Portfolio Management Flashcards
portfolio perspective (Markowitz framework)
evaluating how individual investments relate to the wider portfolio
Three steps to portfolio management process
- Planning step
- Execution step
- Feedback step
diversification ratio
s.d. portfolio returns / average s.d of returns of the individual securities in the portfolio
pretax nominal return
returns before tax
after-tax nominal return
return after tax
leveraged return
returns that are a multiple of the return of the
efficient frontier
portfolios with the greatest level of return for each level of risk
The efficient frontier outlines the set of portfolios that gives investors the highest return for a given level of risk or the lowest risk for a given level of return. Therefore, if a portfolio is not on the efficient frontier, there must be a portfolio that has lower risk for the same return. Equivalently, there must be a portfolio that produces a higher return for the same risk.
global minimum-variance portfolio
the best return profile with minimal level of risk
utility function
investor preference with regards to risk/return
The capital allocation line
a straight line from the risk-free asset through the optimal risky portfolio.
According to Markowitz, an investor’s optimal portfolio is determined where the
investor’s highest utility curve is tangent to the efficient frontier.
utility/indifference curve
a curve across all points in which the investor is indifferent (happy to invest across) - spread across different risk and returns
The capital market line (CML)
plots return against total risk, which is measured by standard deviation of returns.
A portfolio to the right of the market portfolio on the CML is:
an inefficient portfolio.
A portfolio to the right of a portfolio on the CML has more risk than the market portfolio. Investors seeking to take on more risk will borrow at the risk-free rate to purchase more of the market portfolio
Assumptions of CAPM:
- mean-variance framework
- unlimited lending/borrowing at Rf
- homogenous expectations
- one-period time horizon
- divisible assets
- frictionless markets
- no inflation and interest rate changes
- capital markets equilibrium
- investors are price takers
Cognitive dissonance
where an individual has conflicting beliefs e.g. a new piece of evidence challenges their assumption
Conservatism bias
not changing your opinion of something when new information is released
Confirmation bias
ignoring information that disagrees with your established views
Representative bias
assuming that all members of a population/sample share the same characteristics
e.g. base-rate neglect, sample-size neglect
Illusion of control bias
thinking you can control something but you cannot
e.g. illusion of knowledge, self-attribution, overconfidence,
Hindsight bias (‘i knew is all along phenomenon’)
being selective in your memory of past events, resulting in a tendency to see events being more predictable than they really are
Anchoring/adjustment bias
a cognitive bias that causes us to rely too heavily on the first piece of information we are given about a topic.
may lead to overtrading, underestimation of risk, and lack of diversification
Mental accounting bias
viewing money in different accounts or from different sources differently when making investment decisions e.g. treating a bonus differently to your regular income
Framing bias
Occurs when decisions are affected by the way in which the question is framed
Availability bias
putting undue emphasis on on information that is readily available/easy to recall e.g. picking a manager you know
loss-aversion bias
feeling more pain from losses than joy with equal gains
overconfidence bias
overestimating own abilities to make decisions - can also lead to illusion of knowledge bias and self-attribution bias
self-control bias
occurs when individuals lack self-discipline and favour short-term sacrifices to meet long-term goals.
status quo bias
occurs when comfort with an existing situation causes a resistance to change
Endowment bias
occurs when an asset is felt to be special and more valuable because it is already owned