On Completion of her introductory finance course, Kieran was so pleased with the amount of useful and interesting knowledge she gained that she convinced her parents, who were wealthy alums of the university she was attending, to create an endowment. The endowment would allow three needy students to take the introductory finance course each year into perpetuity. The guaranteed annual cost of tuition and books for the course was $600 per student. The endowment would be created by making a lump-sum payment to the university. The university expected to earn exactly 6% per year on these funds.
a. How large an initial lump-sum payment must Kieran's parents make to the university to fund the endowment?
b. What amount would be needed to fund the endowment if the university could earn 9% rather than 6% per year on the funds?