Fight Finance

Question 301  leverage, capital structure, real estate

Your friend just bought a house for $1,000,000. He financed it using a $900,000 mortgage loan and a deposit of $100,000.

In the context of residential housing and mortgages, the 'equity' or 'net wealth' tied up in a house is the value of the house less the value of the mortgage loan. Assuming that your friend's only asset is his house, his net wealth is $100,000.

If house prices suddenly fall by 15%, what would be your friend's percentage change in net wealth?

Assume that:

• No income (rent) was received from the house during the short time over which house prices fell.
• Your friend will not declare bankruptcy, he will always pay off his debts.

(a) -1,000%

(b) -150%

(c) -100%

(d) -15%

(e) -10%

Question 406  leverage, WACC, margin loan, portfolio return

One year ago you bought $100,000 of shares partly funded using a margin loan. The margin loan size was $70,000 and the other $30,000 was your own wealth or 'equity' in the share assets.

The interest rate on the margin loan was 7.84% pa.

Over the year, the shares produced a dividend yield of 4% pa and a capital gain of 5% pa.

What was the total return on your wealth? Ignore taxes, assume that all cash flows (interest payments and dividends) were paid and received at the end of the year, and all rates above are effective annual rates.

(a) 1.0757%

(b) 2.7067%

(c) 5.1333%

(d) 9.0000%

(e) 11.7067%

Hint: Remember that wealth in this context is your equity (E) in the house asset (V = D+E) which is funded by the loan (D) and your deposit or equity (E).

Question 408  leverage, portfolio beta, portfolio risk, real estate, CAPM

You just bought a house worth $1,000,000. You financed it with an $800,000 mortgage loan and a deposit of $200,000.

You estimate that:

• The house has a beta of 1;
• The mortgage loan has a beta of 0.2.

What is the beta of the equity (the $200,000 deposit) that you have in your house?

Also, if the risk free rate is 5% pa and the market portfolio's return is 10% pa, what is the expected return on equity in your house? Ignore taxes, assume that all cash flows (interest payments and rent) were paid and received at the end of the year, and all rates are effective annual rates.

(a) The beta of equity is 5 and the expected return on equity is 30% pa.

(b) The beta of equity is 4.2 and the expected return on equity is 26% pa.

(c) The beta of equity is 0.86 and the expected return on equity is 9.3% pa.

(d) The beta of equity is 1 and the expected return on equity is 10% pa.

(e) The beta of equity is 0.6 and the expected return on equity is 8% pa.

Question 800  leverage, portfolio return, risk, portfolio risk, capital structure, no explanation

Which of the following assets would you expect to have the highest required rate of return? All values are current market values.

(a) $1000 of Australian federal government bonds.

(b) $2 million of Australian federal government bonds.

(c) A $1 million residential house asset.

(d) A home loan secured on a $1 million residential house asset with an LVR of 80%.

(e) Equity (the deposit) in a $1 million residential house asset with an LVR of 80%.

Question 989  PE ratio, Multiples valuation, leverage, accounting ratio

A firm has 20 million stocks, earnings (or net income) of $100 million per annum and a 60% debt-to-equity ratio where both the debt and asset values are market values rather than book values. Similar firms have a PE ratio of 12.

Which of the below statements is NOT correct based on a PE multiples valuation?

(a) The EPS is $5.

(b) The market capitalisation of equity is $1.2 billion.

(c) The share price is $60.

(d) The market capitalisation of debt is $0.72 billion.

(e) The debt-to-assets ratio is 40%.

Question 1006  CAPM, beta, leverage, WACC, real estate

Four retail business people compete in the same city. They are all exactly the same except that they have different ways of funding or leasing the shop real estate needed to run their retail business.

The two main assets that retail stores need are:

• Inventory typically worth $1 million which has a beta of 2, and;
• Shopfront real estate worth $1 million which has a beta of 1. Shops can be bought or leased.

Lease contract prices are fixed for the term of the lease and based on expectations of the future state of the economy. When leases end, a new lease contract is negotiated and the lease cost may be higher or lower depending on the state of the economy and demand and supply if the economy is:

• Booming, shop real estate is worth more and lease costs are higher.
• In recession, shop real estate is worth less and lease costs are low.

Assume that the market’s expected return is 10% pa, required returns are expected to remain constant, shop assets can be valued as a perpetuity of lease profits, and that buying, selling, shutting down, moving out, moving in and opening a new shop has negligible (low) cost. Store owners can invest surplus funds in alternative investments that also earn the 10% pa market return.

Which retail business person will have the LOWEST beta of equity (or net wealth)?

(a) Anne owns her shop, funded with equity.

(b) Bob owns his shop, funded with fixed rate debt that matures in 10 years.

(c) Carla leases her shop on a 1 year contract.

(d) Dan leases his shop on a 5 year contract.

(e) All business people have the same equity beta.

Question 766  CFFA, WACC, interest tax shield, DDM

Use the below information to value a levered company with constant annual perpetual cash flows from assets. The next cash flow will be generated in one year from now, so a perpetuity can be used to value this firm. Both the operating and firm free cash flows are constant (but not equal to each other).

Data on a Levered Firm with Perpetual Cash Flows
Item abbreviation	Value	Item full name
##\text{OFCF}##	$100m	Operating free cash flow
##\text{FFCF or CFFA}##	$112m	Firm free cash flow or cash flow from assets (includes interest tax shields)
##g##	0% pa	Growth rate of OFCF and FFCF
##\text{WACC}_\text{BeforeTax}##	7% pa	Weighted average cost of capital before tax
##\text{WACC}_\text{AfterTax}##	6.25% pa	Weighted average cost of capital after tax
##r_\text{D}##	5% pa	Cost of debt
##r_\text{EL}##	9% pa	Cost of levered equity
##D/V_L##	50% pa	Debt to assets ratio, where the asset value includes tax shields
##t_c##	30%	Corporate tax rate

 

What is the value of the levered firm including interest tax shields?

(a) $431.111m

(b) $444.444m

(c) $485m

(d) $515.464m

(e) $1600m

Question 773  CFFA, WACC, interest tax shield, DDM

Use the below information to value a levered company with constant annual perpetual cash flows from assets. The next cash flow will be generated in one year from now, so a perpetuity can be used to value this firm. Both the operating and firm free cash flows are constant (but not equal to each other).

Data on a Levered Firm with Perpetual Cash Flows
Item abbreviation	Value	Item full name
##\text{OFCF}##	$48.5m	Operating free cash flow
##\text{FFCF or CFFA}##	$50m	Firm free cash flow or cash flow from assets
##g##	0% pa	Growth rate of OFCF and FFCF
##\text{WACC}_\text{BeforeTax}##	10% pa	Weighted average cost of capital before tax
##\text{WACC}_\text{AfterTax}##	9.7% pa	Weighted average cost of capital after tax
##r_\text{D}##	5% pa	Cost of debt
##r_\text{EL}##	11.25% pa	Cost of levered equity
##D/V_L##	20% pa	Debt to assets ratio, where the asset value includes tax shields
##t_c##	30%	Corporate tax rate

 

What is the value of the levered firm including interest tax shields?

(a) $515.464m

(b) $500m

(c) $485m

(d) $444.444m

(e) $431.111m

Question 804  CFFA, WACC, interest tax shield, DDM

Use the below information to value a levered company with annual perpetual cash flows from assets that grow. The next cash flow will be generated in one year from now. Note that ‘k’ means kilo or 1,000. So the $30k is $30,000.

Data on a Levered Firm with Perpetual Cash Flows
Item abbreviation	Value	Item full name
##\text{OFCF}##	$30k	Operating free cash flow
##g##	1.5% pa	Growth rate of OFCF
##r_\text{D}##	4% pa	Cost of debt
##r_\text{EL}##	16.3% pa	Cost of levered equity
##D/V_L##	80% pa	Debt to assets ratio, where the asset value includes tax shields
##t_c##	30%	Corporate tax rate
##n_\text{shares}##	100k	Number of shares

 

Which of the following statements is NOT correct?

(a) The WACC before tax is 6.46% pa.

(b) The WACC after tax is 5.50% pa.

(c) The current levered asset value including tax shields is $603.839k.

(d) The current debt value is $600k and the interest tax shield benefit over the first year is $7.2k (at t=1).

(e) The current share price is $1.50.

