Paper, Order, or Assignment Requirements

STOCK PORTFOLIO PROJECT: Each student is expected to “hypothetically” invest $10,000 in a portfolio consisting of 4-6 stocks, consistent with his/her own investment objective. I suggest that students choose their stocks by reading The Wall Street Journal and other similar periodicals. The main purpose of this project is to familiarize students with the operations of the U.S. stock market and the benefits of portfolio diversification.

Use the closing prices of stocks on Friday, January 29, 2016, as purchase prices of the stocks. Students should sell their stocks using the closing prices of securities on Friday, April 22, 2016. More explanation will be given in class before students set their investment objectives and choose their stocks.

Toward the end of the semester, each student writes a short (6-8 pages, typed, double spaced) paper summarizing and evaluating the management of his/her portfolio. More specifically, your paper describes the performance of individual securities in your portfolio, an evaluation of the performance relative to the overall market and any news items related to your portfolio. A copy of a table to show the “weekly update” of the portfolio should be attached to your report.

Evaluation of the term paper will be based on the following criteria:

1. Analysis of the portfolio project
2. Comparison/evaluation of the portfolio’s performance with market indices
3. Ability to organize the paper and summarize the findings
4. Proper documentation of source materials
5. Clarity
6. Proper use of English language
7. Neatness of the paper
8. Completeness of the paper