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FINN3021 Security Investment Analysis Undergraduate Programmes 2024/25
Summative Assignment
During Epiphany Term you are required to construct an investment portfolio and manage and monitor its performance. The investment/portfolio construction period runs from Monday 27th January until Friday 21st March 2025.
An initial fund of $1,000,000 is available to purchase assets (equities, bonds, mutual funds, and ETFs). The total number of transactions permitted for the assignment is limited to 300 for the investment period.
You may use whatever platform you wish to construct your portfolio e.g., StockTrak, Bloomberg etc., however, you must adhere to the parameters outlined above.
Details of how to register for an individual StockTrak account (should you wish to use this platform) are outlined on the module’s Blackboard Learn Ultra site. Please note, however, that you should not reuse the same account that was used for the group formative assignment.
The assignment will be assessed by means of an individual written report that critically addresses all of the following:
- the investment philosophy that underpins the construction of the portfolio.
- the investment strategy adopted in constructing your portfolio (your investment philosophy and strategy should be carefully distinguished from one another).
- the nature of the prevailing economic and financial environment that shapes your investment decision-making and the potential impact of these on the performance of the portfolio.
- the rationale for the allocation of assets between broad sectors and the principles that have guided the choice of individual securities (the application of technical and/or fundamental analysis).
- the performance of the portfolio in relation to a chosen benchmark (and a justification for the choice of benchmark).
- the risk/return characteristics of the portfolio using appropriate portfolio performance measures (consideration should be given to the performance of your portfolio in terms of security selection, market timing, and diversification).
- the strengths and weaknesses of your investment strategy and how any lessons learned might alter your investment decision-making if you were asked to construct a new portfolio at the end of the simulation period.
- Furthermore, the discussion above should be underpinned by appropriate academic and practitioner literature as necessary.
- Finally, as this is an investment report, presentation is important, and elements expected in an investment report should be present e.g., such as charts, graphs, tables, section headings.
Please note that the assignment will be assessed based on your written report and not on the performance of your portfolio over the investment period.
Overall word limit: 3500 words
SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
Your completed assignment must be uploaded to Blackboard Learn Ultra no later than 12:00 midday on 28 th April 2025.
A penalty will be applied for work uploaded after 12:00 midday as detailed in the Student Information Hub. You must leave sufficient time to fully complete the upload process before the deadline and check that you have received a receipt. At peak periods, it can take up to 30 minutes for a receipt to be generated.
Assignments should be typed, using 1.5 spacing and an easy-to-read 12-point font. Assignments must not exceed the word count indicated in the module handbook/assessment brief.
- Include all the text, including title, preface, introduction, in-text citations, quotations, footnotes and any other items not specifically excluded below.
- Exclude diagrams, tables (including tables/lists of contents and figures), equations, executive summary/abstract, acknowledgements, declaration, bibliography/list of references and appendices. However, it is not appropriate to use diagrams or tables merely as a way of circumventing the word limit. If a student uses a table or figure as a means of presenting his/her own words, then this is included in the word count.
Very occasionally, it may be appropriate to present, in an appendix, material which does not properly belong in the main body of the assessment but which some students wish to provide for the sake of completeness. Any appendices will not have a role in the assessment - examiners are under no obligation to read appendices and they do not form part of the word count. Material that students wish to be assessed should always be included in the main body of the text.
Guidance on referencing can be found on Durham University website and in the Student Information Hub.
Students suspected of plagiarism, either of published work or the work of other students, or of collusion will be dealt with according to the Business School and University guidelines.
END OF ASSESSMENT