...Ameritrade – case study Executive Summary Ameritrade provides online brokerage services and operates an Internet-based financial management services business. 90% of the company’s revenues are from the provision of discount brokerage services. The company’s objective is to improve its competitive position in deep-discount brokerage. In order to achieve this objective, the company must grow its customer base, requiring an investment of $100 million to upgrade its technological capabilities as well as an increase of $155 million for its advertisement budget. In order to evaluate the company’s cost of capital, we used the Cost Asset Pricing Model. Since the company went public recently, it would not be an accurate assessment of the risk of the investment to find the beta of this short time period. Therefore, we chose a similar company called Charles Schwab, which has very similar sources of revenue, discount brokerage services. However, this company has a very different capital structure, so we unleveraged the beta in order to get the best, most accurate beta for Ameritrade. We assumed that the capital structure of Ameritrade did not have debt, and that the project would be financed with equity only. We found a levered beta for Charles Schwab of 2.15. After unlevering it, we got a beta of 1.8768. When using the CAPM model, we concluded that the cost of capital of Ameritrade is equal to 20.40%. Factors to be considered in evaluating the project Various factors must...
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...Case analysis "Cost of Capital at Ameritrade" Cost of capital refers to the maximum rate of return a company must earn from its investments, so that the market values of the company’s equity shares do not go down. The people at Ameritrade are not in agreement on the best estimate of the cost of capital. Research analyst put the cost of capital at 12%, while other members of the management estimate it to be at 9% and the CFO estimates it to be at 15%. The CEO of the company is optimistic that the rate of return is greater than the cost of investments. However, it will be difficult to continue with the project without agreeing on the estimate of the cost of capital. Determining the company’s cost of capital is essential for both capital budgeting and capital structured planning decision. Cost of capital can be classified as either implicit cost or explicit cost. Implicit cost is the rate of return associated with forgone opportunities attributed to investments on other projects. Explicit cost is the discount rate that equates to the present value the funds that the company receives from net underwriting costs. In order for the company to determine the average cost of capital, it is essential to consider the cost of each method of financing. This will be useful for the company since the profitability of the project will be judged on the basis of the cost of the sources for financing the project. This provides a composite cost of capital which is inclusive of all the costs...
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...FIN 5439 – Capital Structure and Risk Management Nimlendran Guidelines for the “Cost of Capital at Ameritrade” Case This is a group assignment: * Each group will provide answers to the questions given below Note: You do NOT have to provide a full case report * Submit only one report per team. Submit a word document on Canvas course site. * The report should be well formatted and using 12 point font. Double spaced. All the tables should have their headings and all the units (% , million etc.) clearly indicated. A Word document should be submitted on the course website by one team member before the deadline: All calculations and estimates using Excel should be in formatted tables and inserted directly into the Word document. Note: From the Excel output, only include the important estimates and relevant statistics such as t-stats and standard errors. GRADIN RUBRIC Grade Item | Points out of 100 | Presentation including grammar and style, tables, follow instructions) | 20 | Q1 | 10 | Q2 | 10 | Q3 | 10 | Q4 | 20 | Q6 | 30 | Learning Objectives The case provides an opportunity to understand how capital market data and asset pricing model(s) can be used to estimate the cost of capital (or the required rate of return) for real investments. You do NOT have to write a formal report, but you should provide concise answers with all the assumptions stated clearly for the questions given below. * Estimate stock returns from prices by adjusting...
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...Action Notes Pipelines, Power & Utilities Recommendation: Risk: 12-Month Target Price: 12-Month Total Return: Market Data (C$) Current Price 52-Wk Range Mkt Cap (f.d.)($mm) Dividend per Share Dividend Yield Avg. Daily Trading Vol. (3mths) $31.58 $25.51-$32.87 $24,000.8 $0.98 3.1% 1,487,005 December 760.0 750.0 63.7% $10.36 13.4% September 12, 2011 Equity Research 1 of 4 HOLD Unchanged LOW C$33.00 Unchanged 7.6% Linda Ezergailis, P.Eng. 416 983 7784 linda.ezergailis@tdsecurities.com Robert Hope, CFA 416 983 9717 robert.hope@tdsecurities.com Enbridge Inc. (ENB-T, ENB-N) C$31.58 Enbridge to Twin the Athabasca Pipeline for $1.2 billion Event Enbridge has announced that it will twin the southern portion of its existing Athabasca crude oil pipeline between Kirby Lake, AB and Hardisty, AB at an expected cost of $1.2 billion. Impact POSITVE. We estimate the expansion will contribute $0.04 of EPS on an annualized basis when volumes ramp up although we expect it will not contribute to earnings until 2015. Details Athabasca Expansion – Twinning Overview: • Overview: Enbridge has announced that it will install a new twin 345km, 36” liquids pipeline beside its existing Athabasca pipeline between Kirby Lake and Hardisty, Alberta. • Volumes: The twin line will accept volumes from oil sands projects in the Kirby area. We note that Enbridge’s Christina Lake Lateral, which services Cenovus’ and ConocoPhillips’ Christina Lake Enhanced Oil Project, delivers into the Athabasca...
