As an investment manager, you frequently make decisions about investing in stocks versus other types of investments, and about types of stocks to purchase. a. You have noticed that investors tend to invest more heavily in stocks after interest rates have declined. You are considering this strategy as well. Is it rational to invest more heavily in stocks once interest rates have declined? b. Assume that you are about to select a specific stock that will perform well in response to an expected run-up in the stock market. You are very confident that the stock market will perform well in the near future. Recently, a friend recommended that you consider purchasing stock of a specific firm because it had decent earnings over the last few years, it has a low beta (reflecting a low degree of systematic risk), and its beta is expected to remain low. You normally rely on beta as a measurement of a firms systematic risk. Should you seriously consider buying that stock? Explain. c. In the past, your boss assessed your performance based on the actual return on the portfolio of U.S. stocks that you manage. For each quarter in which your portfolio generated an annualized return of at least 20 percent, you received a bonus. Now your boss wants you to develop a method for measuring your performance from managing the portfolio. Offer a method that accurately measures your performance. d. Assume that you were also asked to manage a portfolio of European stocks. How would your method for measuring your performance in managing this portfolio differs from the U.S. stock portfolio in the previous question? (books, journal articles, reputable business magazines, professional association publications, government websites etc).
