First Semester of Academic Year 2016-2017
MA 476 Portfolio Theory and Performance Analysis
Syllabus

Mean-variance portfolio theory, asset return, portfolio mean and variance, Markowitz model, efficient frontier calculation algorithm, single-index and multi-index models; Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), Capital market line, pricing model, security market line, systematic and nonsystematic risk, pricing formulas, investment implications, empirical tests, performance evaluation; Multifactor models, CAPM as a factor model, arbitrage pricing theory (APT), multifactor models in continuous time, data statistics, estimation of parameters;
Utility functions, risk aversion, utility functions and the mean-variance criterion, linear pricing, portfolio choice, risk neutral pricing; Optimal portfolio growth, continuous-time growth, log-optimal pricing and the Black-Scholes equation; Multiperiod securities, risk neutral pricing, buying price analysis, continuous time evaluation; Fixed Income Security investment, modeling yield curves, managing a bond portfolio, performance analysis.

Texts/References:

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