...run. In 2000 Black and Decker Corporation was still reeling from the financial and strategic problems stemming from the company's acquisition of Emhart Corporation in 1989. In late 1998 Black & Decker management celebrated the completion of an almost decade-long effort to divest nonstrategic business gained through its 1989 acquisition of Emhart Corporation and expected the company to enter a long-awaited period of growth as its entire management refocused its attention on its core power tools, plumbing, and security hardware business. Archibald believed that "This portfolio restructuring will allow us to focus on core operations that can deliver dependable and superior operating and financial results." However the portfolio restructuring did little to improve the market performance of the company's securities. Yet Archibald and the management continued to express confidence that the company's streamline portfolio would allow Black & Decker to achieve revenue and earnings growth that the market would find impressive. So far the 1998 divestitures have not produced steady increases in the company's stock price, but look promising for the future due to the efforts to refocus efforts on the successful power tools line. Strategic planning team evaluation Over the years, Black & Decker has branched off into many different directions in order to gain as much market share as possible. The diversification program in the 1980s produced mixed results for shareholders, and later...
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...work and needs to plan accordingly. One main question that is always a difficult one to answer is how long one needs to work before they can comfortably stop working and rely on their financial portfolio to take care of expenses after work. In order to analyze these questions, a deterministic model of an investment portfolio was created and stochastic modeling was used to determine the likelihood of being able to accumulate the necessary finances over the desired period of time. Quantitative Analysis: 1. Using the given deterministic model, the annual outflows were estimated from the retirement portfolio over the retirement years and the estimated return on the account was also calculated. It was determined that under these basic assumptions of salary and portfolio growth rate the portfolio could expect to grow to $452,900 within thirty years. However, this assumed a fixed salary growth rate of 5% as well as a 4% annual investment rate. Given the high rate of inflation and the projected expenses after retirement, it was calculated that if this money was to last for the retirement, then even pulling out $50,000 per year in expenses would cause the account to run out after just a few years. 2. Adjusting the annual rate to 8% from 4% had a major effect. Although the portfolio fell short of the one million dollar goal by only reaching $853,633, this was a major effect as it allows the individual the ability to pull $100,000 each year from this account and still sustain...
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...Definition: In an active portfolio strategy, a manager uses financial and economic indicators along with various other tools to forecast the market and achieve higher gains than a buy-and-hold (passive) portfolio. Tracking error is a measure of how closely a portfolio follows the index to which it is benchmarked. The most common measure is the root-mean-square of the difference between the portfolio and index returns. Many portfolios are managed to a benchmark, normally an index. Some portfolios are expected to replicate, before trading and other costs, the returns of an index exactly (an index fund), while others are expected to 'actively manage' the portfolio by deviating slightly from the index in order to generate active returns or to lower transaction costs. Tracking error (also called active risk) is a measure of the deviation from the benchmark; the aforementioned index fund would have a tracking error close to zero, while an actively managed portfolio would normally have a higher tracking error. Dividing portfolio active return by portfolio tracking error gives the information ratio, which is a risk adjusted performance metric. If tracking error is measured historically, it is called 'realised' or 'ex post' tracking error. If a model is used to predict tracking error, it is called 'ex ante' tracking error. The former is more useful for reporting performance, whereas ex ante is generally used by portfolio managers to control risk. The individual investors who wish...
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...Rock, Paper, Scissors, and Other Investment Techniques (UOP) FIS 240 Week 5 DQs (UOP) FIS 240 Week 6 CheckPoint: So Many Businesses, So Little Money PART 1 OF 2 (UOP) FIS 240 Week 6 CheckPoint: So Many Businesses, So Little Money PART 2 OF 2 (UOP) FIS 240 Week 6 Assignment: Analyze This (UOP) FIS 240 Week 7 DQs (UOP) FIS 240 Week 7 CheckPoint: Income that Sticks PART 1 OF 2 (UOP) FIS 240 Week 7 CheckPoint: Income that Sticks PART 2 OF 2 (UOP) FIS 240 Week 8 CheckPoint: Lifetime Investment Matrix PART 1 OF 2 (UOP) FIS 240 Week 8 CheckPoint: Lifetime Investment Matrix PART 2 OF 2 (UOP) FIS 240 Week 8 Assignment: Living the Easy Life (UOP) FIS 240 Capstone Discussion Question (UOP) FIS 240 Final Project: Investment Policy and Portfolio Evaluation (UOP) ____________________________________________________ FIS 240 Week 1 CheckPoint: Is Time on My Side (UOP) For more course tutorials visit www.tutorialrank.com Resources: Appendix D and the Time Value of Money multimedia (enter into the Axia College student webpage first then copy and paste the link into the open browser) TUhttps://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/UBAM/Libraries/Flash/TVM.swfUT. Due Date: Day 5 [post to the Individual forum] Complete your responses to this week’s CheckPoint in Appendix D. Post the completed...
