Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit Administrator
Hong Xie
Contact via hong.xie@mq.edu.au
Lecturer in Charge
Tim Kyng
Contact via timothy.kyng@mq.edu.au
E4A614
by appointment
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Credit points |
Credit points
4
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
Admission to MRes
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
This unit will focus on investment from an actuarial practitioner's perspective. Topics include: asset classes and their characteristics; Australian shares; overseas shares; property; fixed interest and 'other' strategic and tactical asset allocation; stochastic asset liability modelling; investment mandates; investment management styles; investment performance measurement; risk management and control; and formulation of investment policy for financial institutions, taking into account the nature of their liabilities.
This unit provide students with essential investment knowledge from an actuarial practitioner's perspective that develop the concepts and skills necessary for advanced research in actuarial studies. |
Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
A Standardised Numerical Grade (SNG) gives you an indication of how you have performed within the band for your descriptive grade. The SNG is not a mark, and you may not be able to work it out based on your raw examination and other assessment marks. Nor are you able to determine you are “one mark away” from a different grade.
It is the responsibility of students to view their marks for each within session assessment on iLearn within 20 working days of posting. If there are any discrepancies, students must contact the unit convenor immediately. Failure to do so will mean that queries received after the release of final results regarding assessment marks (not including the final exam mark) will not be addressed.
Name | Weighting | Due |
---|---|---|
assessed coursework | 10% | TBA |
Assignment | 20% | TBA |
Final exam | 70% | University examination period |
Due: TBA
Weighting: 10%
We will have 5 assessed coursework (homework) tasks for this unit, due in weeks 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11. These will be worth 2 marks each. The tasks will cover the course content of the two weeks prior to the week in which the task was due. so task 1 due in week 3 will cover weeks 1 and 2, task 2 due in week 5 will cover weeks 3 and 4 etc.
No extensions will be granted. Students who have not submitted their solution to the task will be awarded a mark of 0 for the task, except for cases in which an application for special consideration is made and approved
Due: TBA
Weighting: 20%
There will be two assignments (worth 10% each) due during the session requiring analysis and written response. The first will be made available on 5/9/2015 and due 2 weeks later. The second will be made available on 10/10/2015 and due 2 weeks later. The timing of the assignment release and due dates may change and we will advise of any changes to the timing. These will be individual assignments, not group assignments. The assignments will include additional questions not included in the assignments for the co-taught unit ACST404.
No extensions will be granted. Late tasks will be accepted up to 72 hours after the submission deadline. There will be a deduction of 20% of the total available marks made from the total awarded mark for each 24 hour period or part thereof that the submission is late (for example, 25 hours late in submission – 40% penalty). This penalty does not apply for cases in which an application for special consideration is made and approved.
Due: University examination period
Weighting: 70%
A 3 hour final examination for this unit will be held during the university examination period. This will be an open book examination where students may bring notes. Details of what will be permitted during the final exam will be given during the unit.
Calculators will be allowed in the final examination but a clear indication of the steps involved in every calculation must be shown. Any machines that have a text-retrieval capacity, specifically those with a full alphabet on the keyboard, are not allowed. Calculators may be checked at the commencement of the examination and the make/model may be recorded.
Dictionaries are not permitted in the final examination and no reference materials are allowed to be taken into the final examination.
No extensions will be granted. Students who have not sat the exam will be awarded a mark of 0 for the task, except for cases in which an application for special consideration is made and approved
Classes
Any alterations to the class times or locations will be advised in class and on the iLearn subect page.
Campus classes
Lectures for this unit will be held on Saturdays between 9am and 12pm in Building W5A Theatre 1, Macquarie University, North Ryde. The first lecture will be on 1 August 2015.
For further details relating to the timetables, please refer to the following link: http://timetables.mq.edu.au
Distance education class
If you have enrolled for the distance education offering of this unit you will have access to all materials from the face to face classes (learning guides, lecture slides/overheads, handouts, exercises etc) and the same discussions and other activities via the ACST404/871 iLearn page.
The 2 hour lecture and 1 hour tutorial will be stored using iLearn software and will be available as a download from iLearn.
Required and Recommended texts and/or materials
There are 2 textbooks for this course:
Recommended:
Fitzherbert, Richard
Investment Principles for Actuaries, ISBN 978 0 85813 072 2
(Referred to elsewhere in this unit guide as FITZ)
Required
Bodie, Drew, Basu, Kane and Marcus
Principles of Investing, ISBN 9780071012386
(Referred to elsewhere in this unit guide as BDBKM)
BDBKM is available from the Macquarie University Co-op Bookshop. Distance education students can obtain BDBKM from on-line booksellers such as Amazon. FITZ is available from the Actuaries Institute of Australia online bookshop web address http://www.actuaries.asn.au/TechnicalResources/OnlineBookshop.aspx.
Additional readings as PDF files will also be made available via the iLearn system or will be available in the public domain or on the internet.
Unit web page & Technology Used and Required
All Students
The ACST404/871 iLearn page is integral to this course unit, whether you are a distance student or in a face to face class.
iLearn can be accessed via http://ilearn.mq.edu.au.
We will make announcements about unit administration and assessment tasks via iLearn. These announcements will be sent as emails to your Macquarie University student email account.You should check your student email account regularly, at least every couple of days.
Distance Education Students
The 2 hour lecture and 1 hour tutorial will be stored using iLearn software and will be available as a download from iLearn.
It is very important that distance students check their student email for unit announcements regularly, at least every couple of days. In particular, towards the end of semester you should check for announcements on the final exam.
Teaching and Learning Strategy
Important – Students are expected to have completed the assigned reading BEFORE each lecture.
Most of the 3 hour sessions will consist of a 2 hour lecture covering the material for the week followed a workshop / tutorial in the last 1 hour.
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html
Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy.html
Grading Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html
Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html
Grievance Management Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grievance_management/policy.html
Disruption to Studies Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html The Disruption to Studies Policy is effective from March 3 2014 and replaces the Special Consideration Policy.
In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/
Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.
Supplementary Exams
Further information regarding supplementary exams, including dates, is available here
http://www.businessandeconomics.mq.edu.au/current_students/undergraduate/how_do_i/special_consideration
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://informatics.mq.edu.au/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
Our postgraduates will be able to demonstrate a significantly enhanced depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content knowledge in their chosen fields.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our postgraduates will be capable of utilising and reflecting on prior knowledge and experience, of applying higher level critical thinking skills, and of integrating and synthesising learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments. A characteristic of this form of thinking is the generation of new, professionally oriented knowledge through personal or group-based critique of practice and theory.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our postgraduates will be capable of systematic enquiry; able to use research skills to create new knowledge that can be applied to real world issues, or contribute to a field of study or practice to enhance society. They will be capable of creative questioning, problem finding and problem solving.
This graduate capability is supported by:
There are changes in the assessment tasks. There are now 2 assignments worth 10% each instead of 1 worth 20% and there is now a set of 5 homework tasks worth 2 marks each. The final exam counts for 70% of the assessment.
The unit will develop students' abilities to conduct research in a practical context through a wide range of readings, discussions and class activities.