Question 1004  CFFA, WACC, interest tax shield, DDM

Use the below information to value a mature levered company with growing annual perpetual cash flows and a constant debt-to-assets ratio. The next cash flow will be generated in one year from now, so a perpetuity can be used to value this firm. The firm's debt funding comprises annual fixed coupon bonds that all have the same seniority and coupon rate. When these bonds mature, new bonds will be re-issued, and so on in perpetuity. The yield curve is flat.

Data on a Levered Firm with Perpetual Cash Flows
Item abbreviation	Value	Item full name
##\text{OFCF}_1##	$12.5m	Operating free cash flow at time 1
##\text{FFCF}_1 \text{ or }\text{CFFA}_1##	$14m	Firm free cash flow or cash flow from assets at time 1
##\text{EFCF}_1##	$11m	Equity free cash flow at time 1
##\text{BondCoupons}_1##	$1.2m	Bond coupons paid to debt holders at time 1
##g##	2% pa	Growth rate of OFCF, FFCF, EFCF and Debt cash flow
##\text{WACC}_\text{BeforeTax}##	9% pa	Weighted average cost of capital before tax
##\text{WACC}_\text{AfterTax}##	8.25% pa	Weighted average cost of capital after tax
##r_\text{D}##	5% pa	Bond yield
##r_\text{EL}##	13% pa	Cost or required return of levered equity
##D/V_L##	50% pa	Debt to assets ratio, where the asset value includes tax shields
##n_\text{shares}##	1m	Number of shares
##t_c##	30%	Corporate tax rate

 

Which of the following statements is NOT correct?

(a) $200m is the levered firm's asset value.

(b) $100 is the share price.

(c) $5m is the interest expense over the first year.

(d) $2m is the cash flow to debt holders in one year.

(e) $1.8m of bonds must be bought back in one year.

Question 94  leverage, capital structure, real estate

Your friend just bought a house for $400,000. He financed it using a $320,000 mortgage loan and a deposit of $80,000.

In the context of residential housing and mortgages, the 'equity' tied up in the value of a person's house is the value of the house less the value of the mortgage. So the initial equity your friend has in his house is $80,000. Let this amount be E, let the value of the mortgage be D and the value of the house be V. So ##V=D+E##.

If house prices suddenly fall by 10%, what would be your friend's percentage change in equity (E)? Assume that the value of the mortgage is unchanged and that no income (rent) was received from the house during the short time over which house prices fell.

Remember:

### r_{0\rightarrow1}=\frac{p_1-p_0+c_1}{p_0} ###

where ##r_{0-1}## is the return (percentage change) of an asset with price ##p_0## initially, ##p_1## one period later, and paying a cash flow of ##c_1## at time ##t=1##.

(a) -100%

(b) -50%

(c) -12.5%

(d) -10%

(e) -8%

Question 115  capital structure, leverage, WACC

A firm has a debt-to-assets ratio of 50%. The firm then issues a large amount of debt to raise money for new projects of similar market risk to the company's existing projects. Assume a classical tax system. Which statement is correct?

(a) The debt-to-assets (D/V) ratio will decrease.

(b) The debt-to-equity ratio (D/E) will decrease.

(c) The firm's cost of equity will decrease.

(d) The company's after-tax WACC will decrease.

(e) The company's before-tax WACC will decrease.

Question 121  capital structure, leverage, financial distress, interest tax shield

Fill in the missing words in the following sentence:

All things remaining equal, as a firm's amount of debt funding falls, benefits of interest tax shields __________ and the costs of financial distress __________.

(a) Fall, fall.

(b) Fall, rises.

(c) Rise, fall.

(d) Rise, rise.

(e) Remain unchanged, remain unchanged.

Question 337  capital structure, interest tax shield, leverage, real and nominal returns and cash flows, multi stage growth model

A fast-growing firm is suitable for valuation using a multi-stage growth model.

It's nominal unlevered cash flow from assets (##CFFA_U##) at the end of this year (t=1) is expected to be $1 million. After that it is expected to grow at a rate of:

• 12% pa for the next two years (from t=1 to 3),
• 5% over the fourth year (from t=3 to 4), and
• -1% forever after that (from t=4 onwards). Note that this is a negative one percent growth rate.

Assume that:

• The nominal WACC after tax is 9.5% pa and is not expected to change.
• The nominal WACC before tax is 10% pa and is not expected to change.
• The firm has a target debt-to-equity ratio that it plans to maintain.
• The inflation rate is 3% pa.
• All rates are given as nominal effective annual rates.

What is the levered value of this fast growing firm's assets?

(a) $13.19m

(b) $12.36m

(c) $11.77m

(d) $11.53m

(e) $11.20m

Question 376  leverage, capital structure, no explanation

Interest expense on debt is tax-deductible, but dividend payments on equity are not. or ?

Question 377  leverage, capital structure

Issuing debt doesn't give away control of the firm because debt holders can't cast votes to determine the company's affairs, such as at the annual general meeting (AGM), and can't appoint directors to the board. or ?

Question 378  leverage, capital structure, no explanation

A levered company's required return on debt is always less than its required return on equity. or ?

Question 379  leverage, capital structure, payout policy

Companies must pay interest and principal payments to debt-holders. They're compulsory. But companies are not forced to pay dividends to share holders. or ?

Question 380  leverage, capital structure

The "interest expense" on a company's annual income statement is equal to the cash interest payments (but not principal payments) made to debt holders during the year. or ?

Question 506  leverage, accounting ratio

A firm has a debt-to-equity ratio of 25%. What is its debt-to-assets ratio?

(a) 20%

(b) 36%

(c) 60%

(d) 75%

(e) 93.75%

Question 507  leverage, accounting ratio

A firm has a debt-to-equity ratio of 60%. What is its debt-to-assets ratio?

(a) 64%

(b) 40%

(c) 37.5%

(d) 25%

(e) 6.25%

Question 536  idiom, bond pricing, capital structure, leverage

The expression 'my word is my bond' is often used in everyday language to make a serious promise.

Why do you think this expression uses the metaphor of a bond rather than a share?

(a) Because bonds are higher risk investments than shares.

(b) Because issuers must pay bond holders or face bankruptcy, while payments to shareholders are discretionary.

(c) Because bond holders are paid last in the event of bankruptcy, while shareholders are paid first.

(d) Because bonds always pay higher returns than shares.

(e) Because bonds are generally more liquid than shares.

Question 663  leverage, accounting ratio

A firm has a debt-to-assets ratio of 20%. What is its debt-to-equity ratio?

(a) 20%

(b) 25%

(c) 60%

(d) 75%

(e) 80%

Question 917  Macaulay duration, duration

Which of the following statements about Macaulay duration is NOT correct? The Macaulay duration:

(a) Is the weighted average time that an asset’s cash flows are received.

(b) Is measured in units of time, usually years.

(c) Of a zero-coupon bond is equal to the bond’s maturity.

(d) Of a fixed-coupon-paying bond will be more than the bond’s maturity.

(e) Of a portfolio is an arithmetic average of the Macaulay durations of the assets in the portfolio, weighted by their prices.

Question 994  duration

Find the Macaulay duration of a 2 year 5% pa annual fixed coupon bond which has a $100 face value and currently has a yield to maturity of 8% pa. The Macaulay duration is:

(a) 1.925669 years

(b) 1.951087 years

(c) 2 years

(d) 2.048913 years

(e) 2.074331 years

Question 995  duration

Find the Macaulay duration of a 2 year 5% pa semi-annual fixed coupon bond which has a $100 face value and currently has a yield to maturity of 8% pa. The Macaulay duration is:

(a) 1.925669 years

(b) 1.951087 years

(c) 2 years

(d) 2.048913 years

(e) 2.074331 years

Question 996  duration, CAPM

Assume that the market portfolio has a duration of 15 years and an individual stock has a duration of 20 years.

What can you say about the stock's (single factor CAPM) beta with respect to the market portfolio? The stock's beta is likely to be:

(a) Higher than the market portfolio's beta.

(b) Lower than the market portfolio's beta.

(c) Equal to the market portfolio's beta.

(d) There's not enough information to answer the question.

Question 997  duration

Which of the following assets would have the shortest duration?

(a) Consumer staple stocks with high payout ratios such as shares in supermarkets.

(b) Fast-growing technology stocks with low payout ratios such as shares in software companies.

(c) Fixed coupon 3 year government bonds that were just issued and pay semi-annual coupons.

