Fund SelectionThis course provides students with insights into different fund structures and tools to determine fund value-added performance. Students will learn to identify how fund ''dress'' up performance and fee structures work. |
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| Investors interested in selecting and evaluating funds, including specialists in portfolio management, marketing, regulatory, auditing, plan sponsor, and fund of funds. |
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| No advance preparation required. |
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Students will be able to:- Understand the history, market and players in the mutual fund industry and other asset management structures
- Be familiar with some key regulations and governance of mutual funds
- Employ key concepts and analytical elements to risk/return requirements
- Apply standard risk measurement tools to portfolio performance
- Differentiate between various investment styles, risk thresholds and objectives
- Identify and define various expenses, pricing levels and fees
- Define areas of controversy which are on the radar for mutual funds
- Use actual cases to evaluate performance and catch some misleading marketing and performance tricks
- Provide better information for the audit process
- Be better prepared and able to select appropriate funds for client needs
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| Financial calculator required. Texas Instruments BA II Plus recommended. |
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| Portfolio Management SuiteWealth Management Program |
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DAY ONEHistory, Objectives and Key Concepts of Mutual Funds- An Overview of the Capital Markets
- Developing an Investment Strategy
- Importance of Equities
- Bonds: Ballast for the Portfolio
- Significance of Asset Allocation
- Ibbotson Sinquefield Paradigm
- Some Ethical and Legal Considerations: Sarbanes Oxley Act, SEC Considerations, CFA Institute guidelines
Key Concepts- Risk and Return
- Diversification
- Modern Portfolio Theory
- Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM)
- Investor Utility Curves
- Customer Suitability Topics
- Case Simulation
Why Mutual Funds- History and Diversity
- Size and Development of the Market
- Fund Families
- Other Major Fund Structures: Hedge Funds, Private Equity, SMAs
- Benefits and Pitfalls
- Structure and Regulation: Governance
Assembling a Mutual Fund Portfolio- Stocks and Bonds Together
- Performance Measurement
- Selecting the Appropriate Benchmarks
- Risk Adjusted Performance
- Risk Measurement (most commonly used definitions): Standard Deviation; Beta; Duration
- VARS, Event, and other
Investment Choices- Setting Objectives
- Defining Time Horizons
- Establishing Risk Tolerances
- Style Survey: Growth; Value; Balanced; Indexed
The Funds Themselves- Fund Composition & Organization
- Management & Board Reporting
- Expense Ratios & Pricing
- Size
- Tax Considerations
- A/B/C shares
- Transactions
- NAV and Fair Value Pricing
- Special Structures: Hedge Funds; Private Equity; Annuities
- Controversial areas: Proxy Voting; Mutual Fund; Consultant
| DAY TWOReview of Overnight Case StudyA Closer Look at Indexing- Reversion to the Mean
- Beating the Street
- Tilting
- Nominal and Real Diversification
- Exchange Traded Funds
- WEBs
Statistical Concepts- Probability Distribution: Mean, Variance, Standard Deviation; Skewness, Kurtosis
- Correlation Structure of Security Returns
- Correlation Coefficient
- R-Squared, VARS
- Brief look at more current state-of-the-art tools
- Case
Performance Measurement- Benchmarks
- Risk-adjusted Returns
- Sharpe Ratio, Jensen, Treynor, M 2
- Sharpe Selection (Information Ratio)
- Sortino, Calmar
- Attribution Analysis
- Tricks To Dress Up Performance
- Checklist of Red Flags
Asset Allocation- Mean Variance Optimization
- Inputs to the M-V Optimization model
- From Diversification to Feasible and Efficient Frontiers
- Rebalancing Efficient Portfolios
Concluding Remarks | | |
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| Clients who register for this course will receive a complimentary 6 month subscription to the Financial Times and FT.com. The Financial Times is the world's most respected financial newspaper, providing a broad assessment on finance, business and the industrial sector. Subscriptions will start within 6-8 weeks of the application process and are limited to one per client. For questions about your subscriptions call 800-628-8088 or email uscirculation@ft.com. US and Canada enrollees only. |
Lunch included for all students taking day classes. |
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