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Problem Set 2 helpful hints

Problem Set 2 is available from the course website at http://fin4366.garven.com/spring2024/ps2.pdf; its due date is Tuesday, January 30.

Problem Set 2 consists of two problems. The first problem requires calculating expected value, standard deviation, and correlation, and using this information as inputs into determining expected returns and standard deviations for 2-asset portfolios. The second problem involves using the standard normal probability distribution to calculate the probabilities of earning various levels of return by investing in risky securities and portfolios; see pp. 13-19 of the http://fin4366.garven.com/spring2024/lecture4.pdf lecture note for coverage of that topic.

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Z Table Extra Credit Assignment (due at the start of class on Tuesday, January 30)

Here’s an extra credit opportunity for Finance 4366. Working on your own (i.e., this is not a group project; I will only give credit for spreadsheets that are uniquely your own), build your own “z” table in Excel (patterned after the table at http://fin4366.garven.com/stdnormal.pdf); the top row should have values ranging from 0.00 to 0.09, and the first column should have z values ranging from -3.0 to +3.0, in increments of 0.1).

Conveniently, Excel has the standard normal distribution function built right in; e.g., if you type “=normsdist(z)”, Excel returns the probability associated with whatever z value you provide. If you type “=normsdist(0)”, .5 is returned, since half of the area under the curve lies to the left of the expected value E(z) = 0. Similarly, if you type “=normsdist(1)”, then .8413 is returned because 84.13% of the area under the curve lies to the left of z = 1. Perhaps you recall from your QBA course that 68.26% of the area under the curve lies between z = -1; this “confidence interval” of +/- 1 standard deviation away from the mean (E(z)=0) is calculated in Excel with the following code: “=normsdist(1)-normsdist(-1)”, and so forth.

The grade you earn on this extra credit assignment will replace your lowest quiz grade; that is if your lowest quiz grade is lower than your extra credit grade. The deadline is the start of class on Tuesday, January 30.

You can turn your spreadsheet for this extra credit assignment in at the link labeled “Z Table Extra Credit Assignment” under the Assignment tab on Canvas.

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Gamma Iota Sigma Chapter Meeting

Gamma Iota Sigma (GIS) is an international collegiate professional fraternity established in 1966 at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. Baylor University’s Alpha Pi chapter of GIS was founded in 2001. GIS aims to promote, encourage, and sustain student interest in insurance, risk management, and actuarial science as professions. Additionally, it seeks to enhance the moral and scholastic achievements of chapter members while fostering interaction between Baylor University and the business community through research activities, scholarship, and networking opportunities.

Join us for the inaugural chapter meeting of the Spring 2024 semester on Thursday, January 25, from 6:30 to 7:30 pm in Foster 322. We look forward to your participation!

 

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Friendly reminder about turning in Problem Set 1

Apologies for the submission error on Canvas for problem set 1. As outlined in the course syllabus, please ensure that all problem-set assignments are submitted in PDF format through Canvas at the dates and times listed in Canvas.

I have rectified the Assignments section on Canvas to exclusively accept problem sets in PDF format from now on. The deadline for uploading problem set 1 is tomorrow (Wednesday, January 24) at 2 p.m. You can submit it here.

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This week in Finance 4366

This week, we will cover a two-part statistics tutorial based on the Statistics Tutorial, Part 1 and Part 2 lecture notes (items 3 and 4 on the Lecture Notes page).

Due tomorrow (1/23):

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On the ancient origin of the word “algorithm”

The January 24th assigned reading entitled “The New Religion of Risk Management” (by Peter Bernstein, March-April 1996 issue of Harvard Business Review) provides a succinct synopsis of the same author’s 1996 book entitled “Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk“. Here’s a fascinating quote from page 33 of “Against the Gods” which explains the ancient origin of the word “algorithm”:

“The earliest known work in Arabic arithmetic was written by al­Khowarizmi, a mathematician who lived around 825, some four hun­dred years before Fibonacci. Although few beneficiaries of his work are likely to have heard of him, most of us know of him indirectly. Try saying “al­Khowarizmi” fast. That’s where we get the word “algo­rithm,” which means rules for computing.”

Note: The book cover shown above is a copy of a 1633 oil-on-canvas painting by the Dutch Golden Age painter Rembrandt van Rijn.