Unit information: Portfolio Management in 2023/24

Unit name	Portfolio Management
Unit code	EFIM30021
Credit points	10
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Dr. Friederich
Open unit status	Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)	Principles of Finance (EFIM20044) OR Asset Markets (EFIM20043)
Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)	Financial Markets (EFIM30019) (not relevant for BSc Finance students)
Units you may not take alongside this one	None
School/department	School of Accounting and Finance - Business School
Faculty	Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Unit Information

We will discuss the construction, implementation and evaluation of investment portfolios. An important feature of this topic is that the insights and results we will derive are applicable on any scale. That is, they are equally valid from the perspective of a private investor or that of a multi-billion pound pension or hedge fund manager.

In the light of theoretical and empirical results in asset pricing, we will:

• Discuss the construction of portfolios of stocks and bonds
• Derive the techniques used to assess fund manager performance after adjusting for the risk involved in their strategy.
• Examine the empirical evidence available on the performance of professional fund managers and understand its limitations.

Your learning on this unit

On successful completion of this unit a student will be able to:

• Understand the implications of theoretical and empirical research in asset pricing for real-world investment strategies
• Comprehend the issues involved in measuring the performance of professionally managed portfolios (investment funds).
• Understand how some degree of mispricing can be exploited whilst retaining the key insights of market efficiency.
• Understand models of performance decomposition – that is, how to identify the specific sources of performance of a large and diversified investment portfolio.

How you will learn

Teaching will be delivered through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous sessions including lectures, tutorials, drop-in sessions, discussion boards and other online learning opportunities

Formative Assessment: Assignment similar in spirit and content to the exam, to be handed in before the Easter break and marked

How you will be assessed

This unit will be assessed by 100% exam (1.5 hours) covering all learning objectives

Any re-assessment required will be a like for like assessment

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. EFIM30021).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.