Western Kentucky University



East Tennessee State University

Course Syllabus, Spring 2009

Course Title: FNCE 4617/5617: Applied Portfolio Management

T 7:00 – 9:50; SW 216

Instructor: Dr. William Trainor

Room 327 Sam Wilson Hall; Tel: 439-5668

E-mail: Trainor@etsu.edu

Home Page:

Office Hours: T R: 11:05 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. T: 6:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. or by appointment.

Materials Required: The Wall Street Journal and access to an investments text such as Investments by Bodie, Kane, & Marcus from your FNCE 3300 class.

Recommended:

A Random Walk Down Wall Street, by Burton Malkiel, 2003, 8th edition.

The Intelligent Investor, by Benjamin Graham, Revised Edition with commentary by Jason Zweig.

Course Prerequisites: FNCE 3300, do not try to take this course concurrently with FNCE 3300.

Course Description: This course is made possible by Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) Investment Challenge Program. As of Dec. 2008, the value of this portfolio was over $230,000. The purpose of this course is to provide practical hands-on experience in security analysis and selection as well as portfolio construction, management, and maintenance. The course is designed to assist students in implementing investments and portfolio management theory in practice. Students will make all material decisions regarding the management of the portfolio.

Objectives:

1. Derive fundamental values for stocks.

2. Make convincing oral and written stock valuation reports.

3. Manage a portfolio within a team setting.

4. Evaluate portfolio performance.

Attendance: Attendance in all scheduled class functions is mandatory. On a number of occasions, the class may be required to meet outside of the regularly scheduled time. Also, team meetings and other activities may be conducted outside of scheduled class meetings. A major component of the course is the group dynamics and discussion involved in managing a portfolio in a team setting. Any absences detract from this experience, and will negatively impact your course participation grade. DO NOT MISS CLASS AND PLAN ON PARTICIPATING. THIS IS REAL MONEY AND YOU ARE MANAGING IT! YOUR GRADE WILL BE BASED ON YOUR INPUT, PARTICIPATION, AND PRESENTATIONS. Each unexcused absence will result in a reduction of 5 points from your overall course grade.

Presentations: Each student is expected to prepare and present various stock reports. These presentations are at the heart of the process and should be "professional" in nature and include all the information that is necessary for intelligent and comprehensive discussion and decision-making. Please post on the bulletin board via Desire to Learn the company that you will be presenting at least 24 hours prior to the presentation. This will allow the rest of the class to research the company and actively participate with insightful remarks and questions.

Class Participation: Each student is expected to participate in all team activities, class activities, and to regularly contribute to all class discussions and decisions. In addition, positive contribution to team efforts in preparation and presentation of reports is required. I will be making assessments of each student’s contribution to class discussion and activities every week.

Team Assignments: Throughout the semester, students will be assigned to teams to conduct various types of analysis, prepare various reports, and make presentations to the class and other constituents, to facilitate sound decision-making in the management of the portfolio. All team members are expected to be ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS. Each student will be given an opportunity to evaluate the contribution of each team member at the end of the semester. This evaluation will be considered as part of the participation grade.

Accommodation of Disabilities:

Students who may need an accommodation based on a disability, please make an appointment to see me during office hours. A Faculty Accommodation Form from Disability Services authorizing your accommodation is preferred.

Grading: Your grade will be determined according to the following weighting scheme:

Oral Presentations, 5 - 60%

Quizzes, 2 – 20%

Class Participation - 20%, This means asking questions, keeping up with your sector, opening discussions with current news, etc. Assume you own part of this portfolio and you are trying to make sure it earns money. This involves getting behind good stocks and thwarting purchases or getting rid of bad ones.

Grading Scale:

92 -100 = A

90 - 91.99 = A-

87 - 89.99 = B+

83 - 86.99 = B

80 - 82.99 = B-

77 - 79.99 = C+

73 - 76.99 = C

70 - 72.99 = C-

67 - 69.99 = D+

60 - 66.99 = D

Below 60 = F

The instructor reserves the right to modify the above guidelines, but under no circumstances will the scale be increased/or made more difficult to attain a particular grade.

Attachment:

Important dates and other information: See University Syllabus attachment at

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