earnings b. Mad Cow disease in Montana hurts local ranchers and buyers of beef c. The Federal Reserve increases interest rates 50 basis points d. A senior executive at a firm embezzles $10 million and escapes to South America
C. The Federal Reserve increases interest rates 50 basis points
12. The variance of a portfolio of risky securities is __________. a. The sum of the securities' covariances b. The sum of the securities' variances c. The weighted sum of the securities' covariances d. The weighted sum of the securities' variances
C. The weighted sum of the securities' covariances
3. Many current and retired Enron Corp. employees had their 401k retirement accounts wiped out when Enron collapsed because ____. a. They had to pay huge fines for obstruction of justice b. They had purchased fines for obstruction of justice c. Their 401k accounts were not well diversified d. None of the above
C. Their 401k accounts were not well diversified
58. In order to construct a riskless portfolio using two risky stocks, one would need to find two stocks with a correlation coefficient of _________. a. 1.0 b. 0.5 c. 0 d. -1.0
D. -1.0
84. Which of the following is the most likely reward to variability ratio for a capital allocation line that is optimal, assuming all ratios are generated from the same set of potential assets? a. 0.45 b. 0.56 c. 0.65 d. 0.69
D. 0.69
37. The expected return on the optimal risky portfolio is __________. a. 17% b. 15% c. 18% d. 16%
D. 16%
43. Semitool Corp has an expected excess return of 5% for next year. However for every unexpected 1% change in the market, Semitool's return responds by a factor of 1.3. Suppose it turns out the economy and the stock market do better than expected by 1.5% and Semitool's products experience more rapid growth than anticipated, pushing up the stock price by another 1%. Based on this information what was Semitool's actual excess return? a. 7.50% b. 6.95% c. 8.25% d. 7.95%
D. 7.95%
1. Risk that can be eliminated through diversification is called ______ risk. a. Unique b. Firm-specific c. Diversifiable d. All of the above
D. All of the above
45. The measure of risk used in the Capital Asset Pricing Model is ____________. a. Specific risk b. The standard deviation of returns c. Reinvestment risk d. Beta
D. Beta
57. According to Markowitz and other proponents of modern portfolio theory which of the following activities would not be expected to produce any benefits? a. Diversification b. Investing in Treasury bills c. Investing in stocks of utility companies d. Engaging in active portfolio management to enhance returns
D. Engaging in active portfolio management to enhance returns
47. As additional securities are added to a portfolio, total risk will generally ________ at a _________ rate. a. Rise; decreasing b. Rise; increasing c. Fall; decreasing d. Fall; increasing
D. Fall; increasing
62. Which of the following statements is true regarding time diversification? I. The standard deviation of the average annual rate of return over several years will be smaller than the one-year standard deviation. II. For a longer time horizon, uncertainty compounds over a greater number of years. III. Time diversification does not reduce risk. a. I only b. II only c. II and III only d. I, II and III e. None of the statements are correct
D. I, II and III
78. You are considering adding a new security to your portfolio. In order to decide whether you should add the security you need to know the security's I. expected return II. standard deviation III. correlation with your portfolio a. I only b. I and II only c. I and III only d. I, II and III
D. I, II and III
74. Investing in two assets with a correlation coefficient of -0.5 will reduce what kind of risk? a. Market risk b. Non-diversifiable risk c. Systematic risk d. Unique risk
D. Unique risk
18. Firm specific risk is also called __________ and ___________. a. Systematic risk, diversifiable risk b. Systematic risk, non-diversifiable risk c. Unique risk, non-diversifiable risk d. Unique risk, diversifiable risk
D. Unique risk, diversifiable risk
53. The values of beta coefficients of securities are ___________. a. Always positive b. Always negative c. Always between positive 1 and negative 1 d. Usually positive, but are not restricted in any particular way
D. Usually positive, but are not restricted in any particular way
75. Investing in two assets with a correlation coefficient of 1.0 will reduce which kind of risk? a. Market risk b. Unique risk c. Unsystematic risk d. With a correlation of 1.0, no risk will be reduced
D. With a correlation of 1.0, no risk will be reduced
