Course Category

Portfolio Management II - Online

Building on Portfolio Management I, this curriculum explains in greater detail how to value fixed income and equity securities, and explains the roles of global investing, emerging markets, alternative investments, indexation, and style investing. It illustrates specific ways to analyze portfolios, including the Sharpe Ratio and performance attribution analysis.

Please note that this is a curriculum of individual course modules. You will need to pass each module exam in order to qualify for a certificate of completion.

This is an asynchronous eLearning program that can be accessed 24/7 from any internet enabled computer.

• Apply the concept of discounted cash flow, or compound interest, to bond valuation
• Recognize the significance of bond prices and how bond yields are calculated
• Explore strategies for deciding what bonds to buy
• Recognize how bond yield is linked to a benchmark
• Identify the four theories that explain the shape of typical bond yield curves
• Define volatility and identify the factors that affect it.
• Identify duration strategies — (modified duration and convexity) and recall their benefits.
• Identify the best bonds when calculating convexity.
• Identify three dividend discount models
• Calculate corporate value
• List key elements of the Capital Asset Pricing Model Identify the major theories of portfolio management, including the Efficient Markets Hypothesis, Diversification and Correlation, the Efficient Frontier, Capital Asset Pricing Model, and Arbitrage Pricing Theory.
• Discuss how diversifying a portfolio can reduce its risk. Explain how risk and return vary for different combinations of assets, leading to the development of the efficient frontier.
• Explain how specific risk differs from market risk, as postulated by the Capital Asset Pricing Model
• Use various risk measures to build a portfolio balancing risk and return.
• Identify the advantages, benefits, and risks of global investing and investing in emerging markets.
• Recognize key alternative investments.
• Describe the investor suitability criteria that a fund manager should consider before integrating alternative investments into a portfolio.
• Explain the benefits and disadvantages of using index funds for the investor and the portfolio manager.
• Explain indexation techniques suitable for the passive investor.
• Compare the traits of top-down vs. bottom-up market segmentation.
• Identify the role of equity market expectations in earnings growth.
• Distinguish between value investing and growth investing
• Identify yield curves corresponding to the relative performance of growth and value portfolios
• Contrast stock and market traits that can influence style investing strategies.
• Explain the importance of risk adjustment when comparing one portfolio to another. Distinguish between Sharpe's ratio and Treynor's ratio. Discuss performance attribution analysis. Recognize the significance of Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS).