Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Lesson 04: Return and Risks

The Concept of Return
•         Return
–        The level of profit from an investment, or
–        The reward for investing
•         Components of Return
–        Current income: cash or near-cash that is received as a result of owning an investment
–        Capital gains (or losses): the difference between the proceeds from the sale of an investment and its original purchase price
•         Total Return: the sum of the current income and the capital gain (or loss) earned on an investment over a specified period of time
Why Return is Important

•         Allows comparison of actual or expected gains with the levels of gain needed
•         Allows us to “keep score” on how our investments are doing compared to our expectations
•         Historical Performance
–        Provides a basis for future expectations
–        Does not guarantee future performance
•         Expected Return
–        Return an investor thinks an investment will earn in the future
–        Determines what an investor is willing to pay for an investment or if they are willing to make an investment

The Time Value of Money and Returns
•         The sooner you receive a return on a given investment, the better
•         A dollar received today is worth more than a dollar received in the future
•         The sooner your money can begin earning interest, the faster it will grow

Determining a Satisfactory Investment
•         Satisfactory Investment: one for which the present value of benefits equals or exceeds the present value of its costs

Holding Period Return (HPR)
•         Holding Period: the period of time over which an investor wishes to measure the return on an investment vehicle

-The total return earned from holding an investment for a specified holding period (usually 1 year or less)
•         Realized Return: current return actually received by an investor during the given return period
•         Paper Return: return that has been achieved but not yet realized (no sale has taken place)

Sources of Risk
•         Risk-Return Tradeoff is the relationship between risk and return, in which investments with more risk should provide higher returns, and vice versa

•         Risk is the chance that the actual return from an investment may differ from what
is expected

•         Currency Exchange Risk is the risk caused by the varying exchange rates between the currencies of two countries. (Discussed in
Chapter 2)
      -Types of Investments Affected
•         International stocks or ADRs
•         International bonds
      -Examples of Currency Exchange Risk
•         U.S. dollar gets “stronger” against foreign currency, reducing value of foreign investment

•         Business Risk is the degree of uncertainty associated with an investment’s earnings and the investment’s ability to pay the returns owed to investors.

      -Types of Investments Affected
–        Common stocks
–        Preferred stocks
      -Examples of Business Risk
–        Decline in company profits or market share
–        Bad management decisions
–       
•         Financial Risk is the degree of uncertainty of payment resulting from a firm’s mix of debt and equity; the larger the proportion of debt financing, the greater this risk.
      -Types of Investments Affected
–        Common stocks
–        Corporate bonds
      -Examples of Financial Risk
–        Company can’t get additional loans for growth or to fund operations
–        Company defaults on bonds

•         Purchasing Power Risk is the chance that changing price levels (inflation or deflation) will adversely affect investment returns.

      -Types of Investments Affected
–        Bonds (fixed income)
–        Certificates of deposit
      -Examples of Purchasing Power Risk
–        Movie that was $8.00 last year is $9.00 this year


•         Interest Rate Risk is the chance that changes in interest rates will adversely affect a security’s value.
      -Types of Investments Affected
–        Bonds (fixed income)
–        Preferred stocks
      -Examples of Interest Rate Risk
–        Market values of existing bonds decrease as market interest rates increase
–        Income from an investment is reinvested at a lower interest rate than the original rate
–       
•         Liquidity Risk is the risk of not being able to liquidate an investment conveniently and at a reasonable price.
      -Types of Investments Affected
–        Some small company stocks
–        Real estate
      -Examples of Liquidity Risk
–        The price of a house has to be lowered for a quick sale
•         Tax Risk is the chance that Congress will make unfavorable changes in tax laws, driving down the after-tax returns and market values of certain investments.
      -Types of Investments Affected
–        Municipal bonds
–        Real estate
      -Examples of Tax Risk
–        Lower tax rates reduce the tax benefit of municipal bond interest
–        Limits on deductions from real estate losses

•         Market Risk is the risk of decline in investment returns because of market factors independent of the given investment.
      -Types of Investments Affected
–        All types of investments
      -Examples of Market Risk
–        Stock market decline on bad news
–        Political upheaval
–        Changes in economic conditions
•         Event Risk comes from an unexpected event that has a significant and unusually immediate effect on the underlying value of an investment.
      -Types of Investments Affected
–        All types of investments
      -Examples of Event Risk
–        Decrease in value of insurance company stock after
a major hurricane
–        Decrease in value of real estate after a major earthquake

Figure 4.2  Risk-Return Tradeoffs for Various Investment Vehicles


Steps in the Decision Process:
Combining Return and Risk
•         Estimate the expected return using present value methods and historical/projected return rates
•         Assess the risk of the investment by looking at historical/projected returns using standard deviation or coefficient of variation of returns
•         Evaluate the risk-return of each investment alternative to make sure the return is reasonable given the level of risk
•         Select the investment vehicles that offer the highest expected returns associated with the level of risk you are willing to accept

Referance:
1) Gitman, Joehnk; Fundamentals Investing 10th Edition; 2008

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