southern new hampshire university

FIN 640 Milestone Three Guidelines and Rubric

Overview: For your final project, the CEO has asked you, the new investment manager of XYZ Tech Company, to produce an investment analysis report. You will prepare an investment analysis report for the company, portfolio analysis template, a complete portfolio, and a justification of your investment strategies in an executive summary.

For this last milestone, due in Module Seven, you will first complete your portfolio by comparing the risk/return trade-off on the investments you are compiling. Then, as part of the beginning of your executive summary, you will describe how your investments performed on both an absolute and relative (index or benchmark) basis. You will also assess investment performance for the seven securities by calculating the portfolio’s overall investment performance and briefly note how each security contributed to the portfolio’s performance.

Prompt: First, review your completed portfolio analysis template to access the financial data you gathered for the seven securities in your investment portfolio. Forecast each company’s future revenues and earnings growth and analyze the risk and return tradeoff for these investments.

In a 2- to 3-page paper, complete your portfolio by comparing the risk/return trade-off of the investments and then, in beginning your executive summary, describe how making these investments will position the company to generate an attractive absolute and relative investment performance and assess investment performance utilizing specific performance measurements.

Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:

II. Portfolio: With your company and market analysis in mind, construct a complete portfolio that includes the following:

D. Compare the risk/return trade-off on the investments. Keep in mind the rates of return for shareholders on the proposed investment portfolio.

III. Executive Summary: Justify your investment strategies in a summary, utilizing your company and market analysis and portfolio for support. Include the following in your justification:

A. Describe how making these investments will position the company to generate an attractive absolute and relative investment performance. Support with examples.

C. Assess investment performance utilizing specific performance measurements.

Support your responses with the data from the portfolio analysis template and other information you have gathered from the financial resources you have consulted in this course. Be sure to apply instructor feedback on this milestone to your final project.

Rubric

Guidelines for Submission: The written component of this milestone should be submitted as a Word document, 2–3 pages in length (this includes the start of your executive summary), double-spaced, using 12-point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, and the latest edition of the APA manual for formatting and citations.

Please note that the grading rubric for this milestone submission is not identical to that of the final project. The Final Project Rubric will include an additional “Exemplary” category that provides guidance as to how you can go above and beyond “Proficient” in your final submission.

Critical Elements

Proficient (100%)

Needs Improvement (75%)

Not Evident (0%)

Value

Portfolio: Risks/Return

Compares the risk/return trade-off on the investments

Compares the risk/return trade-off on the investments, but comparison is incomplete or contains inaccuracies

Does not compare the risk/return trade-off on the investments

30

Executive Summary: Position

Describes how making these investments will position the company within its industry in the market, supported with examples

Describes how making these investments will position the company within its industry in the market, but description is cursory, is insufficiently supported, or contains inaccuracies

Does not describe how making these investments will position the company within its industry in the market

30

Executive Summary: Investment Performance

Assesses investment performance utilizing specific performance measurements

Assesses investment performance utilizing specific performance measurements, but measurements used are inappropriate, or assessment is incomplete or contains inaccuracies

Does not utilize performance measurements to assess investment performance

30

Articulation of Response

Submission has no major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization

Submission has major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that negatively impact readability and articulation of main ideas

Submission has critical errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that prevent understanding of ideas

10

Total

100%