Investment Course

Santiago, Chile     -     September 28-29, 2009

 

Listed below are links to various course-related materials, including PDF documents containing the course outline and notes for various topics covered during the class, as well as Excel workbooks containing spreadsheets supporting many of the examples and calculations performed in the course.  You will also find Word and PDF documents containing some research articles related to the material covered in the course. 

You can click on the indicated link to download the desired document:

 

• Course Outline:

          Topic List & Instructor Biography

 

• Course Notes:

          Topic 1 - Expected Returns & Measuring the Risk Premium

          Topic 2 - Asset Allocation: Decisions & Strategies

          Topic 3 - Portfolio Risk Analysis

          Topic 4 - Fixed-Income Analysis and Portfolio Strategies

          Topic 5 - Portfolio Optimization: Analytical Techniques

          Topic 6 - Portfolio Optimization: Case Studies

          Topic 7 – Identifying Superior Active Portfolio Management

          Topic 8 – Market Efficiency & Behavioral Finance: A Brief Overview

          Topic 9 – Evaluation of Portfolio Performance

 

• Excel Workbooks:

Topic 1:                U.S. Historical Return Statistics, 1926-2008

                             Black-Litterman Expected Returns & Portfolio Optimization

Topic 3:                Portfolio Risk Calculations

Topic 4:                Bond Valuation & Risk Calculations

Topic 5:                Portfolio Optimization Using Historical Returns: 8.04-7.09

                             Portfolio Optimization Using Historical Returns: 8.04-7.07

Topic 9:                Performance Measurement Example

 

 • Research Articles:

T1:     “The Equity Premium” (by E. Fama and K. French)

          “Equity Premia as Low as Three Percent?” (by J. Claus and J. Thomas)

          “What Risk Premium is ‘Normal’?” (by R. Arnott and P. Bernstein)

“The Equity Risk Premium Amid a Global Financial Crisis” (by J. Graham & C. Harvey)

“Equity Risk Premiums (ERP): Determinants, Estimation, and Implications” (by A. Damodaran)

T2:     “The Future of Investment Management” (by G. Brinson)

          “Asset Allocation and Portfolio Performance: Evidence from University Endowment Funds” (by K. Brown, L. Garlappi, and C. Tiu)

T3:     “Risk as a History of Ideas” (by P. Bernstein)

T5:     “A Step-by-Step Guide to the Black-Litterman Model” (by T. Idzorek)

“Quantifying the Cost of Investment Limits for Chilean Pension Funds” (by S. Bernstein and R. Chumacero)

T6:     “Asset Allocation in a Downside Risk Framework” (by V. Harlow)

T7:     “The Right Answer to the Wrong Question: Identifying Superior Active Management” (by V. Harlow and K. Brown)

T8:     “The Demographics of Overconfidence” (by G. Bhandari and R. Deaves)

“Are Investors Reluctant to Realize Their Losses?” (by T. Odean)

“Of Tournaments and Temptations: An Analysis of Managerial Incentives in the Mutual Fund Industry” (by K. Brown, V. Harlow, and L. Starks)

T9:     “Performance Measurement Without Benchmarks: An Evaluation of Mutual Fund Returns,” (by M. Grinblatt and S. Titman)

“Explaining the Returns of Chilean Equities: Are All Markets Created Equal?” (by G. Maturana)