(d) Floating coupon 3 year corporate bonds that were just issued and pay semi-annual coupons.

(e) 90 day certificate of deposit.

Question 1027  duration

Below is a table showing GMO's 2016 estimates of different assets' durations, appearing in Slater (2017).

If you were certain that interest rates would fall more than the market expects, into what asset might you allocate more funds?

(a) Value stocks

(b) Growth stocks

(c) Real estate

(d) 10 year bond

(e) Cash

Question 1028  duration, beta, CAPM, DDM

A stock has a beta of 0.5. Its next dividend is expected to be $3, paid one year from now. Dividends are expected to be paid annually and grow by 2% pa forever. Treasury bonds yield 3% pa and the market risk premium (MRP) is 6% pa. All returns are effective annual rates.

Which of the following statements is NOT correct?

(a) 6% pa is the stock's required return.

(b) $75 is the stock's fair price.

(c) 26.5 years is the stock's Macaulay duration.

(d) If the market portfolio were to fall 1% today, the stock is expected to fall by 0.5%.

(e) If the Treasury bond yield were to fall 1 percentage point today, then the stock price is expected to fall by 25% approximately, ceteris paribus.

Question 1034  duration, monetary policy, inflation, market efficiency

On 18 March 2022 the AFR's James Thomson wrote: "In a world where the bombs are still falling in Ukraine and the Fed is just getting started on what looks likely to be a year-long cycle of rising interest rates, it would take a certain amount of bravery to embrace the sort of high-tech, long duration plays that Wood favours" (Thomson, 2022).

Which of the following US macro-economic data releases is most likely to cause Cathie Wood's ARK ETF share price to fall?

(a) GDP growth meeting expectations.

(b) Surprisingly high inflation, above expectations

(c) Surprisingly high unemployment, above expectations.

(d) Surprisingly low consumption, investment and exports, below expectations.

(e) The surprise announcement of lower corporate tax rates.

Question 871  duration, Macaulay duration, modified duration, portfolio duration

Which of the following statements about Macaulay duration is NOT correct? The Macaulay duration:

(a) Is the weighted average time that an asset’s cash flows are received, usually measured in years.

(b) Divided by (1+y) equals the modified duration, where y is the yield to maturity given as an effective annual rate and duration is measured in years.

(c) Of a zero-coupon bond is equal to the bond’s maturity.

(d) Of a fixed-coupon-paying bond will be less than the bond’s maturity.

(e) Of a portfolio is an arithmetic average of the Macaulay durations of the assets in the portfolio, weighted by their face values.

Question 1049  sensitivity analysis, WACC, DDM

An analyst has prepared a discounted cash flow model to value a firm's share price. A sensitivity analysis data table with ‘conditional formatting’ shading is shown below. The table shows how changes in the weighted average cost of capital (WACC, left column) and terminal value growth rate (top row) affect the firm's model-estimated share price.

The base case estimates are shown in bold.

Which of the following statements is NOT correct? The model-estimated share price would normally be expected to:

(a) Rise as the WACC rises.

(b) Rise as the terminal value growth rate rises.

(c) Cause an error when the WACC equals the terminal value growth rate, which is a serious problem.

(d) Give a negative share price when the WACC is less than the terminal value growth rate, which is a serious problem.

Question 1048  duration, sensitivity analysis, WACC

Canaccord conducts a sensitivity analysis of the Israeli pharmaceutical firm InterCure's (INCR) estimated share price in figure 33 on page 30:

https://canaccordgenuity.bluematrix.com/sellside/EmailDocViewer?encrypt=a555719b-412b-4cc7-8528-505c27fb1e82&mime=PDF&co=Canaccordgenuity&id=mbottomley@cgf.com&source=libraryview&htmlToPdf=ture

Estimate the Macaulay duration of INCR's equity. The Macaulay duration is approximately:

(a) 1 year

(b) 5 years

(c) 10 years

(d) 15 years

(e) 20 years

Question 774  leverage, WACC, real estate

One year ago you bought a $1,000,000 house partly funded using a mortgage loan. The loan size was $800,000 and the other $200,000 was your wealth or 'equity' in the house asset.

The interest rate on the home loan was 4% pa.

Over the year, the house produced a net rental yield of 2% pa and a capital gain of 2.5% pa.

Assuming that all cash flows (interest payments and net rental payments) were paid and received at the end of the year, and all rates are given as effective annual rates, what was the total return on your wealth over the past year?

(a) 0.4808% pa

(b) 2% pa

(c) 4.5% pa

(d) 6.5% pa

(e) 8.5% pa

Hint: Remember that wealth in this context is your equity (E) in the house asset (V = D+E) which is funded by the loan (D) and your deposit or equity (E).

Question 799  LVR, leverage, accounting ratio

In the home loan market, the acronym LVR stands for Loan to Valuation Ratio. If you bought a house worth one million dollars, partly funded by an $800,000 home loan, then your LVR was 80%. The LVR is equivalent to which of the following ratios?

(a) Debt to equity ratio.

(b) Debt to assets ratio.

(c) Book to market ratio.

(d) Price to earnings ratio.

(e) Interest coverage ratio.

Question 1031  Multiples valuation

Investment bank Canaccord's Think Childcare (TNK) initiation of coverage states: "What's the Differentiator? TNK are operators, not consolidators - Other listed childcare companies have led highly successful consolidation strategies involving multiple arbitrage combined with scale benefits and operating efficiencies. TNK’s focus is on operating the centres to the best of their individual potentials..." (Canaccord, 2016). Multiples arbitrage involves:

(a) Buying existing childcare centres at higher PE ratios than TNK's.

(b) Buying existing childcare centres at lower PE ratios than TNK's.

(c) Negotiating cheaper garden and building maintenance contracts on a per site basis due to having more sites.

(d) Maximising the occupancy proportion, which is the number of enrolled children divided by the maximum possible number allowed.

(e) Cross-selling additional services in addition to childcare such as piano lessons and speech therapy.

Question 1032  inflation, percent of sales forecasting, no explanation

Investment bank Canaccord's Think Childcare (TNK) initiation of coverage states: "Building lease costs – Rent expense is the second largest cost and TNK reported rent/sales of 12.1%, within the industry range that we typically see as 12-14% of sales. TNK lease all their properties and do not intend to own property. Leases are generally long term with 10-15 year terms and additional options. Although terms vary across properties and landlords, rental increases are generally tied to the consumer price index (CPI)" (Canaccord, 2016).

Assuming that sales grow faster than the CPI, when Canaccord forecast TNK's building lease costs using the 'percent of sales' method, that proportion should:

(a) Rise over time.

(b) Fall over time.

(c) Remain constant over time.

(d) Insufficient information to make a conclusion.

Question 1029  Buffett ratio

Tesla CEO Elon Musk asked a question to ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood on 6 April 2021: "What do you think of the unusually high ratio of the S&P market cap to GDP?", to which Cathie Wood replied.

What are the units of this S&P500 market cap to GDP ratio, commonly known as the Buffett ratio?

(a) Dollars.

(b) Dollars per time.

(c) Time.

(d) Per time.

(e) Pure number.

Question 1039  gross domestic product, inflation, business cycle

In this business cycle graph shown in the RBA's article explaining recessions, how might 'output' on the y-axis be measured?

The ‘output’ y-axis amount in the business cycle chart can be measured by:

(a) Gross domestic product (GDP).

(b) Fiscal surplus (=TaxRevenue - GovernmentSpending).

(c) Trade surplus (=Exports - Imports).

(d) Inflation.

(e) Cash rate.

Question 1035  Minsky financial instability hypothesis, leverage

Which of the following statements about 'The Financial Instability Hypothesis' (Minsky, 1992) is NOT correct? Borrowers with sufficient income to pay:

(a) Interest expenses and principal repayments are called hedge units.

(b) Interest expenses only are called speculative units.

(c) Neither interest expenses nor principal repayments are called Ponzi units.

(d) Neither interest expenses nor principal repayments will be forced to immediately default.

Question 1036  Minsky financial instability hypothesis, leverage

Hyman Minsky, author of 'The Financial Instability Hypothesis' (1992), wrote:

In particular, over a protracted period of good times, capitalist economies tend to move from a financial structure dominated by hedge finance units to a structure in which there is large weight to units engaged in speculative and Ponzi finance. Furthermore, if an economy with a sizeable body of speculative financial units is in an inflationary state, and the authorities attempt to exorcise inflation by monetary constraint, then speculative units will become Ponzi units and the net worth of previously Ponzi units will quickly evaporate. Consequently, units with cash flow shortfalls will be forced to try to make position by selling out position. This is likely to lead to a collapse of asset values.

Which of the below statements explaining this quote is NOT correct?

(a) The "authorities [that] attempt to exorcise inflation by monetary constraint" would be central banks raising interest rates.

(b) "Speculative units will become Ponzi units" if their debt funding has a floating or variable coupon rate and their investment assets have a fixed coupon rate.

(c) "Net worth" refers to equity which equals assets less liabilities.

(d) "The net worth of previously Ponzi units will quickly evaporate" due to forced fire sales of assets to meet interest and principal payments.

(e) The "collapse of asset values" is caused by an increase in the demand for assets.

Question 1037  gross domestic product, no explanation

What effect is being referred to in the following quote from the MARTIN model description?  

Economy-wide models also account for feedback between economic variables. For example, an increase in aggregate demand will encourage firms to hire more workers, which raises employment and lowers the unemployment rate. The tightening of the labour market is likely to lead to an increase in wages growth. The resulting increase in household incomes is likely to lead to an increase in consumption, further raising aggregate demand. (Ballantyne et al, 2019)

The name of the effect being referred to is:

(a) Inflation

(b) Wage-price spiral

(c) Multiplier

(d) Monetary policy stimulus

(e) Fiscal policy stimulus

Question 1038  fire sale, leverage, no explanation

Listen to 'Lessons and Questions from the GFC' on 6 December 2018 by RBA Deputy Governor Guy Debelle from 17:58 to 20:08 or read the below transcript:

Guy Debelle talks about the GFC and says that the Australian government’s guarantee of wholesale debt and deposits on 12 October 2008 was "introduced to facilitate the flow of credit to the real economy at a reasonable price and, in some cases, alleviate the need for asset fire sales, which have the capacity to tip markets and the economy into a worse equilibrium... The crisis very much demonstrated the critical importance of keeping the lending flowing. The lesson is that countries that did that fared better than countries that didn't. That lesson is relevant to the situation today in Australia, where there is a risk that a reduced appetite to lend will overly curtail borrowing with consequent effects for the Australian economy." (Debelle, 2019)

When assets are sold in a fire sale, there’s usually a large increase in the:

(a) Supply of the assets, forcing the price up.

(b) Supply of the assets, forcing the price down.

(c) Demand for the assets, forcing the price down.

(d) Demand for the assets, forcing the price up.

Question 1033  DDM, Multiples valuation, CAPM

Here's an excerpt from an interview between Magellan fund co-founder Hamish Douglass and AFR reporter Vesna Poljak, which appeared in the Australian Financial Review article ‘It's all about interest rates: Hamish Douglass’, 19 July 2019:

Take a business growing at 4 per cent a year, with a cost of equity of 10 per cent based off a 5 per cent risk-free rate and a 5 per cent market risk premium: you would value that at around 16.6 times free cashflow.

Now take a business growing at the same rate, with a 4 per cent risk free rate. At a 9 per cent cost of equity that would command a 20 times multiple, he says.

At a 3 per cent risk-free rate, the cost of equity is 8 per cent, and the multiple is 25.

Finally at 2 per cent – 'which is where the world is at the moment' – the same business would be worth around 33 times free cashflow.

In August 2021, the RBA overnight cash rate and 3 year Australian government treasury bond yield were both 0.1% pa. If this low risk-free yield was expected to persist forever, what approximate equity price-to-cashflow multiple would that imply for a business expected to grow at 4% pa in perpetuity with a 5% equity risk premium?

(a) 91

(b) 50

(c) 33

(d) 25

(e) 20

Question 814  expected and historical returns

If future required returns rise, and future expected cash flows remain the same, then prices will , or remain the ?

Question 815  expected and historical returns

If future required returns fall, and future expected cash flows remain the same, then prices will , or remain the ?

Question 816  expected and historical returns

If future expected cash flows rise, and future required returns remain the same, then prices will , or remain the ?

Question 272  NPV

Suppose you had $100 in a savings account and the interest rate was 2% per year.

After 5 years, how much do you think you would have in the account if you left the money to grow?

than $102, $102 or than $102?

Question 278  inflation, real and nominal returns and cash flows

Imagine that the interest rate on your savings account was 1% per year and inflation was 2% per year.

After one year, would you be able to buy , exactly the as or than today with the money in this account?

Question 279  diversification

Do you think that the following statement is or ? “Buying a single company stock usually provides a safer return than a stock mutual fund.”

Question 427  takeover

In a takeover deal where the offer is 100% cash, the merged firm's number of shares will be equal to the acquirer firm's original number of shares. or ?

Question 428  takeover

In a takeover deal where the offer is 100% scrip (shares), the merged firm's number of shares will be equal to the acquirer firm's original number of shares. or ?

Question 429  takeover

In a takeover deal where the offer is 100% scrip (shares), the merged firm's number of shares will be equal to the sum of the acquirer and target firms' original number of shares. or ?

Question 420  takeover

Acquirer firm plans to launch a takeover of Target firm. The deal is expected to create a present value of synergies totaling $105 million. A cash offer will be made that pays the fair price for the target's shares plus 75% of the total synergy value. The cash will be paid out of the firm's cash holdings, no new debt or equity will be raised.

Firms Involved in the Takeover
	Acquirer	Target
Assets ($m)	6,000	700
Debt ($m)	4,800	400
Share price ($)	40	20
Number of shares (m)	30	15

Ignore transaction costs and fees. Assume that the firms' debt and equity are fairly priced, and that each firms' debts' risk, yield and values remain constant. The acquisition is planned to occur immediately, so ignore the time value of money.

Calculate the merged firm's share price and total number of shares after the takeover has been completed.

(a) $53.5 share price and 30m shares on issue.

(b) $50.875 share price and 30m shares on issue.

(c) $43.5 share price and 30m shares on issue.

(d) $40.875 share price and 30m shares on issue.

(e) $37.375 share price and 30m shares on issue.

Question 421  takeover

Acquirer firm plans to launch a takeover of Target firm. The deal is expected to create a present value of synergies totaling $105 million. A scrip offer will be made that pays the fair price for the target's shares plus 75% of the total synergy value.

Firms Involved in the Takeover
	Acquirer	Target
Assets ($m)	6,000	700
Debt ($m)	4,800	400
Share price ($)	40	20
Number of shares (m)	30	15

Ignore transaction costs and fees. Assume that the firms' debt and equity are fairly priced, and that each firms' debts' risk, yield and values remain constant. The acquisition is planned to occur immediately, so ignore the time value of money.

Calculate the merged firm's share price and total number of shares after the takeover has been completed.

(a) $26.7778 share price and 45m shares on issue.

(b) $40.875 share price and 39.266055m shares on issue.

(c) $42.0639 share price and 38.15625m shares on issue.

(d) $42.8 share price and 37.5m shares on issue.

(e) $50.875 share price and 30m shares on issue.

Question 1052  monetary policy, equilibrium real interest rate, marginal propensity to consume, gross domestic product, bond pricing

In the below chart by Rachel and Summers (2019), the red dotted line depicts the decline in advanced economies’ (AE) equilibrium real interest rate (R*) in percentage points since the 1970’s. The authors attribute this to the factors represented by columns above and below the x-axis. The sum of these columns is given by the black line labelled 'Total response of R* in the GE (general equilibrium) models'.

Which of the below statements about this graph is NOT correct?

(a) More government fiscal deficits lead to increased government demand for bonds, pushing prices higher and yields lower.

(b) More government-provided social security (mostly pensions) and old-age health care makes people less likely to save for their own retirement and health care, resulting in less demand for deposit and bond assets, pushing prices lower and yields higher.

(c) Lower long term (GDP and productivity) growth expectations leads people to think that saving and investing will yield lower returns than in the past, therefore they’ll need to save more to sustain themselves through retirement, resulting in more demand for debt assets, pushing prices higher and yields lower.

(d) Higher inequality leads to higher marginal propensities to save since rich people save rather than consume a higher proportion of their income, resulting in more demand for debt assets, pushing prices higher and yields lower.

Question 1053  bond pricing, monetary policy, supply and demand

In his 31 August 2021 article 'The rich get richer and rates get lower', Robert Armstrong states that: "Savings chase returns, so when there are more savings and the same number of places to put them, rates of return must fall" (Armstrong, 2021).

