FIN 550 WEEK 4- ASSIGNMENT 1

In this job aid, I provide some notes associated with your upcoming Writing Assignment One , due in week four of the term. The assignment involves writing an academic paper on topics such as risk and return, diversification, the Efficient Frontier, and how to create an ideal portfolio for the short and long term. I have gone through the assignment instructions and the rubrics below, and inserted some helpful recommendations for how to do well on each rubric topic. My recommendations appear after the numbered topic in the color blue.

One thing I always recommend is that you type out each numbered rubric as a bold-faced heading for each rubric section you are writing about. This ensures that you cover every aspect of the rubric in your discussion. You will see that the rubric has specific criteria (questions) that you are to answer. Those questions are also listed in the assignment, therefore, if you study and research these questions carefully, there is no reason to miss any aspect of the rubric topics. Assignment:

Write a five to seven (5-7) page paper in which you:

1. Analyze the relationship between risk and rate of return, and suggest how you would formulate a portfolio that will minimize risk and maximize rate of return.

Recommendations: This section lays the groundwork for the rest of your paper and should clearly, specifically, and succinctly discuss this relationship as it relates portfolio to investments.

2. Formulate an argument for investment diversification in an investor portfolio.

Recommendations: This discussion should delve deeper into the concept of risk and rate of return, specifically applying the concept of portfolio diversification. Ideally, you will discuss the aspects of diversification that we have studied thus far, such as negative correlation, standard deviation and variance, and how these relate to portfolio diversification. These are all concepts covered in the textbook.

3. Address how stocks, bonds, real estate, metals, and global funds may be used in a diversified portfolio. Provide evidence in support of your argument.

Recommendations: This section should present a clear statement of how each of the asset types mentioned in the rubric can be used to enhance the diversification of a portfolio. The explanation or rationale for each one is key, so be specific.

4. Evaluate the concept of the efficient frontier and how you will use it to determine an asset portfolio for a specified investor.

Recommendations: This is a very important section. You are to discuss a short background on the concept of efficient frontier and its importance to Modern Portfolio Theory and a diversified portfolio. If you choose to discuss the graphical depiction of efficient frontier as well as the concept, be sure to include a graph illustrating the efficient frontier so your readers will have a frame of reference. Illustrations are easy to find, but if you use a graph from a source other than yourself, be sure to include a citation with the graph. Simply discussing the efficient frontier graph is NOT enough!

5. Consider the economic outlook for the next year in order to recommend the ideal portfolio to maximize the rate of return for the short term and long term. Explain the key differences between the short and long term.

Recommendations: This seems like a very straight-forward and logical rubric, but many students lose points because they overlook key issues. You should briefly discuss the economic outlook for the coming year, citing any references you use (and they should all be very CURRENT). This research will inform your recommendation of the ideal portfolio for both the short term and the long term. Students often overlook the requirement to explain the key differences between the short and long term, with regard to investing, so be thorough.

6. Use four (4) external resources to support your work. Note: Wikipedia, Investopedia and other popular websites do not qualify as academic resources.

Recommendations: This is self-explanatory. Investopedia and Wkipedia, along with many popular finance and investment websites are commercial, therefore they are geared to the general population – NOT to graduate students doing academic research. You are expected to use accepted peer-reviewed journal articles, scholarly writing, educational and non-commercial financial internet sources. The Strayer library (eLibrary) is an excellent source of such approved reference materials.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

· Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA Guidelines.

· Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

Recommendations: The biggest writing mistake students make is to approach academic writing as if it was an essay or editorial assignment. They often write from the first-person perspective, rather than using a neutral, technical, and fact-based perspective. This assignment is an academic research paper using APA Style and Guidelines, so everything you state must be supported by cited data or accepted research. At the graduate level of scholarship all of you should have used this writing format several times in your academic careers. If you need a refresher, please refer to this excellent website: