Students

AFIN3052 – Applied Portfolio Management

2022 – Session 1, In person/Online-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convenor
Simon Wong
simon.wong@mq.edu.au
Lei Shi
l.shi@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
20cp at 2000 level including (AFIN252 or ((ACST201 or ACST2001 or ACST202 or ACST2002) and AFIN250 or AFIN2050))
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit provides students with the analytical skills and techniques required to effectively construct diversified portfolios of securities. The unit prepares students for asset allocation management and performance assessment of diversified portfolios. Issues relating to the management of portfolios containing options, futures and other derivatives will also be examined.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Examine the investment decision making processes from the perspective of the portfolio manager.
  • ULO2: Define and critique various approaches to asset allocation.
  • ULO3: Compare and contrast the alternative asset allocation tools to construct portfolios and its role in industry practice.
  • ULO4: Source and analyse real financial data as applied to portfolio management and work in groups and individually to communicate the findings clearly and effectively in a professional environment.

General Assessment Information

Late submissions of assessments

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, no extensions will be granted. There will be a deduction of 10% of the total available assessment-task marks made from the total awarded mark for each 24-hour period or part thereof that the submission is late. Late submissions will only be accepted up to 96 hours after the due date and time.

No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g., quizzes, online tests.

Table 1: Penalty calculation based on submission time

Submission time after the due date (including weekends)

Penalty (% of available assessment task mark)

Example: for a non-timed assessment task marked out of 30

<  24 hours

10%

10% x 30 marks = 3-mark deduction

24-48 hours

20%

20% x 30 marks = 6-mark deduction

48-72 hours

30%

30% x 30 marks = 9-mark deduction

72-96 hours

40%

40%  x 30 marks = 12-mark deduction

> 96 hours

100%

Assignment won't be accepted

Other assessment criteria for assessment tasks will be provided on the unit iLearn site.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Online Quiz 0% No Week 4
Mid Session Test 20% No Week 7
Group Assignment 25% No Week 9 - 11
Final Examination 55% No University Exam Period

Online Quiz

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 1 hours
Due: Week 4
Weighting: 0%

 

The online quiz will consist of 5 to 10 questions and will be available on iLearn. Please use the quiz result as an indicator of whether you are progressing satisfactorily in the unit.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Examine the investment decision making processes from the perspective of the portfolio manager.

Mid Session Test

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 12 hours
Due: Week 7
Weighting: 20%

 

A mid session test of 60 minutes will be held to give students practice on a summative task and to provide feedback on their progress midway through the session.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Examine the investment decision making processes from the perspective of the portfolio manager.
  • Define and critique various approaches to asset allocation.
  • Compare and contrast the alternative asset allocation tools to construct portfolios and its role in industry practice.

Group Assignment

Assessment Type 1: Project
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Week 9 - 11
Weighting: 25%

 

Students will conduct research, and quantitative and qualitative analysis, to produce a group report (12.5%), and an individual report and individual presentation (12.5%).

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Examine the investment decision making processes from the perspective of the portfolio manager.
  • Define and critique various approaches to asset allocation.
  • Compare and contrast the alternative asset allocation tools to construct portfolios and its role in industry practice.
  • Source and analyse real financial data as applied to portfolio management and work in groups and individually to communicate the findings clearly and effectively in a professional environment.

Final Examination

Assessment Type 1: Examination
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: University Exam Period
Weighting: 55%

 

A two hour exam will be held during the University Examination Period.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Examine the investment decision making processes from the perspective of the portfolio manager.
  • Define and critique various approaches to asset allocation.
  • Compare and contrast the alternative asset allocation tools to construct portfolios and its role in industry practice.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Learning and Teaching Activities

The content for each week will comprise of a lecture recording and a set of tutorial questions (Problem Sets). 

Lectures

A lecture recording will be uploaded each week. Lecture notes will be available on iLearn.

Tutorials

Students will need to register for a tutorial. Tutorials are considered compulsory but no marks are allocated. Tutorials will be available for most, but not all weeks of the session. In weeks where there aren't any live (on-campus or online) tutorials, a recording will be provided to cover the relevant material.

The tutorial schedule will be made available on iLearn.

Tutorial enrolment or change of tutorial can be made through eStudent in the first two weeks of the session. No tutorial changes are allowed after Week 2.  Students should attend their allocated tutorial, but exceptions may occur on a one-off basis. That is, where circumstances prevent you from attending your own tutorial in a given week, you may attend an alternative tutorial if room available.

Students are expected to complete the ‘Tutorial Questions’ as a self-directed study activity before attending a tutorial. Additional learning support will be available in tutor consultation times.

Timetable for classes can be found on the University web site at: https://timetables.mq.edu.au/2022/

Textbooks

There are no required textbooks that must be purchased. But the following textbooks are recommended:

  • 'Investments', Zvi Bodie, Alex Kean, Alan J. Marcus, McGraw-Hill Education, Latest Edition
  • 'Essentials of Investments", Zvi Bodie, Alex Kean, Alan J. Marcus, McGraw-Hill Education, Latest Edition. (Easier edition of the above.)
  • 'Investment Science", David Luenberger, Oxford University Press, Latest Edition
  • 'Fundamentals of Futures and Options Markets', John C. Hull, Pearson, Latest Edition

These books are available for purchase online from www.booktopia.com.au/coop and a copy will be available in the reserve section of the Macquarie Library.

Relevant resources will be provided.

Unit Schedule

Please refer to iLearn

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) 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 or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Unit information based on version 2022.02 of the Handbook