CFA WP Flashcards
When a fund manager (charterholder) takes over a portfolio which has cash proceeds ready for reinvestment, prior to talking to the client, what must they do?
Invest the funds in a liquid, risk-free security rather than having the money sit idle.
How many years does the CFA Institute recommend retaining records for?
Seven Years
The standard relating to conflicts of interest recommends four procedures all firms should adopt:
Limit participation in equity IPOs Restrictions on private placements Establish blackout/restricted periods Reporting requirements
The reasons GIPS exists are?
Present performance results that are comparable regardless of geographic location. Facilitate dialogue between investment managers and their clients about issues of how the firm achieved their results.
To claim GIPS compliance all presentations must be GIPS compliant?
True
When assigning portfolios to composites for GIPS compliant reporting…
All fee paying accounts must be assigned to at least one composite. Assignments must be made prior to calculating portfolio returns. Composite returns must be calculated by asset weighting.
In order to claim to be a CFA candidate…
Individuals must be registered to take the next exam.
GIPS requires in order to claim compliance, firms must present GIPS-compliant performance information for:
A minimum of five years or since inception if firm is in existence less than five years.
Is speculation by a company’s supplier considered material non-public information?
No
Under GIPS standard all fee-paying and non-fee-paying accounts must be included in at least one composite.
False Only fee-paying accounts must be included, non-fee-paying accounts are optional in GIPS standard
In order to accept work outside the firm or additional compensation…
A member or candidate must notify their current employer and receive written consent.
Free Cash Flow to Firm from Net Income
FCFF = Net Income + NCC + (Interest Expense * (1 – tax rate)) – Fixed Capital Expenditures – Working Capital Expenditures NCC = Non-cash Charges such as depreciation and amortization
Free Cash Flow to Firm from CFO
FCFF = CFO + (Interest Expense * (1 – tax rate)) – Net Capital Expenditures
Constant Growth Rate Model
Vj = D1 / (k – g) Vj = value of the stock J D1 = Current Dividend times (1 + g) = D0 * (1 + g) k = The required rate of return g = The constant growth rate of dividends g = ROE * (1 – dividend payout ratio)
When a dealer strips a Treasury bond and sells the strips in the bond market, what is the coupon on each stripped bond?
0% Each Treasury strip is a zero-coupon instrument. Its yield is determined by the market through active trading
Do currency swaps have currency risk?
NO
High return on invested capital and high pricing power are associated with:
High industry concentration (ie a small number of firms) High barriers to entry Low industry capacity
Yield Curve Risk
Bonds with different maturity dates are more or less sensitive to changes in the market interest rate depending on the time until they mature.
Moving-Average Line Sell Signal
If prices break through the line from above and there is heavy trading volume.
Breakdown of ROE
ROE = (Net Income / Sales) * (Sales / Total Assets) * (Total Assets / Equity) = Profit Margin * Total Asset Turnover * Financial Leverage = Net Income / Equity
The time value of an option is:
the amount by which an option’s premium exceeds its intrinsic value. The price of an option is the intrinsic value plus its time value. An out-of-the-money option has no intrinsic value, so its entire price consists of time value.
money market yield
Money market yield = discount-basis yield × (face value / purchase price) Purchase price = face value – [face value × discount-basis yield × (days to maturity / 360)]
Pure Expectations Theory
The pure expectations theory explains the term structure in terms of expected future short-term interest rates. According to the pure expectations theory, the market sets the yield on a two-year bond so that the return on the two-year bond is approximately equal to the return on a one-year bond plus the expected return on a one-year bond purchased one year from today.
Liquidity Preference Theory
According to the liquidity preference theory, the term structure of interest rates is determined by (1) expectations about future interest rates and (2) a yield premium for interest rate risk.
Because interest rate risk increases with maturity, the liquidity preference theory asserts that the yield premium increase with maturity.
An American call option must be worth…
At least as much as an otherwise identical European call.
The drawbacks of the nominal spread measure are:
- For both bonds, the yield fails to take into consideration the term structure of spot rates.
- In the case of callable and/or putable bonds, expected interest rate volatility may alter the cash flow of the non-Treasury bond.
