CFA-Level-III Practice Questions

CFA Level III Chartered Financial Analyst Exam Practice Test

Total 95 Pages
Total 472 Questions

CFA-Level-III Practice Questions

Question# 1

HAS THREE PARTS Wyatt Washington is the portfolio manager for Mark Beitia, a recent retiree. He is currently exploring a change in Beitia’s strategic asset allocation. He gathers data on the expected returns, standard deviations, and correlations for five assets. Using these market expectations, he derives an efficient frontier. Washington uses the following information in his construction of the asset allocation: • Beitia’s asset base = $5,000,000. • Annual after - tax spending amount = $150,000. • Estimate of future inflation = 3.5%. • Beitia will donate $750,000 to his alma mater in one year in one lump sum. • Risk - free rate = 4.0%. • Beitia’s income tax rate = 25%. Washington forms four corner portfolios from his efficient frontier and calculates the following expected returns and standard deviations:

Choose the Choices:

Calculate the required before - tax return for Beitia’s portfolio and Beitia’s expected utility from holding each of the corner portfolios.

Assuming that Washington combines two corner portfolios to meet Beitia’s desired return (calculated in Part A), calculate the weights of the appropriate corner portfolios that will be used (assume no borrowing or short - selling) and the resulting portfolio standard deviation.

Assuming that Washington combines a corner portfolio with the risk - free asset to meet Beitia’s desired return (calculated in Part A), calculate the weights of the appropriate corner portfolio and the risk - free asset that will be used (assume no borrowing) and the resulting portfolio standard deviation.

Question# 2

HAS ONE PARTAl Casualty, Inc. writes property and casualty insurance policies for individuals, homeowners, and small businesses located in the Southeastern portion of the United States. For the last three years, market forces have caused Al to more competitively price their policies to increase underwriting volume. This competitive pricing environment coincides with a somewhat slowing general business cycle. Two months ago, a massive hurricane hit the panhandle of Florida and southeast Alabama, causing unprecedented damages to property. Approximately 50% ofAl ‘s homeowners’ policies are written in that geographic region, but as of yet, claims processing has been much less than expected from the area. Stan Carnay, Al ‘s CEO, has been busy preparing the latest investment portfolio report for the Board of Directors’ meeting in two weeks and has asked Eileen Carlyle, CFA, Al ‘s most recent addition to the investment group, for assistance in updating a decades - old investment policy statement. In preliminary discussions, Carlyle indicatcd the following: • “Underwriting activity, although somewhat improved over the past decade, has not been as profitable as expected during the last three years. The competitive marketplace in which we operate has directly impacted our ability to profitably price our insurance products.” • “We should count our blessings that so few claims from the recent hurricane have been submitted. Actuarial estimates indicate our potential exposure from this weather event is approximately $75 million, which represents 75% of our surplus portfolio. Since claim submission has been almost non - existent, we can transition our investment portfolio into a greater proportion of common stock, taking our stock to surplus ratio from 90% to close to 100%. That action should help strengthen our long - term competitive position.” • “Recent economic conditions have slowed, but numerous other comparable casualty companies are optimistic that economic conditions will improve over the next 9 to 12 months. Although market economists continue forecasting a slightly longer downturn in the national economy, we consider those forecasts overly pessimistic.” Without using calculations, formulate an investment policy statement appropriate for Al. Answer Question 7 in the template provided.

Choose the Choices:

Question# 3

HAS ONE PART Bailey Investments is a U.S. - based investment management firm. They began operations on January 1, 2004. Their client base has grown considerably over the last few years and in order to ensure accurate and consistent performance data they have decided to pursue GIPS® compliance. The following includes composite data and notes relating to the first presentation for one of their composites in which they claim GIPS compliance. Bailey Investments has prepared and presented this report in compliance with the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®). Notes: 1. Valuations are obtained by Reuters and computed using the U.S. dollar. 2. Bailey Investments is a dedicated equity portfolio manager that invests entirely in U.S. securities and has no affiliates. 3. The benchmark composition is 100% S&P 500. The annualized compound benchmark return is 8.15%. The annualized compound composite return is 8.06%. 4. Composite dispersion is the annualized monthly standard deviation of composite returns. 5. No modifications to the composites as presented here have occurred as a result of changes in personnel or for any other reason at any time. 6. Performance results are presented before management and custodial fees but after all trading commissions. 7. The composite includes discretionary and non - discretionary fee - paying portfolios. ListJour noncompliant items in the presentation. For each, state the necessary corrective action. Answer Question 8 in the template provied.

Choose the Choices:

Question# 4

HAS THREE PARTS One year has passed since HNW Advisors first started operations. Their overall equity portfolio has returned 28.2% versus a return of 22.4% for the S&P 500. The standard deviation of the S&P 500 is 20%, and Maggie Day, CFA, has estimated the standard deviation of HNW Advisor’s equity portfolio at 45%. HNW Advisor’s equity portfolio has a beta of 1.35, and the risk - free rate is 4.4%. A major HNW client is attempting to evaluate the relative performance of HNW’s equity fund. The client is unsure whether the Sharpe measure or the Treynor measure is appropriate for the HNW portfolio.

Choose the Choices:

Using the Sharpe and Treynor measures for the HNW portfolio and the S&P 500, determine how HNW has performed relative to the S&P 500.

Assume that, using the Sharpe ratio to measure performance, the S&P 500 outperformed the HNW portfolio, but using the Treynor measure, the HNW portfolio outperformed the S&P 500. Explain, in terms of systematic and unsystematic risk, how this change in ranking could have occurred.

Compute M2 for the HNW portfolio, assuming management uses the market as a benchmark. Explain, in terms of relative returns and volatility, the circumstances under which M2 for HNW would equal M2 for the market.

Question# 5

HAS TWO PARTS Tom Groh is the President of Opportunity Banks. Opportunity has historically operated in the northeastern United States, with most of its business in Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey. Opportunity has been in business since 1987 and has built its business on making mortgages and construction loans to residential developers. Opportunity has been very profitable, because developers value the services the bank provides. This allows Opportunity to price their construction loans with higher interest rates. Opportunity services and retains ownership of the its loans. It historically has had a near - zero leverage - adjusted duration gap. In the most recent fiscal year, Opportunity has experienced important changes in their business as follows: 1. Due to pressure from local activists, Opportunity has stepped up lending in low - income areas. Groh expects the default rate on these loans to be higher than the Loans currently in their portfolio. 2. Opportunity has bought a regional bank with operations in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. The acquired bank’s loan portfolio consists mostly of commercial loans to small, local businesses. 3. A recent downturn in interest rates has caused many of Opportunity’s variable rate mortgages to be refinanced to 15 and 30 - year fixed - rate mortgages. Opportunity has retained the business of most of its customers who have refinanced.

Choose the Choices:

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CFA-Level-III Practice Questions