1. A highly risk-averse investor is considering adding one additional stock to a 3-stock portfolio, to form a 4-stock portfolio. The three stocks currently held all have b = 1.0, and they are perfectly positively correlated with the market. Potential new Stocks A and B both have expected returns of 15%, are in equilibrium, and are equally correlated with the market, with r = 0.75. However, Stock A's standard deviation of returns is 12% versus 8% for Stock B. Which stock should this investor add to his or her portfolio, or does the choice not matter?
a. Either A or B, i.e., the investor should be indifferent between the two.
b. Stock A.
c. Stock B.
d. Neither A nor B, as neither has a return sufficient to compensate for risk.
e. Add A, since its beta must be lower.
2. Stock A's beta is 1.5 and Stock B's beta is 0.5. Which of the following statements must be true about these securities? (Assume market equilibrium.)
a. When held in isolation, Stock A has more risk than Stock B.
b. Stock B must be a more desirable addition to a portfolio than A.
c. Stock A must be a more desirable addition to a portfolio than B.
d. The expected return on Stock A should be greater than that on B.
e. The expected return on Stock B should be greater than that on A.
3. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?
a. The beta of a portfolio of stocks is always smaller than the betas of any of the individual stocks.
b. If you found a stock with a zero historical beta and held it as the only stock in your portfolio, you would by definition have a riskless portfolio.
c. The beta coefficient of a stock is normally found by regressing past returns on a stock against past market returns. One could also construct a scatter diagram of returns on the stock versus those on the market, estimate the slope of the line of best fit, and use it as beta. However, this historical beta may differ from the beta that exists in the future.
d. The beta of a portfolio of stocks is always larger than the betas of any of the individual stocks.
e. It is theoretically possible for a stock to have a beta of 1.0. If a stock did have a beta of 1.0, then, at least in theory, its required rate of return would be equal to the risk-free (default-free) rate of return, rRF.
4. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?
a. An investor can eliminate virtually all market risk if he or she holds a very large and well diversified portfolio of stocks.
b. The higher the correlation between the stocks in a portfolio, the lower the risk inherent in the portfolio.
c. It is impossible to have a situation where the market risk of a single stock is less than that of a portfolio that includes the stock.
d. Once a portfolio has about 40 stocks, adding additional stocks will not reduce its risk by even a small amount.
e. An investor can eliminate virtually all diversifiable risk if he or she holds a very large, well diversified portfolio of stocks.
5. Tom O'Brien has a 2-stock portfolio with a total value of $100,000. $37,500 is invested in Stock A with a beta of 0.75 and the remainder is invested in Stock B with a beta of 1.42. What is his portfolio’s beta?
a. 1.17
b. 1.23
c. 1.29
d. 1.35
e. 1.42