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...INVESTMENT STRATEGY AND PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT Executive Summary Kaplan is a charitable fund established in 2007 to provide an investment vehicle for investors seeking to finance some educational objectives. The aim of the fund is to grow members’ contributions through investment in securities. Investors in Kaplan are yet to start making withdrawals from the fund but are due to begin in June 2012. This report looks at current issues in the investment environment in the UK, Europe, and the rest of the world which have an impact on Kaplan’s operations. It also examines strategic asset allocation and investment strategies that Kaplan should employ to achieve its goals. In addition, the report recommends areas in which the fund’s management should actively manage investments and those areas in which passive management would be the better option. Overview of the Investment Environment In recent years, the global fund sector has continued to register robust growth in many countries with developed financial markets. Collective investment schemes are becoming the most preferred investment vehicles for investors because of their obvious advantages including diversification, professional management of investments, liquidity and investment advice for investors and superior returns (Roll, 2008). Indeed, as by the end of 2011, the global investment fund industry was worth US $11.7 trillion which translates to 17 percent of primary securities holdings around the world. However...
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...Kochman’s and Badarinathi’s mathematical case for upside deviation deals with portfolio upside deviations being divided by a market’s upside deviations to so show the resulting ratio and how it facilitates other tests for positive or negative skewness. The article discusses how CAPM is inappropriate for the evaluation of portfolios given that is not only assumed that the returns on distributions are symmetrical, but that the beta (performance and return-to-risk ratios) underestimates the risk of larger numbers of mutual funds. Kochman and Badarinathi needed to answer two questions; can upside deviation be the means for portfolio evaluations and can this be done by taking the upside deviation of portfolios and divide those figure by the upside deviation of the market? Kochman and Badarinathi believe that to make a case for upside deviation as a means for portfolio evaluations is to take the upside deviation of the portfolio(s) and dividing it by the market(s) upside deviation. This would result with a ratio that facilitates another test of positive or negative skewness. To test whether the ratio of portfolio-to-market upside deviations as a success, a test on fund returns would need to be conducted to ensure a meaningful difference between upside deviations, portfolios, and markets. The overall findings showed that the relationships between low betas and low upside volatility appeared to be weaker than the relationships between high betas and high upside volatility. In addition...
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...Fidelity Large Cap Stock Fund and S&P 500 are similar funds. These two funds heavily invest in large market capitalization company common stock, topping 80% of its entire portfolio. Fidelity Large Cap Stock Fund consists of normally 11 different sectors for equities listed in highest portfolio weight with first five sectors making 80% of the portfolio: • Financials • Information Technology • Health Care • Energy • Industrials • Consumer Discretionary • Consumer Staples • Telecommunication Services • Materials • Utilities • Other Current year-to-date performance of the Fidelity Large Cap Stock Fund (FLCSX) was overall positive at 16.24% year-to-date return. The financial sector contributed and played a big part in making the successful performance this year resulting from a good portfolio mixture of securities and its positive gain. This mixture consists of some of the high return securities such as; JPMorgan Chase, MetLife and Charles Schwab returning, 29.38%, 48.68% and 54.99% respectively. The historic performance has shown that both MetLife and Charles Schwab performed well responding to the rising interest rates, and these two companies did not fail to positively react to the recent increase in interest rates. Both companies’ share price went up by more than 20%. Thanks to the uptick in interest rates due to many speculation of slow economy recovery in the market. S&P 500 also had a strong year-to-date return at 13.82%. Both FLCSX and S&P 500 topped...