Depository Receipts
Are domestically traded securities representing claims of shares of foreign stocks. Those shares are held in deposit in a local bank, which in turn issue depository receipts in the name of the foreign company.
- Unsponsored issued without involvement of the firm
- Sponsored issued with the cooperation of the firm
- Global Depository Receipt, issued outside firm’s home country and outside U.S.
Nominal spread, static spread, zero-volatility spread, option-adjusted spread
- Nominal spread = Yield to Maturity of Bond – YTM of similar U.S. Treasury
- Static spread not over treasury’s YTM but over each of the spot rate’s term structure. The same spread is added to all risk-free spot rates.
- Zero-volatility spread is over the entire Treasury spot rate curve.
- Option-adjusted spread also over entire Treasury spot rate curve but accounts for options.
Payoff from an interest rate call
(Notational Principal) * Max[0, (Underlying rate at expiration - Exercise Rate)][Days in underlying rate / 360]
Income Approach to valuing Real Estate
- Appraisal Price = NOI / Market Cap Rate
- Market Cap Rate = Bench Mark NOI / Benchmark Transaction Price
- (NOIs on top)
Computing the full price of a bond (also dirty price) [w periods]
- w periods = days between settlement date and next coupon date / days in coupon period
- PV = expected cash flow / [1 + i]^(t – 1 + w)
In foreign currency swaps both parties exchange:
- Full Interest Payments
- € * % →
- $ * % ←
- NOT difference as in interest rate swaps.
Discount Yield & Price Formula for T-Bills
- Discount Yield = [(Face Value - Price) / Face Value][360/Days]
- Days to maturity in a 360 day year is convention. BEY is more accurate. Can possibly be simplified further to:
- (1-P)(360/NSM) = Discount Yield
Price Value of a basis point
Represents the change in price of a bond when its yield changes by one basis point or 0.01%.
PVBP = duration * 0.0001 * bond value
Which is the most effective spread measure for valuing an option-free corporate bond?
Zero-volatility spread
Payoff of a Call
Max(0, Price of Underlying Asset – Exercise Price)
Volatility Risk
The risk that the price of a bond with an embedded option will decline when expected yield volatility changes.
Prepayment Risk
The risk a bond will be paid out before scheduled principal payment dates.
Taxable-equivalent yeild calculation
taxable-equivalent yield = tax-exempt yield / (1 – marginal tax rate)
Yield Ratio
- Yield Ratio = Yield on bond X / Yield on bond Y
- In the U.S. the yield on bond Y is frequently the on-the-run U.S. Treasury Bond.
Sustainable Growth Rate formula using ROE
- g = ROE * (1 – dividend payout ratio)
- (1 – dividend payout ratio) = dividend retention rate
Yield to Maturity definition
Is simply the IRR of all future cash flows from the bond.
Cost of Equity Capital (Dividend Capitalization Method)
- Re = [(D/P) * 100] + g
- D = Dividend of firm
- P = Price of firm’s shares
- g = growth rate of dividend
Covariance of A & B on BA II Plus
Use DATA then STAT worksheets then multiply:
r * Sx * Sy = Cov(A,B)
Calculating Beta using investment & market estimate variance
Beta = Cov(Investment, Market) / Variance of Market
Variance of Market = STD^2
In bond markets, smaller issue size is associated with:
Less Liquidity
P/E Calculation using next periods projected earnings and dividend
P / E1 = (D1/E1) / (k – g)
D1 = Dividend in next period
E1 = Earnings in next period
k = required rate of return
g = dividend growth rate
D1/E1 = Dividend Payout Ratio
Yield on Treasury Bills on a discount basis
d = (1 – P)(360 / Nsm) P = settlement price per $1 of maturity value Nsm = number of days between settlement date and the maturity date d = yield on a discount basis
Short Seller loses…
If the stock price increases.
Short seller must post margin and doesn’t short shares he owns directly. Shares are borrowed.
Put-Call Parity
Stock + Put = Bond + Call
Negative value for Bond means you’re borrowing money
Porter’s Five Forces
Rivalry among Competitors
Bargaining Power of Suppliers
Bargaining Power of Buyers
Threat of Substitutes
Threat of New Entrants
Market Segment Theory
The market segmentation theory argues that within the different maturity sectors of the yield curve the supply and demand for the funds determines the interest rate for that sector.