Another way of saying that "rates of return must fall" when there are more savings (loanable funds) invested into fixed coupon government and corporate bonds, is that increased:

(a) Demand for bonds results in higher bond prices.

(b) Supply of bonds results in lower bond prices.

(c) Demand for loanable funds results in higher yields-to-maturity.

(d) Demand for loanable funds results in lower yields-to-maturity.

(e) Supply of loanable funds results in higher yields-to-maturity.

Question 1054  leverage, LVR

An asset price suddenly increased by 10%. Multiplication by which of the following leverage ratios will give the proportional increase in equity or net wealth?

Over a short time period the equity capital return will equal the asset capital return multiplied by the:

(a) Debt-to-assets ratio

(b) Debt-to-equity ratio

(c) Equity-to-assets ratio

(d) Equity-to-debt ratio

(e) Asset-to-equity ratio

Question 1055  percent of sales forecasting

Which of the following income statement and balance sheet items should NOT be forecast using the 'percent of sales' technique?

(a) COGS on the P&L.

(b) Marketing expenses on the P&L.

(c) Goodwill on the balance sheet.

(d) Accounts receivable on the balance sheet.

(e) Accounts payable on the balance sheet.

Question 1056  CFFA

Which of the following formulas for the carrying or net amount of 'intangible assets' such as patents from the balance sheet is correct? Assume that now is time 1 and last year is time 0, and that 'IntangibleAssets' is a carrying value net of accumulated depreciation.

(a) IntangibleAssets1 = IntangibleAssets0 - CapExOnIntangibles1

(b) IntangibleAssets1 = IntangibleAssets0 + CapExOnIntangibles1 + AmortisationExpenseOnIntanglibles1

(c) IntangibleAssets1 = IntangibleAssets0 + CapExOnIntangibles1 - AmortisationExpenseOnIntanglibles1

(d) IntangibleAssets1 = IntangibleAssets0 - CapExOnIntangibles1 - AmortisationExpenseOnIntanglibles1

(e) IntangibleAssets1 = IntangibleAssets0 - CapExOnIntangibles1 - AmortisationExpenseOnIntanglibles1

Question 1057  balance sheet

Which of the following formulas for 'contributed equity' from the balance sheet is correct? Assume that now is time 1 and last year is time 0. Assume that book equity consists of contributed equity, retained profits and reserves only (BookEquity = ContributedEquity + RetainedProfits + Reserves).

(a) ContributedEquity1 = ContributedEquity0 + NetIncome1 - Dividends1 - Buybacks1

(b) ContributedEquity1 = ContributedEquity0 + NetIncome1 - Dividends1 - EquityRaisings1

(c) ContributedEquity1 = ContributedEquity0 + NetIncome1 - Dividends1 - Buybacks1 + EquityRaisings1

(d) ContributedEquity1 = ContributedEquity0 + EquityRaisings1

(e) ContributedEquity1 = ContributedEquity0 - EquityRaisings1

Question 1058  book and market values, enterprise value, balance sheet

Here is a table from Canaccord's 'sum of the parts' valuation of INCR.

Note that the firm INCR is unlevered (interest bearing debt = 0).

The third column from the left is labelled 'Value (US$ MM)'. For the 'Israel' and 'EU Export' opportunities, these values are most likely to be:

(a) Equity market values

(b) Asset market values

(c) Equity book values

(d) Asset book values

(e) Enterprise values

Question 938  CAPM, SML

The market's expected total return is 10% pa and the risk free rate is 5% pa, both given as effective annual rates.

A stock has a beta of 0.7.

In the last 5 minutes, bad economic news was released showing a higher chance of recession. Over this time the share market fell by 2%. The risk free rate was unchanged. What do you think was the stock's historical return over the last 5 minutes, given as an effective 5 minute rate?

(a) -8.5%

(b) -2.7%

(c) -2%

(d) -1.4%

(e) 0.1%

Question 729  book and market values, balance sheet, no explanation

If a firm makes a profit and pays no dividends, which of the firm’s accounts will increase?

(a) Asset revaluation reserve.

(b) Foreign currency translation reserve.

(c) Retained earnings, also known as retained profits.

(d) Contributed equity, also known as paid up capital.

(e) General reserve.

Question 857  DuPont formula, accounting ratio

The DuPont formula is:

###\dfrac{\text{Net Profit}}{\text{Sales}} \times \dfrac{\text{Sales}}{\text{Total Assets}} \times \dfrac{\text{Total Assets}}{\text{Owners' Equity}}###

Which of the following statements about the DuPont formula is NOT correct?

(a) The DuPont formula gives the book Return on Equity (ROE).

(b) The net profit to sales ratio is called the ‘gross profit margin’.

(c) The sales to total assets ratio is called the ‘total asset turnover’ ratio.

(d) The total assets to owners' equity ratio is called the ‘equity multiplier’.

(e) The equity multiplier and ROE will rise if the firm uses more leverage by replacing equity with debt.

Question 983  corporate financial decision theory, DuPont formula, accounting ratio

A company manager is thinking about the firm's book assets-to-equity ratio, also called the 'equity multiplier' in the DuPont formula:

###\text{Equity multiplier} = \dfrac{\text{Total Assets}}{\text{Owners' Equity}}###

What's the name of the decision that the manager is thinking about? In other words, the assets-to-equity ratio is the main subject of what decision?

(a) Investment decision.

(b) Financing decision.

(c) Working capital decision.

(d) Payout policy decision.

(e) Capital or labour decision.

Note: DuPont formula for analysing book return on equity:

###\begin{aligned} \text{ROE} &= \dfrac{\text{Net Profit}}{\text{Sales}} \times \dfrac{\text{Sales}}{\text{Total Assets}} \times \dfrac{\text{Total Assets}}{\text{Owners' Equity}} \\ &= \text{Net profit margin} \times \text{Total asset turnover} \times \text{Equity multiplier} \\ \end{aligned}###

Question 1068  Multiples valuation, price to revenue ratio, operating leverage

Read this excerpt from AFR journalist Sue Mitchell's article 'How online retailers Kogan, Adore and Cettire got it terribly wrong' from 1 September 2022:

In the six months ending June, sales and earnings at omni-channel retailers with physical and online stores rebounded, while sales growth at pure-play e-commerce retailers slowed sharply or, in the case of Kogan, went backwards, decimating profits as operating leverage unwound.

“Hindsight is a beautiful thing and [it] turns out we were wrong,” Kogan told investors after the company delivered a bottom-line loss of $35.5 million and a 69 per cent drop in underlying earnings to $18.9 million. Sales revenue fell 8 per cent, despite the acquisition of New Zealand e-tailer Mighty Ape.

“Based on the data at the time, we predicted the trend would not stop or slow,” he said. “As the pandemic settled, e-commerce didn’t grow as expected, we were left with too much inventory and warehousing costs.”

Pure-plays are now prioritising profits over sales by culling staff and cutting back on investment – moves that could affect customer acquisition and sales.

Kogan, for example, is cutting marketing spend, reducing headcount, clearing excess and underperforming inventory to reduce warehouse costs, and raising the price of its loyalty program, Kogan First.

Kogan hopes to return to profitable growth this year, but the damage for shareholders has been done. The share price has plunged 86 per cent since pandemic-fuelled highs, dropping to $3.40 this week from a peak of $24.76 in September 2020.

Investors are now asking whether pulling back on investment will reduce addressable markets and questioning whether some pure-play online retailers will ever achieve scale.

Multiples for pure-plays have fallen to about 0.7 times revenue after reaching more than two times revenue at the height of the pandemic.

Which of the following statements about this quote is NOT correct? The pure-play online retailers:

(a) Can 'achieve scale' by increasing revenue faster than costs to achieve profitability.

(b) 'Multiple to revenue' ratios of 0.7, referred to in the last sentence, are likely to be price-to-earnings ratio.

(c) Typically have low proportions of debt funding, so interest expense is typically insignificant compared to advertising expense.

(d) Are seeking to improve profit margins (=profit / revenue) by cutting costs.

(e) 'Operating leverage' measures how revenue growth translates into growth in operating income (=EBIT).

