MASTER SYLLABUS

Fall 2020-FINC765: PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT

1. Course Details

Semester:
Course Code: FINC765
Course Name: Portfolio Management
Course Prerequisites: FINC601 and completion of all 500-level
waivable core courses
Course Co-requisites:
Credits Hours: Three (3.0) credit hours
Classroom: Smart Classroom
Class Timing: 37.5 contact hours
Final Exam Period:

2. Instructor Details

Professor: Dr Amba
Office Location:
Office Hours:
Email: smuni@nyit.edu
Course website:
Phone (Office):

3. Catalog Course Description

This course will focus on financial institutions and markets in the context of portfolio construction,
management, performance evaluation and performance presentations standards. Specific topics include:
the efficient market hypothesis, market inefficiencies and selection criteria, fundamental versus technical
analysis, portfolio diversification methods, asset pricing models, portfolio construction and asset
allocations, hedging and risk management including the role of derivative securities, performance
presentation standards, performance evaluation and attribution.
 4. Course Overview
This course provides complete coverage of the most important issues surrounding modern portfolio
management. The material is geared towards industry practitioners and graduate finance students and
written by academics and industry professionals blending theory with practice. The course starts with a
review of the basic principles and investment policies, transitioning into portfolio construction, portfolio
management, and portfolio protection. The course also includes a capstone project analysis, which is due
at the end of the semester. The time-line of the course is provided in Section 17.

5. Course-Level Learning Goals1

(A) Invariant Learning Goals (In support of the Concentration-Specific Learning Goal(s)):
Upon the successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
1. Apply financial paradigms and concepts learnt to a corporate financial case setting;
2. Compile, analyze, and synthesize financial and other relevant data from multiple electronic sources;
and
3. Evaluate different investment strategies against the objectives of individuals and/or institutional
investors.

Assurance of Learning Validations (Linked to the Concentration-Specific Learning Goal(s))2:

A1. Capstone Student Managed Portfolio Project: By Week 6 of the course, students will form teams of 2
to 3 students per team. Each student team will be required to develop a strategy for investing a
specific sum of money in a student managed portfolio of securities. Students may select up to 10
securities. In Week 15 of the course, student teams will present their recommendations to the course

1 A note on School of Management Course-Level Learning Goals: Learning goals are partitioned into those that are in support of the
programmatic learning goals (Invariant), specific to globalization (Contextualized), and specific to the domain expertise of the instructor
(Instructor-Specific). The former two categories are required for all courses. Invariant “Assurance of Learning Validations” are specifically
linked to the associated programmatic learning goal and objective, with course-level learning goals representing the programmatic goal
as it applies to the context of the course. Learning goals that focus on knowledge acquisition (Bloom’s Taxonomy) are not specifically or
necessarily included into the course-level learning goals, although it is assumed that knowledge acquisition of all relevant business core
fundamentals is addressed within each course. Examinations in class are used to provide feedback concerning knowledge and
comprehension for the purpose of ensuring that students who have not mastered these will not advance through the curriculum.
Attainment of knowledge within each core area is assessed by way of standalone testing of each student as a required part of the
instructional program prior to graduation (e.g. ETS).
2
A note on School of Management Assurance of Learning Scoring: Scores form the metric for the degree to which the validation (e.g.
learning outcome) satisfies the associated learning goal or objective. Assurance of learning validation descriptions identify the criteria for
each score that is to be given. Scores are scaled using program or concentration rubrics. It must be noted that scores are to be
differentiated from grades. Scores form a criterion from which an instructor will ascertain an overall grade for any instrument of
assessment, and the overall assessment the student receives for an instrument is a “grade.” A score is an extraction that specifically
measures the degree of attainment of a learning goal and/or objective.
 instructor. Student teams will be asked to explain the recommendations for assets included in the
portfolio. Student teams must specify their intended investment objective and risk tolerance in their
recommendations. The student team will be required to formulate in-depth analysis and calculations
of the proposed portfolio performance’s over the last month, six months, one year, five years and ten
years prior to the presentation based on data from such sources as Bloomberg, CRSP, COMPUSTAT and
Yahoo!Finance while utilizing tools such as EXCEL. Portfolio performance should be based on such
measures as average return, standard deviation of returns, beta from the Capital Asset Pricing Model,
and Jensen’s alpha.