Price of a Callable Bond
= Price of option free bond – Cost of the option
Default Risk
The risk that the issuer will fail to satisfy the terms of the obligation with respect to the timely payment of interest and principal.
Bond Equivalent Yield of an Annual Pay Bond
BEY = 2[(1 + annual pay yield)^.5 - 1]
Investing in commodity futures allows an investor to:
Hedge against inflation risk
Earn the return of a commodity without having to store it
Share in the commodity component of the country’s production
Covered Call
Long on the underlying plus selling a call on the underlying.
Upside is limited but you always get the income from selling the call. Downside risk is the underlying decreasing in value to zero.
Inflation Risk or Purchasing Power Risk
Arises from the decline in the value of a security’s cash flow due to inflation, which is measured in terms of purchasing power.
The three major types of stock indices are:
- Price Weighted: arithmetic mean of current prices which means index movements are influenced by the differential prices of the component.
- Value Weighted: Considers both the price and number of shares outstanding.
- Unweighted or Equal Weighted: A set sum is invested in each stock on the index so greater percentage changes in price have the biggest effect.
Regulatory Risk
Changes in regulations may require a regulated entity to divest itself from certain types of investments. A flood of the divested securities on the market will adversely impact the price of similar securities.
Interest Rate Risk
Since the price of a bond fluctuates with market interest rates, the risk that an investor faces is that the price of a bond held in a portfolio will decline if market interest rates rise.
Interest Rate Risk is the major risk faced by investors in the bond market.
Exchange Rate Risk or Currency Risk
The risk of receiving less of the domestic currency when investing in a bond issue that makes payments in a currency other than the manager’s domestic currency.
After tax yield calculation
after-tax yield = pre-tax yield * (1 – marginal tax rate)
Current Yield of a bond (simplest formula)
- current yield = annual dollar coupon interest / price
- annual dollar coupon interest is the interest times the par value (usually 100)
Commodity Futures Contract Margin Call Formula
- IM = Initial Margin Amount
- MM = Maintenance Margin Amount
- F0 = Initial Value
- Ft = Future Value
- X = Units of Commodity
- (Ft – F0)X = IM – MM
- Solve for missing term, usually Ft, aka the margin call price.
Prefunded municipal bonds
Are bonds collateralized by an escrow of securities guaranteed by the U.S. government.
Swap Spread Formula
Swap spread = LIBOR – Treasury Rate
Credit Spread Risk
The risk that an issuer’s debt obligation will decline due to an increase in the credit spread.
Close-end funds
Close-end fund shares are fixed in number and trade on exchanges as though they were common stock.
Open-end funds
redeem existing shares or issue new shares in accordance with investor demand.
50-day MA, 200-day MA sell signal
When the 50-day line crosses the 200-day line from above. And there is heavy trading volume.
50-day MA, 200-day MA buy signal
If the 50-day MA line crosses the 200-day MA line from below on good volume.
Zero-coupon bonds and reinvestment risk
Zero-coupon bonds have NO reinvestment risk
Are depreciation and financing cost a factor when calculating NOI?
NO
Computing the Accrued Interest and the Clean Price of a bond
- days in accrued interest period = days in coupon period – days between settlement and next coupon
- days in accrued interest period / days in coupon period = (1 – w)
- Accrued Interest = semi-annual coupon payment * (1 – w)
- Clean Price = full price – accrued interest
Reinvestment Risk
is the risk that the proceeds from the payment of interest and principal (i.e. scheduled payments, called proceeds, and principal payments) that are available for reinvestment must be reinvested at a lower interest rate than the security that generated the proceeds.
Using a benchmark to estimate the value of a building is known as:
Sales comparison approach
Sustainable growth rate is the same as:
the dividend growth rate.
Bond-equivalent Yield convention
Is double the semiannual yield
Which bonds are most sensitive to changes in market interest rates?
All other things being equal, low coupon + long maturity equals greatest sensitivity to interest rate changes.
The long-run forward P/E of stock is between:
12 & 16
Call Risk
The risk associated with a call-able bond being called before maturity.
Payoff of a Put
Max(0, Exercise Price – Price of Underlying Asset)
Do value-weighted indexes need to be adjusted for stock splits?