Question 1069  Multiples valuation, venture capital, elasticity, DuPont formula, multi stage growth model

Read the below excerpt of AFR journalist Vesna Poljak's article 'What’s a start-up really worth' from 24 November 2020:

If Charlie Munger is right that earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation are “bullshit earnings”, and presenting adjusted EBITDA is “basic intellectual dishonesty”, someone should ask the 96-year-old Berkshire Hathaway vice-chairman what he thinks of revenue multiples.

It’s a necessary evil of this bull market that so many companies are now valued on multiples of their sales, as opposed to profits, typically because they don’t have any of the latter. It’s also impossible to ignore that real money investors are backing businesses at “multi-unicorn” valuations, meaning that capital is being allocated on an assumption lying somewhere between a considered ability to correctly recognise future growth, and magical thinking.

The idea is that, eventually, these businesses will arrive at a point where their constant reinvestment in sales and marketing, customer acquisition, and systems and process (all items that appear below the revenue line) will no longer be necessary, thereby allowing profits to suddenly crystallise.

Our baby unicorn is now a cloud-based workhorse with stunning margins, low operational costs, a market-dominant position and loyal customers totally insensitive to price increases.

Forecasts and evangelical founders are the natural enemies of a sound mind. “These businesses are very different compared to the typical mature business,” says PwC partner Richard Stewart. “They’re very heavily intangible-asset focused so traditional accounting doesn’t describe the performance of the business well.

“They’re also very risk intensive: it’s a bit like they’re climbing Everest, they’ve got halfway and there’s still a long way to the summit. The start-up sees how far they’ve come from base camp, the investor sees how far they have to go.”

EY partner Michael Fenech said that once upon a time, revenue multiples were used to value companies in very limited circumstances. “Now, revenue multiples have emerged as one of the primary valuation methodologies that people are using, which concerns people like myself.”

A robust valuation should be underpinned, wherever possible, by cash-flow forecasts, Fenech says. “So if we see companies relying on revenue multiples, our level of scepticism is often heightened and we start asking other questions.”

Which of the below statements is NOT correct?

(a) Charlie Munger is likely to favour EV-to-EBIT over EV-to-EBITDA multiples valuations, perhaps because he thinks that capital expenditure should equal depreciation and amortisation over the long term.

(b) Price-to-revenue multiples are always positive even for unprofitable companies, whereas EV-to-EBITDA and price-to-earnings ratios can be negative.

(c) PwC partner Richard Stewart is likely to think that DuPont ratio analysis is more appropriate for high growth technology firms rather than mature 'old economy' firms.

(d) EY partner Michael Fenech is likely to favour DCF valuations with multi-stage growth models using perpetuity terminal values over price-to-revenue multiples valuations.

(e) Firms operating in industries with low competition, such as those with natural monopolies, are likely to have 'customers totally insensitive to price increases' whose price-elasticity of demand (=((Q1-Q0)/Q0) / ((P1-P0)/P0) is close to zero.

Question 1070  Multiples valuation, duration, DuPont formula, WACC, mispriced asset

Adam Schwab wrote an article titled 'Why Atlassian is one of the world’s most overvalued businesses' on 15 August 2022. He stated that:

Atlassian is one of the world’s most overvalued businesses by almost any metric. Even though it loses money, Atlassian trades on a multiple of price to sales of a comical 25 times. Stern did a comparison of price-sales multiples in January 2022, noting that the multiple for the entire market was 2.88 and for software (this was before the bubble popped) was 16 times (Schwab, 2022)

Which of the following explanations is NOT correct? Atlassian's stock may be fairly priced if investors beleive that its expected future:

(a) Sales growth will (continue) to be higher than the US software industry's.

(b) Profit margins will improve and be higher than the US software industry's.

(c) Required returns on debt, equity and assets (WACC) will be lower than the US software industry's due to lower US government bond yields.

(d) Revenues, profits and cash flows will have a low correlation with the S&P500 and US GDP growth, so its asset and equity betas and WACC will be lower than the US software industry's.

Question 402  PE ratio, no explanation

Which of the following companies is most suitable for valuation using PE multiples techniques?

(a) A company with positive earnings that does not have any comparable firms.

(b) A company with positive earnings that has comparable firms with positive earnings.

(c) A company with positive earnings that has comparable firms with negative earnings.

(d) A company with negative earnings that has comparable firms with negative earnings.

(e) A company with negative earnings that has comparable firms with positive earnings.

Question 274  derivative terminology, option

The 'option price' in an option contract is paid at the start when the option contract is agreed to. or ?

Question 276  derivative terminology, option

The 'option strike price' in an option contract, also known as the exercise price, is paid at the start when the option contract is agreed to. or ?

Question 305  option, short selling, speculation

You believe that the price of a share will fall significantly very soon, but the rest of the market does not. The market thinks that the share price will remain the same. Assuming that your prediction will soon be true, which of the following trades is a bad idea? In other words, which trade will NOT make money or prevent losses?

(a) Sell all existing stock that you own.

(b) Short sell the stock.

(c) Buy put options on the stock.

(d) Sell put options on the stock.

(e) Sell call options on the stock.

Question 585  option

A man just sold a call option to his counterparty, a lady. The man has just now:

(a) Bought the right to buy the underlying asset from her at maturity if he wants.

(b) Bought the right to sell the underlying asset to her at maturity if he wants.

(c) Sold the right that allows her to buy the underlying asset from him at maturity if she wants.

(d) Sold the right that allows her to sell the underlying asset to him at maturity if she wants.

(e) Sold a contract that obliges him to buy the underlying asset from her at maturity if she wants.

Question 400  option, no explanation

A European put option will mature in ##T## years with a strike price of ##K## dollars. The underlying asset has a price of ##S## dollars.

What is an expression for the payoff at maturity ##(f_T)## in dollars from owning (being long) the put option?

(a) ##\max(S_T - K, 0)##.

(b) ##\max(S_T - K, K)##.

(c) ##\max(K-S_T, 0)##.

(d) ##\max(K-S_T, K)##.

(e) ##\min(K-S_T, 0)##.

Question 430  option, no explanation

A European call option will mature in ##T## years with a strike price of ##K## dollars. The underlying asset has a price of ##S## dollars.

What is an expression for the payoff at maturity ##(f_T)## in dollars from having written (being short) the call option?

(a) ##\min(S_T - K, 0)##.

(b) ##-\min(S_T - K, 0)##.

(c) ##\max(K-S_T, 0)##.

(d) ##-\max(K-S_T, 0)##.

(e)##-\max(S_T-K, 0)##.

Question 431  option, no explanation

A European put option will mature in ##T## years with a strike price of ##K## dollars. The underlying asset has a price of ##S## dollars.

What is an expression for the payoff at maturity ##(f_T)## in dollars from having written (being short) the put option?

(a) ##\max(S_T - K, 0)##.

(b) ##-\max(S_T - K, 0)##.

(c) ##\max(K-S_T, 0)##.

(d) ##-\max(K-S_T, 0)##.

(e) ##-\min(S_T - K, 0)##.

Question 432  option, option intrinsic value, no explanation

An American style call option with a strike price of ##K## dollars will mature in ##T## years. The underlying asset has a price of ##S## dollars.

What is an expression for the current intrinsic value in dollars from owning (being long) the American style call option? Note that the intrinsic value of an option does not subtract the premium paid to buy the option.

(a) ##\min(S_0 - K, 0)##.

(b) ##\min(K-S_0, 0)##.

(c) ##\max(S_0-K, 0)##.

(d) ##\max(K-S_0, 0)##.

(e) ##\max(K, S_0)##.

Question 587  option

Which of the following statements about option contracts is NOT correct? For every:

(a) Long call option there must be a short call option.

(b) Long put option there must be a short put option.

(c) Long option there must be a short option.

(d) Call option there must be a put option.

(e) Option trader who gains there must be one or more option traders who lose.

Question 588  option

If trader A has sold the right that allows counterparty B to buy the underlying asset from him at maturity if counterparty B wants then trader A is:

(a) Long a call option.

(b) Long a put option.

(c) Short a call option.

(d) Short a put option.

(e) Neither long or short a call or a put option.

Question 591  short selling, future, option

After doing extensive fundamental analysis of a company, you believe that their shares are overpriced and will soon fall significantly. The market believes that there will be no such fall.

Which of the following strategies is NOT a good idea, assuming that your prediction is true?

(a) Sell any of the firm's shares that you already own.

(b) Short-sell the firm's shares.

(c) Sell futures written on the shares.

(d) Buy put options written on the shares.

