Course Overview
This course examines the application of portfolio management principles to the building of appropriate portfolios. We examine the investment policy statement as a blueprint for investing a client’s assets. We study performance evaluation as a feedback step in the investment management process and examine the role it plays in assessing manager skills, confirming manager compliance with investment policy. Performance evaluation and attribution provide an essential measurement service to investment managers themselves. Competent portfolio managers should be proficient in the use of current concepts and methodologies for calculating, benchmarking, and interpreting investment returns.
- Retired
- This course has been retired and is no longer offered. Find other Flexible Learning courses that may interest you.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this course the student will be able to:
- Evaluate risk and return objectives for individual investor portfolios, and the impact that ability and willingness to take risk have on risk tolerance
- Assess the major constraint categories included in an individual investor’s investment policy statement
- Justify an investment policy statement for an individual investor
- Evaluate pension fund risk tolerance when risk is considered from the perspective of the (1) plan surplus, (2) sponsor financial status and profitability, (3) sponsor and pension fund common risk exposures, (4) plan features, and (5) workforce characteristics
- Generate an investment policy statement for a pension plan
- Assess the investment objectives and constraints of foundations, endowments, insurance companies, and banks
- Evaluate macro and micro performance attribution with respect to the inputs that are typically required for each
- Evaluate investment performance using the macro and micro performance attribution methodologies
- Interpret alternative risk-adjusted performance measures, including alpha, information ratio, Treynor measure, Sharpe ratio, and M2
- Contrast the alternative risk-adjusted performance measures, including alpha, information ratio, Treynor measure, Sharpe ratio, and M2
- Assess the objectives, key characteristics, and scope of the GIPS standards
- Assess compliance with the GIPS standards, including the definition of the firm, the conditions under which an investment management firm can claim compliance, and the correct wording of the GIPS compliance statement
- Assess the requirements of the GIPS standards with respect to return calculation methodologies, including the treatment of external cash flows, cash and cash equivalents, and fees and expenses
Effective as of Fall 2011
Programs and courses are subject to change without notice. Find out more about BCIT course cancellations.