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...Dominion Bank in Ontario Canada. Banknorth also added a sister company, Td Ameritrade formed under TD Waterhouse. One of the main things I like about Td Bank is its convenience to its costumers. Working for Td Bank, they take pride in their high customer service ratings. The have employees attend TDU a university to train employees how to do their job and also please the customer. The main reason I started banking at Td Bank was when they started no Atm fee campaign, I stayed with TD bank after I opened a free student checking and savings account. Also, they are open 7 days a week with the best hours a bank has to offer. “We will be the Best Run, Customer-focused, Integrated Financial Institution with a Unique and Inclusive Employee Culture.” The mission statement above is strongly exhibited through Td Bank. Td Bank is my choice for personal banking. What makes Td Bank different from most banking businesses, is that they have learned how to come out on top. As stated by Levitt in Marketing Myopia, think outside the box. People who focus on marketing strategy, various predictive techniques, and the customer's lifetime value can rise above myopia to a certain extent. Td bank does just that, by not being in the banking industry but as a financial institution. Many banks failed during the economic crisis. However, Td Bank opened more “Stores”, merged with more banks, as well as merged with TD Ameritrade. Td bank came out on top during the banking crisis because it diversified...
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...201-046 Cost of Capital at Ameritrade Exhibit 1 Consolidated Annual Income Statements for the Fiscal Year Ending in September 1997 Net Revenues Transaction Income Net Interest Other Total Net Revenues Expenses Excluding Interest Employee Compensation Commissions and Clearance Communications Occupancy and Equipment Cost Advertising and Promotion Provision for Losses Amortization of Goodwill Other Total Expenses Excluding Interest Income Before Income Taxes Taxes Net Income EPS Shares Outstanding Source: Ameritrade Annual Report, 1997. $ $ 51.936.902,00 $ 18.193.946 7.107.492 77.238.340 1996 36.469.561,00 $ 11.477.878 6.391.314 54.338.753 1995 23.977.481,00 8.434.584 2.607.538 35.019.603 19.290.808 3.320.262 5.623.468 5.422.839 13.970.834 59.000 363.002 7.763.014 55.813.227 21.425.113 7.602.964 13.822.149 $ $1,00 13.768.889 14.049.642 2.530.642 3.685.535 2.889.654 7.537.265 148.014 363.002 4.717.406 35.921.160 18.417.593 7.259.248 11.158.345 $ $0,87 12.813.823 8.481.977 2.516.796 2.352.590 1.626.725 4.842.392 1.428.663 94.152 2.846.280 24.189.575 10.830.028 3.798.881 7.031.147 $0,55 12.813.823 t Ameritrade Cost of Capital at Ameritrade 201-046 Exhibit 2 Consolidated Annual Balance Sheets for the Fiscal Year Ending in September 1997 1996 ASSETS Cash & Gash Equivalents Cash & Investments Segregated in Compliance with Federal Regulations Receivable from Brokers, Dealers, & Clearing Organizations Receivable from Customers & Correspondents Furniture...
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...With these developments, it is obvious that conflicts between parties of different nationalities occur and liability to tax on income of foreigners especially among those engaging in trading venture. Whilst the laws affecting domicile and residence may be sufficiently settled, it is paramount for courts to pursue a detailed analysis to ascertain specific preliminary issues so as to avoid controversial rulings. Courts often handle numerous financial cases that involve what can be best described as foreign or international elements. In such cases, court must decide whether it has the jurisdiction under the Family Law Act 1975 to make a decision on such cases. In the event that it is determined that the court is invested with the jurisdiction to determine the case, the court has to consider whether there is a system of law in foreign country that also has the jurisdiction to handle the case. As it was addressed in the case Attorney General of New Zealand v Ortiz [1984] AC 1, these benefits and costs to either party if the case resolution is made in foreign country as compared with the apparent country should also be a subject of concern. [1] Legal systems in most countries around the world adopt community property regime, which takes effect at the inception of marriage or at the time of divorce. For instance, California and Massachusetts in the United States have adopted community property regimes that support equal division of assets upon divorce. However, this provision...
