FIN 320: Assignment 1: Investment Selection

 Assignment 1: Investment Selection

Imagine that you are a potential investor researching a U.S. investment of your choice. Your choice can be any investment that is highly marketable, which means that you must be able to sell it at a market price very easily. Publically traded stock, corporate bonds, government bonds, real estate, mutual funds, and derivatives are all examples of highly marketable investments.

You will be required to collect financial statements and /or relevant financial information that detail(s) the past three (3) years (fiscal or calendar) of the chosen investment. (These statements can usually be located within the organization’s Website under “investor information” or something similar. Many times, these statements can also be found on Yahoo! Finance, Google Finance, MSN Money, or Hoovers.)

You will also be required to research your chosen investment’s price for the past five (5) years, as well as a related market index for this investment for the past five (5) years. An example of an applicable market index is the Standard & Poor’s Stock Market Index, commonly called the S&P 500.

Select the highly marketable investment that you wish to research.

Provide a brief (one [1] paragraph) explanation as to why you selected that particular investment.

List five (5) resources to demonstrate that there is enough information available regarding your selected investment.

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 or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
• 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.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Use technology and information resources to research issues in investments.
• Write clearly and concisely about investments using proper writing mechanics.