(e) Buy call options written on the shares.

Question 636  option, option payoff at maturity, no explanation

Which of the below formulas gives the payoff ##(f)## at maturity ##(T)## from being long a call option? Let the underlying asset price at maturity be ##S_T## and the exercise price be ##X_T##.

(a) ##f_{LC,T}=max⁡(S_T-X_T,0)##

(b) ##f_{LC,T}=max⁡(X_T-S_T,0)##

(c) ##f_{LC,T}=-max⁡(S_T-X_T,0)##

(d) ##f_{LC,T}=-max⁡(X_T-S_T,0)##

(e) ##f_{LC,T}=min⁡(X_T-S_T,0)##

Question 638  option, option payoff at maturity, no explanation

Which of the below formulas gives the payoff ##(f)## at maturity ##(T)## from being long a put option? Let the underlying asset price at maturity be ##S_T## and the exercise price be ##X_T##.

(a) ##f_{LP,T}=max⁡(S_T-X_T,0)##

(b) ##f_{LP,T}=max⁡(X_T-S_T,0)##

(c) ##f_{LP,T}=-max⁡(S_T-X_T,0)##

(d) ##f_{LP,T}=-max⁡(X_T-S_T,0)##

(e) ##f_{LP,T}=min⁡(X_T-S_T,0)##

Question 645  option, no explanation

A trader buys one crude oil European style call option contract on the CME expiring in one year with an exercise price of $44 per barrel for a price of $6.64. The crude oil spot price is $40.33. If the trader doesn’t close out her contract before maturity, then at maturity she will have the:

(a) Obligation to buy the underlying oil at $44 per barrel.

(b) Obligation to sell the underlying oil at $44 per barrel.

(c) Right to buy the underlying oil at $44 per barrel if she wants.

(d) Right to sell the underlying oil at $44 per barrel if she wants.

(e) Obligation to buy the underlying oil at $44 per barrel if her counter party chooses to sell it.

Question 677  option, option profit, no explanation

Which of the below formulas gives the profit ##(\pi)## from being long a put option? Let the underlying asset price at maturity be ##S_T##, the exercise price be ##X_T## and the option price be ##f_{LP,0}##. Note that ##S_T##, ##X_T## and ##f_{LP,0}## are all positive numbers.

(a) ##\pi_{LP}=-max⁡(S_T-X_T,0) - f_{LP,0}##

(b) ##\pi_{LP}=-max⁡(X_T-S_T,0) + f_{LP,0}##

(c) ##\pi_{LP}=max⁡(S_T-X_T,0) - f_{LP,0}##

(d) ##\pi_{LP}=max⁡(X_T-S_T,0) + f_{LP,0}##

(e) ##\pi_{LP}=max(X_T-S_T,0) - f_{LP,0}##

Question 678  option, option profit, no explanation

Which of the below formulas gives the profit ##(\pi)## from being short a put option? Let the underlying asset price at maturity be ##S_T##, the exercise price be ##X_T## and the option price be ##f_{LP,0}##. Note that ##S_T##, ##X_T## and ##f_{LP,0}## are all positive numbers.

(a) ##\pi_{SP}=-max⁡(S_T-X_T,0) - f_{LP,0}##

(b) ##\pi_{SP}=-max⁡(X_T-S_T,0) + f_{LP,0}##

(c) ##\pi_{SP}=max⁡(S_T-X_T,0) - f_{LP,0}##

(d) ##\pi_{SP}=max⁡(X_T-S_T,0) + f_{LP,0}##

(e) ##\pi_{SP}=max(X_T-S_T,0) - f_{LP,0}##

Question 1022  inflation linked bond, breakeven inflation rate, inflation, real and nominal returns and cash flows

Below is a graph of 10-year US treasury fixed coupon bond yields (red), inflation-indexed bond yields (green) and the 'breakeven' inflation rate (blue). Note that inflation-indexed bonds are also called treasury inflation protected securities (TIPS) in the US. In other countries they're called inflation-linked bonds (ILB's). For more information, see PIMCO's great article about inflation linked bonds here.

The 10 year breakeven inflation rate (blue) equals the:

(a) Inflation-linked bond yield (green).

(b) Fixed coupon bond yield (red).

(c) Fixed coupon bond yield (red) plus the inflation-linked bond yield (green).

(d) Fixed coupon bond yield (red) less the inflation-linked bond yield (green).

(e) Inflation-linked bond yield (green) less the fixed coupon bond yield (red).

Question 1024  inflation linked bond, bond pricing

PIMCO gives the following example of an Inflation Linked Bond (ILB), called Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS) in the US.

How do ILBs work?

An ILB’s explicit link to a nationally-recognized inflation measure means that any increase in price levels directly translates into higher principal values. As a hypothetical example, consider a $1,000 20-year U.S. TIPS with a 2.5% coupon (1.25% on semiannual basis), and an inflation rate of 4%. The principal on the TIPS note will adjust upward on a daily basis to account for the 4% inflation rate. At maturity, the principal value will be $2,208 (4% per year, compounded semiannually). Additionally, while the coupon rate remains fixed at 2.5%, the dollar value of each interest payment will rise, as the coupon will be paid on the inflation-adjusted principal value. The first semiannual coupon of 1.25% paid on the inflation-adjusted principal of $1,020 is $12.75, while the final semiannual interest payment will be 1.25% of $2,208, which is $27.60.

Forecast the semi-annual coupon paid in 10 years based on the bond details given above. The 20th semi-annual coupon, paid in 10 years, is expected to be:

(a) $15.23743

(b) $16.025465

(c) $18.574342

(d) $29.718948

(e) $37.006107

Question 1015  RBA cash rate, monetary policy

Former Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Phil Lowe says that the RBA cash rate is the interest rate in the Australian:

(a) Money market.

(b) Term deposit market.

(c) Mortgage loan market.

(d) Bond market.

(e) Equity market.

Question 1016  RBA cash rate, monetary policy

Former RBA Governor Phil Lowe says that if the economy is growing very strongly, then goods and services prices might be growing too:

(a) Fast and the RBA board may need to raise interest rates.

(b) Fast and the RBA board may need to lower interest rates.

(c) Slow and the RBA board may need to raise interest rates.

(d) Slow and the RBA board may need to lower interest rates.

Question 1017  RBA cash rate, monetary policy

Former RBA Governor Phil Lowe says that when the RBA raise interest rates, homeowners' mortgage loan interest expense will be:

(a) Higher, leaving them more to spend on consumption at the shops.

(b) Higher, leaving them less to spend on consumption at the shops.

(c) Lower, leaving them more to spend on consumption at the shops.

(d) Lower, leaving them less to spend on consumption at the shops.

Question 1019  RBA cash rate, monetary policy, wealth effect

Former RBA Governor Phil Lowe says that when the RBA raise the cash rate, asset prices tend to:

(a) Rise, making asset-holders feel wealthier and likely to spend more on consumption at the shops.

(b) Rise, making asset-holders feel poorer and likely to spend less on consumption at the shops.

(c) Fall, making asset-holders feel wealthier and likely to spend more on consumption at the shops.

(d) Fall, making asset-holders feel poorer and likely to spend less on consumption at the shops.

Question 1021  Federal funds rate, monetary policy, quantitative easing, tapering

US Fed Chair Jerome Powell held a news conference following the 25-26 January 2022 FOMC meeting.

Nick Timiraos reporting for The Wall Street Journal asked: "Raising rates and reducing the balance sheet both restrain the economy, both tighten monetary policy. How should we think about the relationship between the two? For example, how much passive runoff is equal to every quarter percentage point increase in your benchmark rate?"

Jerome Powell replied: "So, again, we think of the balance sheet as moving in a predictable manner, sort of in the background, and that the active tool meeting to meeting is not -- both of them, it's the federal funds rate. There are rules of thumbs. I'm reluctant to land on one of them that equate this. And there's also an element of uncertainty around the balance sheet. I think we have a much better sense, frankly, of how rate increases affect financial conditions and, hence, economic conditions. Balance sheet is still a relatively new thing for the markets and for us, so we're less certain about that." (US Fed, 2022)

When Nick Timiraos mentioned 'reducing the balance sheet', he's referring to:

(a) Quantitative easing (QE), where the US Fed increases its asset purchases. For example, by buying more US government bonds each month, increasing demand for bonds, raising their price and lowering their yield.

(b) Tapering, where the US Fed decreases its asset purchases. For example, by buying less US government bonds each month, decreasing demand for bonds, lowering their price and raising their yield.

(c) Expansionary conventional monetary policy, where the US Federal Reserve raises the Fed funds rate.

(d) Contractionary conventional monetary policy, where the US Federal Reserve lowers the Fed funds rate.

(e) Expansionary non-conventional monetary policy, where the US Federal Reserve reduces its assets through the purchase of more US government bonds, increasing the US Federal Reserve's liabilities.

Question 357  PE ratio, Multiples valuation

Which of the following investable assets are NOT suitable for valuation using PE multiples techniques?

(a) Common equity in a listed public mining extraction company that will cease operations, wind up, and return all capital to shareholders in one year when its sole gold mine becomes depleted.

(b) Common equity in a small private owner-operated mining services company whose main asset is its sole tanker truck which delivers fuel to mines. The firm's shares are 100% owned by Bob, the driver of the tanker truck.

(c) Common equity in a large listed public company in the banking industry.

(d) Residential apartment real estate.

(e) Commercial warehouse real estate.

Question 463  PE ratio, industry roll up, Multiples valuation

Private equity firms are known to buy medium sized private companies operating in the same industry, merge them together into a larger company, and then sell it off in a public float (initial public offering, IPO).

If medium-sized private companies trade at PE ratios of 5 and larger listed companies trade at PE ratios of 15, what return can be achieved from this strategy?

Assume that:

• The medium-sized companies can be bought, merged and sold in an IPO instantaneously.
• There are no costs of finding, valuing, merging and restructuring the medium sized companies. Also, there is no competition to buy the medium-sized companies from other private equity firms.
• The large merged firm's earnings are the sum of the medium firms' earnings.
• The only reason for the difference in medium and large firm's PE ratios is due to the illiquidity of the medium firms' shares.
• Return is defined as: ##r_{0→1} = (p_1-p_0+c_1)/p_0## , where time zero is just before the merger and time one is just after.

(a) 300%.

(b) 200%

(c) 33.33%

(d) 30%

(e) 20%

Question 348  PE ratio, Multiples valuation

Estimate the US bank JP Morgan's share price using a price earnings (PE) multiples approach with the following assumptions and figures only:

• The major US banks JP Morgan Chase (JPM), Citi Group (C) and Wells Fargo (WFC) are comparable companies;
• JP Morgan Chase's historical earnings per share (EPS) is $4.37;
• Citi Group's share price is $50.05 and historical EPS is $4.26;
• Wells Fargo's share price is $48.98 and historical EPS is $3.89.

Note: Figures sourced from Google Finance on 24 March 2014.

(a) $53.2353

(b) $53.1831

(c) $53.0995

(d) $26.5498

(e) $2.7849

Question 358  PE ratio, Multiples valuation

Estimate the Chinese bank ICBC's share price using a backward-looking price earnings (PE) multiples approach with the following assumptions and figures only. Note that the renminbi (RMB) is the Chinese currency, also known as the yuan (CNY).

• The 4 major Chinese banks ICBC, China Construction Bank (CCB), Bank of China (BOC) and Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) are comparable companies;
• ICBC 's historical earnings per share (EPS) is RMB 0.74;
• CCB's backward-looking PE ratio is 4.59;
• BOC 's backward-looking PE ratio is 4.78;
• ABC's backward-looking PE ratio is also 4.78;

Note: Figures sourced from Google Finance on 25 March 2014. Share prices are from the Shanghai stock exchange.

(a) RMB 6.4595

(b) RMB 6.3739

(c) RMB 6.3311

(d) RMB 3.4903

(e) RMB 3.3966

Question 537  PE ratio, Multiples valuation, no explanation

Estimate the French bank Societe Generale's share price using a backward-looking price earnings (PE) multiples approach with the following assumptions and figures only. Note that EUR is the euro, the European monetary union's currency.

• The 4 major European banks Credit Agricole (ACA), Deutsche Bank AG (DBK), UniCredit (UCG) and Banco Santander (SAN) are comparable companies to Societe Generale (GLE);
• Societe Generale's (GLE's) historical earnings per share (EPS) is EUR 2.92;
• ACA's backward-looking PE ratio is 16.29 and historical EPS is EUR 0.84;
• DBK's backward-looking PE ratio is 25.01 and historical EPS is EUR 1.26;
• SAN's backward-looking PE ratio is 14.71 and historical EPS is EUR 0.47;
• UCG's backward-looking PE ratio is 15.78 and historical EPS is EUR 0.40;

Note: Figures sourced from Google Finance on 27 March 2015.

(a) EUR 209.6268

(b) EUR 52.4067

(c) EUR 8.6724

(d) EUR 3.9327

(e) EUR 2.1681

Question 750  PE ratio, Multiples valuation

Itau Unibanco is a major listed bank in Brazil with a market capitalisation of equity equal to BRL 85.744 billion, EPS of BRL 3.96 and 2.97 billion shares on issue.

Banco Bradesco is another major bank with total earnings of BRL 8.77 billion and 2.52 billion shares on issue.

Estimate Banco Bradesco's current share price using a price-earnings multiples approach assuming that Itau Unibanco is a comparable firm.

Note that BRL is the Brazilian Real, their currency. Figures sourced from Google Finance on the market close of the BVMF on 24 July 2015.

(a) BRL 28.87

(b) BRL 25.372

(c) BRL 22.1

(d) BRL 21.653

(e) BRL 21.528

Question 864  option, binomial option pricing

A one year European-style put option has a strike price of $4. The option's underlying stock pays no dividends and currently trades at $5. The risk-free interest rate is 10% pa continuously compounded. Use a single step binomial tree to calculate the option price, assuming that the price could rise to $8 ##(u = 1.6)## or fall to $3.125 ##(d = 1/1.6)## in one year. The put option price now is:

(a) 0.401817831

(b) 0.430922619

(c) 0.444077381

(d) 0.490781407

(e) 0.861038209

Question 865  option, Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing

A one year European-style call option has a strike price of $4.

The option's underlying stock currently trades at $5, pays no dividends and its standard deviation of continuously compounded returns is 47% pa.

The risk-free interest rate is 10% pa continuously compounded.

Use the Black-Scholes-Merton formula to calculate the option price. The call option price now is:

(a) $0.287263739

(b) $0.398141032

(c) $1.142227853

(d) $1.667914067

(e) $2.193600281

Question 866  option, Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing

A one year European-style put option has a strike price of $4.

The option's underlying stock currently trades at $5, pays no dividends and its standard deviation of continuously compounded returns is 47% pa.

The risk-free interest rate is 10% pa continuously compounded.

Use the Black-Scholes-Merton formula to calculate the option price. The put option price now is:

(a) $1.550849674

(b) $0.982509295

(c) $0.666414943

(d) $0.287263739

(e) $0.055037262

Question 794  option, Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing, option delta, no explanation

Which of the following quantities from the Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing formula gives the Delta of a European call option?

(a) ##N[d_1]##

(b) ##N[d_2]##

(c) ##−N[−d_1]##

(d) ##−N[−d_2]##

(e) ##N[−d_2]##

Where:

###d_1=\dfrac{\ln⁡[S_0/K]+(r+\sigma^2/2).T)}{\sigma.\sqrt{T}}### ###d_2=d_1-\sigma.\sqrt{T}=\dfrac{\ln⁡[S_0/K]+(r-\sigma^2/2).T)}{\sigma.\sqrt{T}}###

Question 795  option, Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing, option delta, no explanation

Which of the following quantities from the Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing formula gives the Delta of a European put option?

(a) ##N[d_1]##

(b) ##N[d_2]##

(c) ##−N[−d_1]##

(d) ##−N[−d_2]##

(e) ##N[−d_2]##

Question 796  option, Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing, option delta, no explanation

Which of the following quantities from the Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing formula gives the risk-neutral probability that a European call option will be exercised?

(a) ##N[d_1]##

(b) ##N[d_2]##

(c) ##−N[−d_1]##

(d) ##−N[−d_2]##

(e) ##N[−d_2]##

Question 797  option, Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing, option delta, no explanation

Which of the following quantities from the Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing formula gives the risk-neutral probability that a European put option will be exercised?

(a) ##N[d_1]##

(b) ##N[d_2]##

(c) ##−N[−d_1]##

(d) ##−N[−d_2]##

(e) ##N[−d_2]##