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...Adapted from Bernhardt & Kinnear (1988). Cases in marketing management, pp. 6-16. Plano, TX: Business Publications, Inc. Pay careful attention to the following points. They are often used by instructors to evaluate either a written or oral analysis. 1. Be complete. Each area of the situation analysis must be discussed, problems and opportunities identified, alternative presented and evaluated using the situation analysis and relevant financial analysis, and a decision must be made. An analysis that omits part of the situation analysis or only recognizes one alternative is not a good analysis. Second, each area must be covered in-depth and within insight. 2. Avoid rehashing case facts. Every case has a lot of factual information. A good analysis uses facts that are relevant to the situation at hand to make summary points of analysis. A poor analysis just restates or rehashes theses facts without making relevant summary comments. 3. Make reasonable assumptions. Every case is incomplete in terms of some piece of information that you would like to have. A good case analysis must make realistic assumptions to fill in the gaps of information in the case. For example, the case may not describe the purchase decision process for the product of interest. A poor analysis would either omit mentioning this or just state that no information is available. A good analysis would attempt to present this purchase decision process by classifying the product and drawing upon real life...
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...are given. It is understandable then that we should seek out more opportunities to apply our skills and make more positive impacts within our jurisdictions. It is this general attitude that led us to get involved in investigating cold cases. How We Got Started Mark had, for several years, been consulting with our Coroner’s Division as a forensic anthropologist. During this time he came to learn that there were numerous coroners’ cases in which the identity of the decedent was unknown. These cases were kept in three-ring binders on a shelf in the Sergeant’s office. Over the years, in the course of this forensic work, we would discuss these cases and the progress that was being made on them. The conversation usually ran along the lines of us asking “any luck with that 1980 homicide victim?” and the sergeant answering “well, we’ve gotten so many new cases that I haven’t been able to even look at it yet.” This went on for a few years and through two different sergeants. One day we, as a crime analysis unit, were brainstorming about how we could broaden our “client base”, as it were. We had been successful in integrating ourselves into our Investigations Bureau and had been involved in numerous major cases. And, of course, we had always been active in producing tactical and strategic analyses for our patrol personnel. But we knew that we could be doing more, particularly given the size and responsibilities of our agency. It was during...
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...BUSINESS CASE Presented to the Accountancy Department De La Salle University In partial fulfillment Of the course requirements In ACCTBA2 (C33) March 2, 2015 A stakeholder is typically concerned with an organization delivering intended results and meeting its financial objectives. In general, a stakeholder can be one of two types: internal (from within an organization) or external (outside of an organization). The stakeholders in this situation are Lanie Marquez and Tim Rodriguez who are also partners in the retail distribution business and their capital contributions are as follows P500,000 and P300,000 respectively they are an internal stakeholder since they are also the owners. The total Capital of both stakeholders is P800,000 and with a monthly salary for both partners at P15,000 on the assumption that both of them will contribute to manage the business equally. Assuming that both managed the business equally the total salary for the year for Lanie and Tim are P180,000 each. They share profit and loss equally and no interest will be given on capital contributed. The problem for this situation is that Lanie is starting to get concerned with the behavior of her other partner Tim. He only manages the business 50% of the time, which will mean that his salary of P15,000 will need to decrease by also 50% since he does not manage the business equally with his partner. The business has seen a downturn in the profit outcome and for the current financial...
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...Ralph’s Grocery and United Food and Commercial Workers Union The case that I chose for the week 6 critical thinking assignment concerns Ralph’s Grocery Company, located in California. It applies to this week’s material due to the fact that the case involves unlawful suspension and discharge of an employee, as reviewed by the National Labor Relations Board. Background In May 2011, Vittorio Razi was an employee at Ralph’s Grocery and was suspended and terminated after he refused to take a drug test without first consulting with his UFCW Local 324 representative. The company (Respondent) says that on the day in question, Razi’s behavior was in question, acting nervous, anxious, agitated, and slurred speech. After a couple managers discussed the...
