Overview

Common investment philosophies and approaches to investment risk; The strategies of investment funds, e.g. mutual funds, pension funds, hedge funds and sovereign wealth funds; Strategic and tactical asset allocation; Links between market efficiency and active/passive portfolio management; Benchmarking, performance measurement and attribution; Testing for excess returns: theory, methodologies and findings; The implementation of trading strategies e.g. high frequency trading and algorithmic trading.

Assessment Strategy

-threshold -D- to D+ (40-49%): No major omissions or inaccuracies in the deployment of information/skills. Some grasp of theoretical/conceptual/practical elements. Integration of theory/practice/information present intermittently in pursuit of the assessed work's objectives.

-good -B- to B+ (60-69%): Very good performance Most of the relevant information accurately deployed. Good grasp of theoretical/conceptual/practical elements. Good integration of theory/practice/information in pursuit of the assessed work's objectives. Evidence of the use of creative and reflective skills.

-excellent -A- to A+ (70%+): Outstanding Performance. The relevant information accurately deployed. Excellent grasp of theoretical/conceptual/practice elements. Good integration of theory/practice/information in pursuit of the assessed work's objectives. Strong evidence of the use of creative and reflective skills.

-another level-C- to C+ (50-59%): Much of the relevant information and skills mostly accurately deployed. Adequate grasp of theoretical/conceptual/practical elements. Fair integration of theory/practice/information in the pursuit of the assessed work's objectives. Some evidence of the use of creative and reflective skills.

Learning Outcomes

• Apply appropriate techniques to measure and interpret the performance and the risk associated with investment strategies.

• Articulate the theoretical rationale proposed in the academic literature for the apparent excess returns arising from some investment strategies.

• Critically analyse investment strategies relating to mutual funds, pension funds, hedge funds, sovereign wealth funds and algorithmic trading.

• Critically analyse theoretical and empirical perspectives relating to market efficiency, active and passive portfolio management.

• Critically evaluate common investment philosophies including value investing, growth investing, and small-cap investing, and the related empirical evidence.

• Explain key concepts relating to investment strategies and asset allocation.