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Financial Analysis of a Portfolio

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Submitted By Go25
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Overview From September 3rd, 2015 to October 28th, 2015, our group was given the opportunity to manage an investment portfolio, with the goal of maximizing the value of the portfolio through acquiring, holding, and selling stock. The beginning cash balance of the portfolio was $100,000, and our group had the ability to make up to 500 trades. During this time period, our group made 20 stock purchases and sold stock twice. At the close of business on October 28, 2015, the value of our group’s portfolio increased from $100,000 to $106,785.33, yielding a return of 6.78% (((106785.33/100,000)-1) x 100)). In comparison to the S&P 500 returned at 7.16% and the Dow Jones having a return of 8.65% (Yahoo).
Strategy
We attempted to build a diverse portfolio whilst being observant of any news regarding public companies so as to take advantage of any current events that may have impacted a company’s value. Further, rather than being fickle with our stocks, attempting to time the market, and racking up brokerage fees, we mostly stuck to a buy-and-hold approach. Diversification is an important component of creating a profitable investment portfolio, as Markowitz demonstrated mathematically in the 1950s, because it reduces uncertainty. The group focused on making sure we held securities in as many different industry sectors as possible. We were able to diversify into 15 companies across eight different industries: • Auto • Ford (F) Financial • A.I.G. (AIG) • Citigroup (C) • Wells Fargo (WFC) Communication • Citrix (CTXS) • Comcast (CMCSA) Defense • Lockheed Martin (LMT) Manufacturing • Caterpillar (CAT) Pharmaceutical • Gilead Sciences (GILD) • Horizon Pharma (HZNP) Retail • Amazon (AMZN) • Home Depot (HD) • Wal-Mart (WMT)

Technology • Apple (APPL) • Microsoft (MSFT)

We thought that these 8

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