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... Many people wonder why their own teeth stain so easily. The enamel on your teeth and chromogens are what stains your teeth, but what exact beverage stains teeth the most? I chose this topic because I was curious to know what stains teeth the most. It affects us daily because it could rot your teeth or you can’t pick up hot chicks anymore. So what causes teeth to stain? The temperature causes teeth to expand or contract making it easier for stains. So hot and cold drinks affect that. Color in foods and beverages come from chromogens. Chromogens are intensely pigmented compounds that stick to teeth enamel. Chromogens cause a lot of trouble when they mix and react with other stain causing and stain promoting factors. Tannis may be natural or synthetic tannis is another factor that stains teeth. Tooth enamel is porous making it extremely susceptible to stains. The darker the liquid the darker the stain. There are some examples that stain teeth. Not only sodas bad but also Gatorade. Beets are bad for you also. Mostly cause they’re concentrated. Berries dark skins stain teeth. Ketchup is also really bad because of its bright red color and high levels of acid. Dark liquids and sauces you put on your foods also stain teeth. Colored candy and popsicles both contain colorants that will transfer to the teeth and embed in the porous enamel. Fruit juices, especially grape and cranberry, leave a colorful tinge on the teeth and tongue. Colored sodas instantly discolor teeth. The citric acids...
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...efficient investigative products and services. As a result, the coverage requirements for ANACI and NACLC investigations have been enhanced to support a common content baseline for all agencies. Note that these enhancements apply only to those ANACI and NACLC cases submitted on an SF 86. The purpose of this FIN is to provide you with information concerning what case coverage changes have been made. The case price adjustments necessary to support these changes will be reflected in the FY 2007 case prices. ANACIINACLC Cases Currently, listed and developed issues which are identified in ANACI and NACLC cases (for non-DoD customers) are not pursued beyond the normal scope of the investigation. These cases are returned to the requesting agency so that the agency may decide whether to adjudicate the case based upon the information in hand, conduct additional follow-up themselves, or request a Reimbursable Suitability Investigation (RSI) from FISD to cover the additional issues. Beginning with FY 2007, expansion of these issues will become a standard part of both the ANACI and NACLC products. Effective October 1, 2006, issues apparent at scheduling or developed during the course of the investigation and which fall within the 5-year case coverage period, unless otherwise noted, will be expanded upon according to the following chart (exception: issues which are known to have been covered in previous investigations, or which would reasonably have been expected to...
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...find that you would like even more time. I recommend that you enter the exam promptly since I will make deductions for those exceeding the 9:00 o'clock end time even if you enter late. Third, know that the legal reasoning essay will come from Module 4 on immunity. The variety of scenarios in that question will force you to think about and explain the nuances between sovereign and personal immunity, between absolute and qualified immunity, about loss of immunity, etc. You will want to understand all four cases from that module well before the exam. I will expect specific citations to the cases and the principles that they enunciate. An additional case that might be useful for you to look at is Canton v. Harris. A second question will address the rulemaking process and the principles underlying it. You should "walk into" the exam (in a virtual sense) with a clear sense of a fully articulated rulemaking process, so that you can pick and choose elements as appropriate in the case you will be presented. The third question will be drawn from the text regarding the Constitutional framework. Finally, remember that "open book" exams can be as challenging as closed book because the "bar" (the expectation) is higher. I think you will find that prior preparation will make a good deal of difference. As stated before, when you open the exam, answer the questions initially in word and copy it back to the exam. That way, you will not lose work, time...
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...in which it is acceptable for anyone who has suffered a personal injury to seek compensatory damages through litigation from someone connected with the injury. It’s the idea that for every accident someone is at fault. For every injury, there is someone to blame. And, perhaps most damaging, for every accident, there is someone to pay. There are so many ridicilous cases througout history where people sue somebody or some company for no reason and get a lot of money from them. For example . A caretaker fell off a ladder and sued the local authority for not training him to use a ladder - and won.He could get up to 50.000 pounds compensation. One former ex policeman received nearly £90,000 compensation for the trauma of seeing a woman die after he crashed into her car during a 999 call .The husband of the woman killed by the policeman received £16,000 compensation. Policemen cause a tremendous number of accidents - so many, indeed, that one force has stopped its drivers from speeding. The effect is damaging to society. The courts become clogged up with greedy people out for themselves, many with no real case at all while other people with real compensation claims, the people disabled in accidents, crippled in operations or people who have lost loved ones due clear negligent behavior. All the other who just sue somebody with ridicilous acusations should be ashamed of themselves and I hope that in the future others avoid trying to cash in just because it seems so easy...
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