Student Deliverables pertaining to the Capstone Project: A comprehensive written project analysis
distributed during Week 6/7 is due at the beginning of Week 15. Student teams must submit a 15-20
pages write-up supported by tables of data-analysis in the Appendix. The capstone project analysis
encompass (but not limited to) the following areas, for which a score will be given. These 9 scores are
for the purpose of validating assurance of learning:
a. Score 1: The demonstration of the student’s ability to identify how the current financial
environment affects the risk and return of the portfolio. (FINC-LO1-A);
b. Score 2: The student’s ability to extract appropriate financial and accounting data from various
sources in order to conduct and support the portfolio analysis (FINC-LO1-B);
c. Score 3: The student’s ability to use and appraise the data collected in a meaningful way (FINC-
LO1-C);
d. Score 4: The student’s ability to estimate enterprise value creation and extract financial asset
values from overall enterprise values (FINC-LO2-A);
e. Score 5: The student’s ability to evaluate financial assets by reference to peer companies using
relevant and appropriate benchmarks of risk and return (FINC-LO2-B);
f. Score 6: The student’s demonstration of resulting business strategies that may be driven by
secondary ramifications (FINC-LO2-C);
g. Score 7: The student’s ability to assess risk (uncertainty) (FINC-L03-A);
h. Score 8: The student’s ability to justify her/his recommendation(s) (FIN-LO3-B);
i. Score 9: The student’s demonstration of understanding the impact of the global environment on
portfolio returns and risk (FINC-LO3-C).

(B) Contextualized (Globalized) Learning Goal(s):

Upon the successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
1. Demonstrate comprehension of global investment performance standards, and the impact on portfolio
returns and risk.
 Assurance of Learning Validation (In support of the Contextualized (Globalized) Learning Goal(s)):
B1. Refer to capstone project above. One score is given for each assignment based on the ability of the
student to evaluate capital constraints in a global market (FINC LO3-C).
https://www.cfainstitute.org/en/ethics-standards/codes

(C) Instructor Specific Learning Goal(s) (Optional):

ESG Socially Responsible and Sustainable Investing
https://www.cfainstitute.org/en/research/esg-investing

Assurance of Learning Validation (In support of the Instructor Specific Learning Goal(s)):
TBD

6. Teaching and Learning Methodology

The School of Management’s teaching and learning strategy is informed by contemporary
indicators/sources that derive from its target market, specifically the millennial generation. In particular,
behavioral traits for this generation are identified and form the basis of emphasis for the schools’ teaching
and learning methodologies. These methodologies are reflected in the school’s mission statement by way
of its TEMPOS campaign3. In addition, teaching and learning strategies are informed by institutional
indirect assessment results, periodically collected and reviewed by the Office of Planning and Assessment
and the school’s faculty4. Teaching and learning strategies are also externally referenced systematically
(e.g., the Annual Stakeholder’s Conference) through continuing consultations with non-board key
stakeholder groups, including employers, business and community leaders, accreditation and ministerial
agencies, alumni, students, peer institutions, and business and governmental agency representatives.

A component of all courses, as a part of the teaching and learning strategies, is to maintain academic rigor
and to be intellectually challenging. This is validated in institutional survey results. However, School of
Management faculty members utilize an overall collective portfolio of strategies/initiatives that obtain
from the aforementioned sources in delineating those that are most appropriate or emphasized in the
courses they lead.

In this course (FINC765), four (4) prioritized teaching and learning strategies focus on:

1. teamwork/collaborative work (interdependent learning);

3
Teaching and Learning Strategies: ”TEMPOS and the Millennials,” revised September 2008.
4
E.g., Student Survey on Teaching Quality – Quantitative Data: School of Management.
 2. solving problems;
3. innovative and creative thinking; and
4. use of technology.

All faculty members that instruct this course should consider how to execute the course to emphasize
these key components of the strategies considered. Following a review of learning outcomes, faculty
members consider how re-orientation of teaching and learning strategies might result in strengthening
these outcomes, and adjustments are made, accordingly. Faculty members also consider how the School
of Management Triple Platforms of Excellence (Professional Enrichment, Experiential Education, and
Student Advancement) might be leveraged as a part of this strategy, and provide recommendations to the
Directors of those platforms. The school also reviews the distribution of identified teaching and learning
strategies periodically to ensure comprehension and the integration of each (from the designated list of
approximately 20-25 strategies) within the curriculum. Finally, results from student teaching evaluations
also provide indications of how various teaching and learning strategies are integrated into the course
delivery. The following issues (indicator number is provided) are among those in the evaluations that bear
on this review and analysis:

7. The instructor was responsive to student questions.

8. The instructor was available for course related consultation and advice.
9. The instructor graded and returned student work and exams promptly.
10. The instructor incorporated information technology (e.g. computer or the Internet) in the course.
18. The instructor was responsive to student needs and concerns.
21. The instructor assigned challenging course work.
22. The instructor provided helpful, constructive feedback on assignments and course work.
23. The instructor acknowledged cultural differences and diversity among students.
24. The instructor helped me understand the subject matter.

Along with teaching and learning strategies, the notion of student effort/time on task is also considered,
although it is not necessarily driven by metrics. It is noted that the notion of student effort, specifically
metric driven, is not a universally adopted approach5. However, if an instance occurs where student
learning outcomes do not meet targeted academic standards, the School of Management utilizes indirect
inputs in this area to explore the interdependencies between factors including the amount of work

5
See the Victorian TAFE Association Response – Strengthening the AQF: Proposal, June 2009. East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia,
retrieved from http://www.vta.vic.edu.au/docs/PositionDiscussion%20Papers/VTA_Response_Strengthening_the_AQF.pdf on
February 22, 2010.
 required in the course, the degree of challenge in the coursework, and level of critical analysis, among
others6.

7. Required Resource(s)
Strong, Robert A.: (2009). Portfolio Construction, Management, and Protection. 5th Edition. Cengage
Learning. ISBN: 9780324665109.

8. Reference Resource(s)
J.L. Maginn, D.L. Tuttle, J. E. Pinto, & D. W. McLeavey: (2007). Managing Investment Portfolios – a dynamic
process, 3rd Edition, Wiley & Sons. (including the workbook … CFA Institute Investment Series)

F.K. Reilly & K.C. Brown. (2006). Investment Analysis & Portfolio Management, Thompson South-Western.

J. Boatright. (1999). Ethics in Finance. Oxford (Blackwell). ISBN: 9780631214274.

R. Shiller. (2003). The New Financial Order: Risk in the 21st Century. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University
Press.

Fama, Eugene. 1972. “Components of Investment Performance.” Journal of Finance. Vol. 27, No. 3: 551-
567.

Merton, Robert. 2003. “Thoughts on the Future: Theory and Practice in Investment Management.”
Financial Analysts Journal. Vol. 59, No. 1: 17-23.

Campbell, R., R. Huisman, and K. Koedijk. 2001. “Optimal Portfolio Selection in a Value-at-Risk
Framework.” Journal of Banking and Finance. Vol. 25, No. 9: 1789-1804.

Plaxco, Lisa, and Robert Arnott. 2002. “Rebalancing a Global Policy Benchmark.” Journal of Portfolio
Management. Vol. 28, No. 2.

9. Assessment Methodology and Grading Guidelines

Instrument Points (i.e. weights)
Midterm exam 200 points
Final exam 200 points

6
Sample data regularly collected through the New York Institute of Technology Student Rating of Courses/Teaching Form.
 GIPS 100 points
Capstone Project (See A1) 400 points
ESG-Sustainable Investing 100 points
TOTAL 1000 points
a. Additional Course Individual Assignments:
In addition to a midterm and a final exam, this course will consist of several homework assignments which are
due the following week. These assignments are problem solving in nature. They are graded and counts towards
20 percent of the overall course grade.
b. Formative Assessment:
Each group will get an initial feedback on the project portfolio analysis that they are required to submit. This
feedback (both oral and written) comprises of guiding them gently towards continuous refinement and
improvement of their portfolio. The student(s) are required to see the instructor with their preliminary work
either during office hours or after class between Weeks 7 to 11. There is no grading, evaluation or penalty
involved with this feedback.

10. Grading Guidelines: N/A

11. Attendance Policy: Students are expected to attend every class session. Instructors will inform students of
the exact number of absences and late-arrivals permitted during the semester. Students who exceed these
limits may be subject to failure. If a student misses any class or test, the instructor has the right to either
grant or deny an opportunity to make up the work that was missed. In such cases, the instructor shall be
the sole judge of the validity of a student's explanation for having missed the class or test.

12. Deductions for Late Arrival, Early Departure, and Unexcused Absences:

13. Policy for Make-Up Assignments or Quizzes:

14. Classroom Behavior: Behavior that disrupts, impairs, interferes with, or obstructs the orderly conduct,
processes, and functions within an academic classroom or laboratory violates the student code of conduct
and may result in disciplinary action. This includes interfering with the academic mission of NYIT or
individual classroom or interfering with a faculty member’s or instructor’s role to carry out the normal
academic or educational functions of their classroom or laboratory, including teaching and research.