NO
What do you call it when future price of a commodity exceeds the spot price?
Contango
Mortgage Backed Securities
An investment instrument that represents ownership of an undivided interest in a group of mortgages. Principal and interest from the individual mortgages are used to pay investor’s principal and interest on MBS.
Prepayment Risk always present.
Bond equivalent yield of a US treasury bill uses a 360 day year?
FALSE
Earnings Multiplier Model (P/E Calculation via dividend payout ratio)
- P/E = dividend payout ratio / (k-g)
- k = required rate of return
- g = dividend growth rate
- dividend payout ratio = 1 – dividend retention rate
Cash Flow Yield from Semi-annual Yield & Monthly Yield
- effective semi-annual yield = (1 + monthly yield)^6 – 1
- cash flow yield = 2 * effective semi-annual yield
- cash flow yield = 2 * [(1 + monthly yield)^6 -1]
Liquidity Risk
The risk an investor will have to sell a bond below its indicated value where the indication is revealed by a recent transaction.
Fiduciary Call
- Consists of an European Call and a risk-free bond
- This gives the same value graph as a protective put and is the basis of put-call parity.
- There is limited downside risk and unlimited profit potential.
Limit of covered call profits
…is limited to the premiums collected plus any movement in the stock price up to the strike price.
Spot rates are usually given as…
Bond Equivalent Yields
So they need to be halved when discounting back by six month periods.
The maximum value of an European put is:
the present value of the exercise price.
A bond trading at par and callable at above par, all else being equal, if there is an unexpected decrease in interest rate volatility the value of the bond will most likely:
Increase
Bond Duration Definition and Formula
- The estimate of the percentage price change for a 100 basis point change in yield.
- (price if yields decline – price if yield rises) / (2 * initial price * change in yield in decimal)
Protective Put
Long on the underlying plus buying a put from the market.
This strategy is immediately out of pocket the option premium. But their downside risk is limited to the difference between the strike price and present value of the underlying. Upside potential is unlimited but to profit by this strategy the underlying must increase by more than the option premium.
Downgrade Risk
The risk credit agencies will downgrade their rating of the issuing firm therefore increasing the credit spread and causing a decline in the price of the issue.
The Dividend Discount Model
- Value of common stock = ∑ Dt / (1 + k)^t
- Dt = dividend during period t
- k = required rate of return of the stock
The zero-volatility spread
is the constant spread that is added to each Treasury spot rate to equate the present value of a bond’s cash flows to its actual market value.
Absolute Yield Spread Formula
- absolute yield spread = yield on bond x – yield on bond y
- The yield on bond y is frequently the on-the-run treasury bond.
The option adjusted spread is a meaure of the yield spread over Treasury spot rates…
Without the option
Sovereign Risk
The risk that, as a result of actions of the foreign government, there may be either a default or an adverse price change even in the absence of a default.
Why issue Asset Backed Securities?
- The primary motive is to take an asset off the balance sheet.
- It can also help protect assets in case the parent defaults.
Moving-Average Line Buy Signal
Approaches the line from below and is accompanied by heavy trading volume.
Cumulative Voting
Allows shareholders to vote all their shares for a single board member or group of board members.
Cumulative Voting allows shareholders to vote in a manner that enhances the likelihood that their interests are represented on the board.
Steps to calculating borrowing cost of trade discount
- Determine the difference between the discount and full price
- Determine the number of days of credit usage
- Determine simple interest rate = discount / difference
- One plus simple interest rate raised to 365/days of credit usage
- Subtract one
A firm should continue to invest in new projects along its’ investment opportunity schedule while:
The proposed project’s return is greater than the marginal cost of capital.
Diluted EPS formula
Diluted EPS = [Net Income - Preferred Dividends] + [Convertible Preferred Dividends] + Convertible Debt Interest / [Weighted Average Shares] + [Shares From Conversion of Preferred Shares] + [Shares From Conversion of Debt] + [Shares Issuable from Stock Options]
Compared to a firm that primarily capitalizes its leases, a firm that uses primarily operating leases is more likely to have:
A firm that uses primarily operating, instead of capital leases will have lower leverage ratios (due to lower debt and higher equity) and higher return on assets (due to higher net income and lower assets).
