ACTIVE PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT

Code Cours
2223-IÉSEG-M1S1-FIN-MA-EE42UE
Language of instruction
English
Teaching content
FINANCE
This course occurs in the following program(s)
Training officer(s)
R.JOLIET
Stakeholder(s)
Robert Joliet (Lille)
Hayette Gatfaoui (Paris
Level
Master
Program year
Period

Présentation

Prerequisite
Portfolio Management and Analysis (strict prerequisite)
Introduction to Bloomberg (strict prerequisite)
Introduction to Financial Markets
Probability and Statistics in Finance
Goal
At the end of the course, the student should be able to:

1. Identify the approaches involved in the security selection process,
2. Distinguish between different equity investment styles,
3. Construct and monitor portfolios using the portfolio analytics system on Bloomberg (PORT function),
4. Implement equity portfolio management strategies, using fundamental analysis
5. Evaluate portfolio performance against a benchmark, including return attribution.
6. Report detailed portfolio information and commentaries in the portfolio factsheet.

More generally, students should also be able to:

1. Propose creative solutions
2. Predict how business and economic cycles could affect strategy
3. Construct expert knowledge from cutting-edge information
4. Employ state-of-the-art management techniques
5. Convey powerful messages using contemporary presentation techniques
6. Synthesize multifaceted information from various sources across different functional fields
Presentation
Equity markets were completely and permanently informationally efficient, risk-averse portfolio managers would be only interested in efficient risk diversification. They could just buy and hold a broad-based index that is consistent with their investment style.
By contrast, when the market vacillates between fear and greed, active portfolio managers seek to outperform the market by skillfully identifying and exploiting the information that is not (totally) reflected in stock prices. They endeavor to construct portfolios that could outperform the market on a risk-adjusted basis. The critical task in this process is to forecast alpha values ahead of time, using fundamental analysis. Ultimately, the optimal risky portfolio should balance alpha (i.e. extra return) with deviations from efficient diversification (e.g. extra firm-specific risk).

Course outline:

*Part I: Passive vs. active portfolio management
1. Index tracking, sampling, buy-and-hold approach
2. The Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH)
3. Investment policy statement (IPS)
4. Investment styles in equity investing
5. Portfolio performance evaluation, performance attribution, risk exposure

*Part II: Fundamental analysis and selection of common stocks: Equity portfolio management strategies
1. Economic analysis and setting capital market expectations
2. Industry analysis and sensitivity to the business cycle
3. Company analysis and the relative valuation of stocks

*Part III: Active Portfolio Construction and Rebalancing
1. Asset allocation (active vs. passive portfolio; active securities)
2. Forecast precision, tracking error and restriction of benchmark risk

Modalités

Organization
Type Amount of time Comment
Présentiel
Cours interactif 16,00
Travail personnel
Group Project 20,00
Individual Project 15,00
Charge de travail personnel indicative 5,00
Overall student workload 56,00
Evaluation
This course is assessed through a simulation for which groups of students construct their own equity portfolio on Bloomberg, following an investment policy statement. Students extract data from various sources, including Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters Eikon, to conduct a sound fundamental analysis. Their portfolio is shared with the Professor and they present midterm and final reports. At the end of the course, each member of the group will also provide an individual equity research report. Students will present in class the investment policy statement for their respective portfolio and the progress of their project. Feedback will be provided by the professor at the end of each presentation.
Control type Duration Amount Weighting
Autres
Projet Individuel 0,00 1 35,00
Projet Collectif 0,00 1 50,00
exposé
exposé 0,00 2 15,00
TOTAL 100,00

Ressources

Bibliography
Analysis of Investments and Management of Portfolios - Reilly, F.K. and Brown, K.C. (South-Western. 10th edition 2012) -
Investments- Bodie, Z., Kane, A., and Marcus, A. (McGraw-Hill Education. 10th Global Edition 2014) -
Running Money. Professional Portfolio Management - Stewart, S., Piros, C. and Heisler, J. (McGraw-Hill. 1st edition -International Edition 2011) -
Internet resources