15. Students with Physical or Educational Challenges:

• It is the policy of New York Institute of Technology to provide reasonable accommodations for students
who are otherwise qualified but have disabilities, including learning disabilities, health impairments,
 and other disabling conditions. Possible accommodations include, but are not limited to, test schedule
modifications, class relocation, and possible assistance in acquisition of necessary equipment.
• The college has an interest in helping students with disabilities to be competitive in this academic
environment. Therefore, reasonable accommodations will be made upon proof both of disability and
need for the accommodations. It must be understood that accommodations are meant to facilitate
educational opportunities. Admission to NYIT and accommodations do not guarantee success.
Therefore, in addition to accommodations, the college encourages utilization of auxiliary services
available to all students to maximize opportunities for success. Students whose disabilities may require
some type of accommodation must complete a request for accommodations form and an intake
interview with their campus services coordinator prior to the academic semester. Accommodations
maybe requested at any time during the semester; however, accommodations cannot be applied to
past failures, only to future academic endeavors. Appropriate modifications of accommodations will be
worked out on a case-by-case basis and will not necessarily incorporate all requested changes.
• Students for whom auxiliary services—such as readers, interpreters, note takers, etc.—have been
approved should arrange these with their campus services coordinator. In addition to discussing
appropriate educational modifications, the campus services coordinator will serve as a liaison with
other college faculty and administration on behalf of students with disabilities.

16. Academic Integrity:

• Each student enrolled in a course at NYIT agrees that, by taking such course, he or she consents to the
submission of all required papers for textual similarity review to any commercial service engaged by
NYIT to detect plagiarism. Each student also agrees that all papers submitted to any such service may
be included as source documents in the service’s database, solely for the purpose of detecting
plagiarism of such papers.
• Plagiarism is the appropriation of all or part of someone else’s works (such as but not limited to
writing, coding, programs, images, etc.) and offering it as one’s own. Cheating is using false pretenses,
tricks, devices, artifices or deception to obtain credit on an examination or in a college course. If a
faculty member determines that a student has committed academic dishonesty by plagiarism, cheating
or in any other manner, the faculty has the academic right to 1) fail the student for the paper,
assignment, project and/or exam, and/or 2) fail the student for the course and/or 3) bring the student
up on disciplinary charges, pursuant to Article VI, Academic Conduct Proceedings, of the Student Code
of Conduct. The complete Academic Integrity Policy may be found on various NYIT Webpages,
including: http://www.nyit.edu/images/uploads/academics/AcademicIntegrityPolicy.pdf.
17. 15 Week Topical Class Schedule

Week Focus Area (Relevant book chapters)

Wk 1 Process of Portfolio Management (RS-1, MTPM-1)
Valuation, Risk, Return, and Uncertainty (RS-2)
Wk 2 Setting Portfolio Objectives (RS-3)
Investment Policy (RS-4)
Wk 3 The Mathematics of Diversification (RS-5)
Why Diversification is a Good Idea (RS-6)
Wk 4 International Investment and Diversification (RS-7)
Capital Markets and Expectations and Market Efficiency (RS-8, MTPM-4)
Wk 5 Picking the Equity Players (RS-9, MTPM-7)
Stock Selection Models (RS-10, MTPM-7)
Wk 6 Security Screening (RS-11)
Bond Pricing and Selection (RS-12, MTPM-6)
Student Team formation for Capstone Portfolio Project
Wk 7 The Role of Real Assets (RS-13)
Alternative Investments (RS-14, MTPM-8)
Wk 8 Midterm Exam
Wk 9 Revision of the Equity Portfolio (RS-15, MTPM-7)
Revision of the Fixed Income Portfolio (RS-16, MTPM-6)
Wk 10 Principles of Options and Option Pricing (RS-17)
Option Overwriting (RS-18)
Wk 11 Performance Evaluation (RS-19, MTPM-12)
Fiduciary Duties and Responsibilities (RS-20)
Wk 12 Principles of Futures Market (RS-21)
Benching the Equity Players (RS-22)
Wk 13 Removing Interest Rate Risk (RS-23)
Integrating Derivative Assets and Portfolio Management (RS-24)
Wk 14 Contemporary Issues in Portfolio Management (RS-25)
Global Investment Performance Standards (MTPM-13)
 Wk 15 Final Exam
Capstone Project Analysis due from student teams

18. Using the NYIT Library

All students can access the NYIT virtual library from both on and off campus at www.nyit.edu/library. The
same login you use to access NYIT e-mail and NYITConnect will also give you access to the library’s
resources from off campus.

On the left side of the library’s home page, you will find the “Library Catalog” and the “Find Journals”
sections. In the middle of the home page you will find “Research Guides;” select “Video Tutorials” to find
information on using the library’s resources and doing research.

Should you have any questions, please look under “Library Services” to submit a web-based “Ask-A-
Librarian” form.