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...long haul contributing is the conservation of capital. Warren Buffett, ostensibly the world's most excellent mogul, has one standard when contributing - never lose cash. This doesn't mean you ought to offer your venture property the minute they enter losing region, yet you ought to remain definitely mindful of your portfolio and the losses you're ready to persevere in an exertion to expand your riches. While it is difficult to stay away from danger completely when putting resources into the business sectors, these five strategies can help protect your portfolio. One of the foundations of Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) is diversification. In a business downturn, MPT pupils accept a generally expanded portfolio will beat a thought one. Speculators make deeper and all the more extensively broadened portfolios by owning countless in more than one asset class, along these lines decreasing unsystematic danger. This is the hazard that accompanies putting resources into a specific organization instead of deliberate danger, which is the danger connected with putting resources into the businesses by and large. As per some money related specialists, stock portfolios that incorporate 12, 18 or even 30 stocks can take out most, if not all, unsystematic danger. Shockingly, methodical danger is constantly present and can't be differentiated away. On the other hand, by including non-associating asset classes, for example, securities, items, monetary standards and land to a gathering...
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...achieve that goal, and how it will know if it has reached it or not. The strategic plan involves the entire organization. There are different approaches used in strategic planning. These include the mission, the objective, the strategies, and portfolio plan. The success of a company depends on the executive team and other employees’ hard work. Mission “A company's mission is a constant reminder to its employees of why the company exists and what the founders envisioned when they put their fame and fortune at risk to breathe life into their dreams.” (Mission statement toolkit, 2012) A company’s mission can be helpful for organizational development. An organization that examines its mission has a better chance to increase its purpose and productivity. Policy, management, and practice decisions originate with the mission statement. Owners and managers of companies should stress the importance of the mission statement to employees, which refines primary and measurable intentions of the organization. Strategic planning brings changes to the mission statement, which may shift the company in a new direction. (Ehlinger, 2012) Objectives Business objectives are a way for an organization to define its goals and management. A company uses different strategies at different levels of operation to attain its purpose. A company will distribute their resources through what strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats it may have. Once applied, a business objective is not changed. Regulating...
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...Conclusion: 9 References 10 To: Chief Financial Officer From: Chief Information Officer Date: November 29, 2014 RE: Wobbly Wheels IT Organizational Changes Introduction and Purpose: Over the past few years growth, of WW has not increased and it has remained stagnant due to the slow growth of the economy. In order to improve the growth of the organization, a few IT organizational changes are required that will help streamline the internal processes for WW to improve the overall business production and increase profit margin. Overall business can be improved by improving the current business operations, changing the roles and responsibilities of the staff members, upgrading to the new technology systems and the implementation of an IT portfolio management system. Leadership Philosophy: The leadership philosophy of the organization is to grow our business by meticulously serving the logistics needs of our customers offering excellence and value in everything that we do. Inspire our people and business partners to do their best, offering opportunities for personal development and success. Maintain a financially strong company that strives to give a competitive return to our shareholders. Our mission is to lead by example as a responsible, caring, and sustainable company making a positive difference in the communities in which we serve (UPS, INC. 2013). The memorandum addresses all the key issues in the current implementation and the solutions for those key issues. This memorandum...
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...Ciba-Geigy and the Newport Investment Proposal Portfolio planning at Ciba-Geigy From its founding in the mid-eighteenth century through the 1970s, Ciba-Geigy, Switzerland’s top chemical and pharmaceutical company, had evolved to include chemicals, dyes, pharmaceuticals, crop protection and animal health businesses. From the 1980s Ciba-Geigy used corporate portfolio planning to steer the corporate portfolio. The goal of corporate portfolio planning was to improve the process of resource allocation and performance assessment. The main idea was to differentiate the businesses – to give them different objectives, different types of managers, and to allow them to adopt the organization structure that was appropriate for each business. Before that, Ciba-Geigy had relied primarily on case-by-case discussions rather than formal guidelines to determine resource allocation in the corporation. Portfolio planning became part of the formal strategic planning system in 1984, with the introduction of annual strategy meetings with individual divisions. In August of each year, every unit was required to come before Ciba’s executive committee (CEC) to review its strategic plan, whose goals and performance objectives were determined by its role in the portfolio. For example, ‘growth’ divisions would have other objectives than ‘core’ divisions. The CEC sought confirmation that assumptions, objectives, and strategies were still valid and resource requirements still the same. Once the CEC had reviewed...