Always remember in accounting…
A = L + SE
Assets equals liabilities plus shareholders equity
Cost of equity using CAPM
k = Rf + Beta(Rm – Rf)
Cost of Trade Credit formula
Cost of Trade Credit = (1 + Discount/(1 – Discount))^(365/Number of days beyond discount period) – 1
WACC
WACC = (We)(Re) + (Wd)(Rd)(1-t) + (Wp)(Rp) Wp = Weight of preferred stock Rp = Marginal Cost of preferred stock
Under IFRS when an asset is permenently impaired…
it must be written down to its recoverable amount (greater of value in use or fair value less selling costs) in the period in which impairment is recognized.
Inventoriable costs include…
Freight in but not freight out which is a selling expense.
At the end of a depreciable asset’s estimated useful life its remaining book value equals?
Salvage Value
Purchase/Sale of trading securities counts as cash flow from?
Operations
Average Age of Assets
Average Age = Accumulated Depreciation / Depreciation Expense
Extraordinary items are permitted on income statements…
under U.S. GAAP but not under IFRS accounting standards.
Capital Component Breakpoint
Capital Component Breakpoint = Value at which components cost of capital changes / Weighting in WACC
Quick Ratio
Quick Ratio = (cash + marketable securities + receivables) / current liabilities
A plan where the company guarantees a specific benefit amount upon retirement is:
Defined Benefit Plan
Business Risk is a combination of:
- Sales Risk
- Operating Risk
When calculating Interest Expense and Amortization Expense for a bond…
- Calculate Cash Payment PMT
- Calculate Present Value of Bond PV
- Calculate Interest Expense PV * YTM
- Calculate Amortization Expense PMT – Interest Expense
Profitability Index
NPV, IRR, and even payback period are more common, but profitability index is calculated:
PV of future cash flows / initial investment
Net Income Conversion Formula LIFO to FIFO
Net Income FIFO = Net Income LIFO + ∆LIFO Reserve * (1 – tax rate)
Number of days of receivables
Number of days of receivables = Accounts Receivable / Sales on Credit / 365
Average Accounting Return
AAR = average net income / average book value
Which combination of inventory methods would provide the most informative measures of ending inventory and COGS respectively?
- Ending Inventory – FIFO
- COGS – LIFO
When calculating CFO & CFI back from Net Income, depreciation expense is:
- Added back to Net Income when calculating CFO.
- Depreciation expense is a non-cash operating expense. Property, Plant, & Equipment valuation difference is used for calculating CFI.
Free Cash Flow definition
Cash from operations less the amount of capital expenditures required to maintain the firm’s present productive capacity.
The installment method should be used when
future cash collection cannot be reasonably estimated.
Number of days of payables
Number of days of payables = Accounts Payable / Purchases / 365
Assets = Liabilities + Shareholders Equity (Long Form)
Assets = Liabilities + Contributed Capital + Beginning Retained Earnings + Revenue – Expenses – Dividends
Retained Earnings LIFO to FIFO formula
Retained Earnings FIFO = Retained Earnings LIFO + Ending LIFO Reserve * (1 – tax rate)
The four principal qualitative characteristics that make financial information useful are: (IFRS)
- Understandability
- Relevance
- Reliability
- Comparability
In the IFRS framework the two assumptions that underlie the preparation of financial statements are:
The accrual basis
The going concern assumption
Depreciation Expense is: (Net Income & CFO)
subtracted from revenue when calculating taxable income but it is added back when calculating cash flow from operations or net cash flow.
Fixed Assets can be revalued upward under:
IFRS
but not under U.S. GAAP
The “Fraud Triangle” consists of…
- incentives and pressures (the motive to commit fraud)
- opportunities (the firm has a weak internal control system)
- attitudes and rationalizations (the mindset that fraud is justified)
Under U.S. GAAP comprehensive income can be reported…
- On the income statement (below net income)
- In a separate statement of comprehensive income
- In the statement of changes in shareholders’ equity
This may be changing very soon.
Ex-Dividend Date
Ex-Dividend Date is two business days before the holder-of-record date.
The ex-dividend date is important, as from this date forward, new stockholders will not receive the next dividend payment.
The deferred income tax account is:
where the difference between income tax expense and income tax payable is reconciled.