Free CFA-Level-III Exam Braindumps (page: 52)

Cynthia Farmington, CFA, manages the Lewis family's $600 million securities portfolio. Farmington and the Lewis family have agreed that they should hire a manager of alternative investments to manage a portion of the portfolio containing those assets. As part of the hiring process, they attempted to do the necessary due diligence. They assessed each manager's organization, the relative efficiency of the markets each manager has invested in, the character of each manager, and the service providers, such as lawyers, that each manager has used. In particular, they hoped to find a manager who has run an operation with low employee turnover, has invested in efficient and transparent markets, has sound character, and has utilized reputable providers of external services.
Eventually, Farmington hires the firm owned and managed by Bruce Carnegie, CFA, to diversify the Lewis portfolio into alternative investments. Carnegie will manage the portion of the portfolio containing these assets, and Farmington will continue to manage the remainder of the portfolio in a mix of approximately 50/50 high- grade stocks and bonds. Over the past ten years, the stock portion of the portfolio has closely tracked the S&P 500 and the bond portfolio has closely tracked a broad bond index.
Carnegie and Farmington meet to discuss how Carnegie should proceed. Farmington mentions that she and the Lewis family have agreed that the main goal of the alternative investments that Carnegie will manage should be to enhance the return of the overall portfolio. Diversification is only a secondary goal. In particular, Farmington says the Lewis family has expressed an interest in having the portfolio take positions in private equity. Farmington says that she envisions that Carnegie should take five positions of about 55 million each in distinct private equity investments, and each position should have about a 5-year horizon.
Farmington states that she has grown very dependent on benchmarks for her investing activities, and has concerns with respect to how she and Carnegie will monitor the success of the portfolio allocation in private equity. She has read that there can be a problem with the valuation of private equity indices in that they depend on price-revealing events like IPOs, mergers, and new financing. Thus, the repricing of the index occurs infrequently. Carnegie concludes that the solution is to follow the commonly accepted practice of creating their own private equity benchmark.
Farmington asks Carnegie to explain the choices that exist in the private equity market. Carnegie explains that there are two basic categories: venture capital funds and buyout funds. Farmington asks that Carnegie explain the pros and cons of one over the other. Carnegie states that buyout funds would probably have higher return potential, fewer losses, earlier cash flows, and less error in the measurement of the returns.
Carnegie comments that before he proceeds he will need to communicate with the clients. Farmington says this communication is not necessary because the Lewis family has largely followed her advice with very few questions. Even when the market has fallen and the portfolio has not done well, the Lewis family has not asked for any changes.
With respect to the special issues that an alternative investment manager should address with a private wealth client, from the conversation between Farmington and Carnegie, Carnegie will need to discuss all of the following with the possible exception of:

Gabrielle Reneau, CFA, and Jack Belanger specialize in options strategies at the brokerage firm of Damon and Damon. They employ fairly sophisticated strategies to construct positions with limited risk, to profit from future volatility estimates, and to exploit arbitrage opportunities. Damon and Damon also provide advice to outside portfolio managers on the appropriate use of options strategies. Damon and Damon prefer to use, and recommend, options written on widely traded indices such as the S&P 500 due to their higher liquidity. However, they also use options written on individual stocks when the investor has a position in the underlying stock or when mispricing and/or trading depth exists.
In order to trade in the one-year maturity puts and calls for the S&P 500 stock index, Reneau and Belanger contact the chief economists at Damon and Damon, Mark Blair and Fran Robinson. Blair recently joined Damon and Damon after a successful stint at a London investment bank. Robinson has been with Damon and Damon for the past ten years and has a considerable record of success in forecasting macroeconomic activity. In his forecasts for the U.S. economy over the next year, Blair is quite bullish, for both the U.S. economy and the S&P 500 stock index. Blair believes that the U.S. economy will grow at 2% more than expected over the next year.
He also states that labor productivity will be higher than expected, given increased productivity through the use of technological advances. He expects that these technological advances will result in higher earnings for U.S. firms over the next year and over the long run.
Reneau believes that the best S&P 500 option strategy to exploit Blair's forecast involves two options of the same maturity, one with a low exercise price, and the other with a high exercise price. The beginning stock price is usually below the two option strike prices. She states that the benefit of this strategy is that the maximum loss is limited to the difference between the two option prices.
Belanger is unsure that Blair's forecast is correct. He states that his own reading of the economy is for a continued holding pattern of low growth, with a similar projection for the stock market as a whole. He states that Damon and Damon may want to pursue an options strategy where a put and call of the same maturity and same exercise price are purchased. He asserts that such a strategy would have losses limited to the total cost of the two options.
Reneau and Belanger are also currently examining various positions in the options of Brendan Industries. Brendan Industries is a large-cap manufacturing firm with headquarters in the midwestern United States. The firm has both puts and calls sold on the Chicago Board Options Exchange. Their options have good liquidity for the near money puts and calls and for those puts and calls with maturities less than four months. Reneau believes that Brendan Industries will benefit from the economic expansion forecasted by Mark Blair, the Damon and Damon economist. She decides that the best option strategy to exploit these expectations is for her to pursue the same strategy she has delineated for the market as a whole.
Shares of Brendan Industries are currently trading at $38. The following are the prices for their exchange- traded options.