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...Strategies for oil and gas companies There are a variety of challenges facing the energy industry, from decreased access to sovereign reserves, to declining fields, innovation challenges, increased regulation and new energy policies. These challenges pose a threat to the basic industry structure. Oil & gas companies espouse four common industry-wide strategies of Portfolio Management, Operational Efficiency, Financial Management and Sustainability-of which the first three are core operating strategies of oil & gas companies. The companies have derived their profitability, growth, and shareholder returns based on the superior execution of these strategies. Though talk about Sustainability is a business imperative, it is no longer a differentiating factor and is not integrated with the core strategies. The current challenges facing the energy industry, however, necessitate that the companies integrate sustainability, innovation and management of technology strategies with their core strategies of portfolio management, operational efficiency and financial management. In this thesis, we propose two distinct strategic options: Total Life Cycle Management and Management of Technology. Environmental management and organizational efficiency are an integral component of both the strategic options. Through Total Life Cycle Management, the companies address challenges of continued access to easier to develop and produce reserves and legacy fields, efficiencies, costs and hosts expectations...
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...highly useful application for delivering learning. We also believe the overall environment can be enhanced and complemented by a learner-centred personal learning environment such as Mahara. Pan-institutional learner communities can also be encouraged using Mahara. Mahara’s architecture is inspired by the modular, extensible architecture of Moodle. The Mahara team has also been heavily involved in the Moodle community, with recent work mostly focused on Moodle Networks. Similarly, Mahara systems can be networked together as well having single sign-on from Moodle 1.9 upwards. In a sense, we see Mahara as a ‘sister’ application although the two systems are not required to go together. Mahara will continue to evolve as a ‘pluggable’, modular e-Portfolio system designed to leverage Web 2.0 web services and built with...
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...Explaining the concept of business intelligence and its use in business “BI is about turning data into information” (searchbusinessanalytics.techtarget.com/). The author gives an example that “…plotting spatial data onto a map is…[a] BI because it makes the data much more accessible to the user and therefore turns it into information.” (Ibid.). He adds, “BI systems are … very good at sifting through (and/or aggregating) huge volumes of data and turning it into information.” (Ibid.). (Turban 2013, p. 345) concurs, “BI systems are very good at filtering and aggregating huge data volumes into information.” With a business intelligence system, it is possible to summarize sales data for a region and assess the impact of a marketing campaign by product or by geographical area and present the same to users “on mashups.” (searchbusinessanalytics.techtarget.com/). The mention of mashups leads us to the issue of “business intelligence” systems “for the masses” on mobile devices (Turban 2013, p.349). Thus, with mobile and BI technologies respectively and concurrently, “mobile dashboards” have eased and popularized the implementation of “mobile intelligence.” (Ibid.). Today we have what would be called, “Mobile dashboard-supplied [business] intelligence” whereby data and information are accessible online, real-time, anywhere (Turban 249-350). With todays “visualization technologies…like “business dashboards, enterprise mashups, interactive reporting tools, and visualization apps...
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...Distribution Company (RR). This assignment specifically addresses the following course outcomes to enable you to: identify, define, and explain the concepts of information technology governance and management apply best practices in information technology management and governance to make, defend, and justify an IT decision IT Strategic Plan for Rusty Rims Distribution Company For the previous assignment, you developed Part 1 of an IT Strategic Plan for RR. For this assignment, you will incorporate any needed changes resulting from the feedback you received on your Part 1 assignment and you will add Part 2. Part 2 will include an IT project that you are proposing that RR undertake. This new project will be included in the IT Portfolio section of Part 2, and will be further described in a future assignment, the “IT Decision Paper.” The entire ITSP will be submitted as a single document for this assignment. Assignment First, you should make any changes to your Part 1 assignment, as indicated in the feedback you received. Then, you will develop Part 2 of the ITSP for Rusty Rims, using the outline below, and add it to Part 1. A single, complete ITSP, with both Parts 1 and 2 will be submitted for this assignment. Note that Part 2 includes a project you are proposing that RR undertakes. In addition to the course materials, at least...
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