As a mature firm in a mature industry, Brendan Industries stock has historically had low volatility. However, Belanger's analysis indicates that with a lawsuit pending against Brendan Industries, the volatility of the stock price over the next 60 days is greater by several orders of magnitude than the implied volatility of the options. He believes that Damon and Damon should attempt to exploit this projected increase in Brendan Industries1 volatility by using an options strategy where a put and call of the same maturity and same exercise price are utilized. He advocates using the least expensive strategy possible.
During their discussions, Reneau cites a counter example to Brendan Industries from last year. She recalls that Nano Networks, a technology firm, had a stock price that stayed fairly stable despite expectations to the contrary. In this case, she utilized an options strategy where three different calls were used. Profits were earned on the strategy because Nano Networks' stock price stayed fairly stable. Even if the stock price had become volatile, losses would have been limited.
Later that week, Reneau and Belanger discuss various credit option strategies during a lunch time presentation to Damon and Damon client portfolio managers. During their discussion, Reneau describes a credit option strategy that pays the holder a fixed sum, which is agreed upon when the option is written, and occurs in the event that an issue or issuer goes into default. Reneau declares that this strategy can take the form of either puts or calls. Belanger states that this strategy is known as either a credit spread call option strategy or a credit spread put option strategy.
Reneau and Belanger continue by discussing the benefits of using credit options. Reneau mentions that credit options written on an underlying asset will protect against declines in asset valuation. Belanger says that credit spread options protect against adverse movements of the credit spread over a referenced benchmark.

Regarding their statements concerning the use of options strategies to exploit changes in the broad stock market, are Reneau and Belanger correct or incorrect?

Gabrielle Reneau, CFA, and Jack Belanger specialize in options strategies at the brokerage firm of Damon and Damon. They employ fairly sophisticated strategies to construct positions with limited risk, to profit from future volatility estimates, and to exploit arbitrage opportunities. Damon and Damon also provide advice to outside portfolio managers on the appropriate use of options strategies. Damon and Damon prefer to use, and recommend, options written on widely traded indices such as the S&P 500 due to their higher liquidity.
However, they also use options written on individual stocks when the investor has a position in the underlying stock or when mispricing and/or trading depth exists.
In order to trade in the one-year maturity puts and calls for the S&P 500 stock index, Reneau and Belanger contact the chief economists at Damon and Damon, Mark Blair and Fran Robinson. Blair recently joined Damon and Damon after a successful stint at a London investment bank. Robinson has been with Damon and Damon for the past ten years and has a considerable record of success in forecasting macroeconomic activity. In his forecasts for the U.S. economy over the next year, Blair is quite bullish, for both the U.S. economy and the S&P 500 stock index. Blair believes that the U.S. economy will grow at 2% more than expected over the next year.
He also states that labor productivity will be higher than expected, given increased productivity through the use of technological advances. He expects that these technological advances will result in higher earnings for U.S. firms over the next year and over the long run.
Reneau believes that the best S&P 500 option strategy to exploit Blair's forecast involves two options of the same maturity, one with a low exercise price, and the other with a high exercise price. The beginning stock price is usually below the two option strike prices. She states that the benefit of this strategy is that the maximum loss is limited to the difference between the two option prices.
Belanger is unsure that Blair's forecast is correct. He states that his own reading of the economy is for a continued holding pattern of low growth, with a similar projection for the stock market as a whole. He states that Damon and Damon may want to pursue an options strategy where a put and call of the same maturity and same exercise price are purchased. He asserts that such a strategy would have losses limited to the total cost of the two options.
Reneau and Belanger are also currently examining various positions in the options of Brendan Industries. Brendan Industries is a large-cap manufacturing firm with headquarters in the midwestern United States. The firm has both puts and calls sold on the Chicago Board Options Exchange. Their options have good liquidity for the near money puts and calls and for those puts and calls with maturities less than four months. Reneau believes that Brendan Industries will benefit from the economic expansion forecasted by Mark Blair, the Damon and Damon economist. She decides that the best option strategy to exploit these expectations is for her to pursue the same strategy she has delineated for the market as a whole.
Shares of Brendan Industries are currently trading at $38. The following are the prices for their exchange- traded options.


As a mature firm in a mature industry, Brendan Industries stock has historically had low volatility. However, Belanger's analysis indicates that with a lawsuit pending against Brendan Industries, the volatility of the stock price over the next 60 days is greater by several orders of magnitude than the implied volatility of the options. He believes that Damon and Damon should attempt to exploit this projected increase in Brendan Industries1 volatility by using an options strategy where a put and call of the same maturity and same exercise price are utilized. He advocates using the least expensive strategy possible.
During their discussions, Reneau cites a counter example to Brendan Industries from last year. She recalls that Nano Networks, a technology firm, had a stock price that stayed fairly stable despite expectations to the contrary. In this case, she utilized an options strategy where three different calls were used. Profits were earned on the strategy because Nano Networks' stock price stayed fairly stable. Even if the stock price had become volatile, losses would have been limited.
Later that week, Reneau and Belanger discuss various credit option strategies during a lunch time presentation to Damon and Damon client portfolio managers. During their discussion, Reneau describes a credit option strategy that pays the holder a fixed sum, which is agreed upon when the option is written, and occurs in the event that an issue or issuer goes into default. Reneau declares that this strategy can take the form of either puts or calls. Belanger states that this strategy is known as either a credit spread call option strategy or a credit spread put option strategy.
Reneau and Belanger continue by discussing the benefits of using credit options. Reneau mentions that credit options written on an underlying asset will protect against declines in asset valuation. Belanger says that credit spread options protect against adverse movements of the credit spread over a referenced benchmark.

If Brendan Industries will experience the same growth as the overall economy (as projected by Blair), the breakeven stock price and maximum loss on Rcneau's intended option strategy are closest to: Breakeven Maximum loss

Gabrielle Reneau, CFA, and Jack Belanger specialize in options strategies at the brokerage firm of Damon and Damon. They employ fairly sophisticated strategies to construct positions with limited risk, to profit from future volatility estimates, and to exploit arbitrage opportunities. Damon and Damon also provide advice to outside portfolio managers on the appropriate use of options strategies. Damon and Damon prefer to use, and recommend, options written on widely traded indices such as the S&P 500 due to their higher liquidity.
However, they also use options written on individual stocks when the investor has a position in the underlying stock or when mispricing and/or trading depth exists.
In order to trade in the one-year maturity puts and calls for the S&P 500 stock index, Reneau and Belanger contact the chief economists at Damon and Damon, Mark Blair and Fran Robinson. Blair recently joined Damon and Damon after a successful stint at a London investment bank. Robinson has been with Damon and Damon for the past ten years and has a considerable record of success in forecasting macroeconomic activity. In his forecasts for the U.S. economy over the next year, Blair is quite bullish, for both the U.S. economy and the S&P 500 stock index. Blair believes that the U.S. economy will grow at 2% more than expected over the next year.
He also states that labor productivity will be higher than expected, given increased productivity through the use of technological advances. He expects that these technological advances will result in higher earnings for U.S. firms over the next year and over the long run.
Reneau believes that the best S&P 500 option strategy to exploit Blair's forecast involves two options of the same maturity, one with a low exercise price, and the other with a high exercise price. The beginning stock price is usually below the two option strike prices. She states that the benefit of this strategy is that the maximum loss is limited to the difference between the two option prices.
Belanger is unsure that Blair's forecast is correct. He states that his own reading of the economy is for a continued holding pattern of low growth, with a similar projection for the stock market as a whole. He states that Damon and Damon may want to pursue an options strategy where a put and call of the same maturity and same exercise price are purchased. He asserts that such a strategy would have losses limited to the total cost of the two options.
Reneau and Belanger are also currently examining various positions in the options of Brendan Industries. Brendan Industries is a large-cap manufacturing firm with headquarters in the midwestern United States. The firm has both puts and calls sold on the Chicago Board Options Exchange. Their options have good liquidity for the near money puts and calls and for those puts and calls with maturities less than four months. Reneau believes that Brendan Industries will benefit from the economic expansion forecasted by Mark Blair, the Damon and Damon economist. She decides that the best option strategy to exploit these expectations is for her to pursue the same strategy she has delineated for the market as a whole.
Shares of Brendan Industries are currently trading at $38. The following are the prices for their exchange- traded options.


As a mature firm in a mature industry, Brendan Industries stock has historically had low volatility. However, Belanger's analysis indicates that with a lawsuit pending against Brendan Industries, the volatility of the stock price over the next 60 days is greater by several orders of magnitude than the implied volatility of the options. He believes that Damon and Damon should attempt to exploit this projected increase in Brendan Industries1 volatility by using an options strategy where a put and call of the same maturity and same exercise price are utilized. He advocates using the least expensive strategy possible.
During their discussions, Reneau cites a counter example to Brendan Industries from last year. She recalls that Nano Networks, a technology firm, had a stock price that stayed fairly stable despite expectations to the contrary. In this case, she utilized an options strategy where three different calls were used. Profits were earned on the strategy because Nano Networks' stock price stayed fairly stable. Even if the stock price had become volatile, losses would have been limited.
Later that week, Reneau and Belanger discuss various credit option strategies during a lunch time presentation to Damon and Damon client portfolio managers. During their discussion, Reneau describes a credit option strategy that pays the holder a fixed sum, which is agreed upon when the option is written, and occurs in the event that an issue or issuer goes into default. Reneau declares that this strategy can take the form of either puts or calls. Belanger states that this strategy is known as either a credit spread call option strategy or a credit spread put option strategy.
Reneau and Belanger continue by discussing the benefits of using credit options. Reneau mentions that credit options written on an underlying asset will protect against declines in asset valuation. Belanger says that credit spread options protect against adverse movements of the credit spread over a referenced benchmark.

If Belanger is correct regarding Brendan Industries’ volatility, and if the stock price at expiration is $45 and he pursues a lower cost strategy, his described strategy has a profit at expiration of: