Chapter 8 Sample Problems

Beta coefficient Answer: d Diff: E

i
. Stock A has a beta of 1.5 and Stock B has a beta of 0.5. Which of the following
statements must be true about these securities? (Assume the market is in
equilibrium.)

a. When held in isolation, Stock A has greater risk than Stock B.

b. Stock B would be a more desirable addition to a portfolio than
Stock A.
c. Stock A would be a more desirable addition to a portfolio than
Stock B.
d. The expected return on Stock A will be greater than that on Stock B.
e. The expected return on Stock B will be greater than that on Stock A.

Portfolio risk Answer: b Diff: E

ii
. Stock A and Stock B both have an expected return of 10 percent and a standard
deviation of 25 percent. Stock A has a beta of 0.8 and Stock B has a beta of 1.2.
The correlation coefficient, r, between the two stocks is 0.6. Portfolio P is a
portfolio with 50 percent invested in Stock A and 50 percent invested in Stock B.
Which of the following statements is most correct?

a. Portfolio P has a coefficient of variation equal to 2.5.

b. Portfolio P has more market risk than Stock A but less market risk than Stock
B.
c. Portfolio P has a standard deviation of 25 percent and a beta of 1.0.
d. All of the statements above are correct.
e. None of the statements above is correct.

Portfolio risk and return Answer: e Diff: E

iii
. Bob has a $50,000 stock portfolio with a beta of 1.2, an expected return of 10.8
percent, and a standard deviation of 25 percent. Becky has a $50,000 portfolio
with a beta of 0.8, an expected return of 9.2 percent, and a standard deviation of
25 percent. The correlation coefficient, r, between Bobs and Beckys portfolios is
0. Bob and Becky are engaged to be married. Which of the following best
describes their combined $100,000 portfolio?
a. The combined portfolios expected return is a simple average of the expected
returns of the two individual portfolios (10%).
b. The combined portfolios beta is a simple average of the betas of the two
individual portfolios (1.0).
c. The combined portfolios standard deviation is less than a simple average of
the two portfolios standard deviations (25%), even though there is no
correlation between the returns of the two portfolios.
d. Statements a and b are correct.
e. All of the statements above are correct.

Required return Answer: b Diff: E N

iv
. The risk-free rate is 5 percent. Stock A has a beta = 1.0 and Stock B has a beta =
1.4. Stock A has a required return of 11 percent. What is Stock Bs required
return?
 a. 12.4%
b. 13.4%
c. 14.4%
d. 15.4%
e. 16.4%

Coefficient of variation Answer: b Diff: E

v
. Below are the stock returns for the past five years for Agnew
Industries:

Year Stock Return

2002 22%
2001 33
2000 1
1999 -12
1998 10

What was the stocks coefficient of variation during this 5-year

period? (Use the population standard deviation to calculate the
coefficient of variation.)

a. 10.80
b. 1.46
c. 15.72
d. 0.69
e. 4.22

vi
. T. Martell Inc.'s stock has a 50% chance of producing a 32.2% return, a
35% chance of producing a 9% return, and a 15% chance of producing a -
25% return. What is Martell's expected return?
a.
14.4%
b.
15.5%
c.
16.0%
d.
16.8%
e.
17.6%

vii
. Parr Paper's stock has a beta of 1.442, and its required return is 13.00%. Clover
Dairy's stock has a beta of 0.80. If the risk-free rate is 4.00%, what is the
required rate of return on Clover's stock? (Hint: First find the market risk
premium.)

a. 8.55%
b. 8.71%
 c. 8.99%
d. 9.14%
e. 9.33%
viii
. Suppose you hold a diversified portfolio consisting of a $10,000 invested equally
in each of 10 different common stocks. The portfolios beta is 1.120. Now
suppose you decided to sell one of your stocks that has a beta of 1.000 and to
use the proceeds to buy a replacement stock with a beta of 2.260. What would
the portfolios new beta be?

a. 0.982
b. 1.017
c. 1.195
d. 1.246
e. 1.519
ix
. Assume the risk-free rate is 5% and that the market risk premium is 6.20%. If a
stock has a required rate of return of 12.75%, what is its beta?

a. 1.11
b. 1.25
c. 1.06
d. 1.60
e. 1.96
x
. An investor is forming a portfolio by investing $50,000 in stock A that has a beta
of 1.50, and $25,000 in stock B that has a beta of 0.90. The market risk premium
is equal to 2% and Treasury bonds have a yield of 4%. What is the required rate
of return on the investors portfolio?

a. 6.8%
b. 6.6%
c. 5.8%
d. 7.0%
e. 7.5%
xi
. Your portfolio consists of $100,000 invested in a stock that has a beta = 0.8,
$150,000 invested in a stock that has a beta = 1.2, and $50,000 invested in a
stock that has a beta = 1.8. The risk-free rate is 7%. Last year this portfolio had
a required return of 13%. This year nothing has changed except that the market
risk premium has increased by 2%. What is the portfolios current required rate of
return?

a. 5.14%
b. 7.14%
c. 11.45%
d. 15.33%
e. 16.25%
xii
. Which of the following statements is CORRECT? (Assume that the risk-free rate
is a constant.)

a. If the market risk premium increases by 1%, then the required return on all
stocks will rise by 1%.
b. If the market risk premium increases by 1%, then the required return will
increase for stocks that have a positive beta, but it will decrease for stocks
that have a negative beta.
c. If the market risk premium increases by 1%, then the required return will
increase by 1% for a stock that has a beta of 0.50.
d. The effect of a change in the market risk premium on the required rate of
return depends on the level of the risk-free rate.
e. The effect of a change in the market risk premium on the required rate of
return depends on the slope of the yield curve.
xiii
. Stock A and Stock B both have an expected return of 10% and a standard
deviation of returns of 25%. Stock A has a beta of 0.8 and Stock B has a beta of
1.2. The correlation coefficient, r, between the two stocks is 0.6. Portfolio P is a
portfolio with 50% invested in Stock A and 50% invested in Stock B. Which of the
following statements is CORRECT?

a. Portfolio P has a coefficient of variation equal to 2.5.

b. Portfolio P has more market risk than Stock A but less market risk than Stock
B.
c. Portfolio P has a standard deviation of 25% and a beta of 1.0.
d. Based on the information we are given, and assuming those are the views of
the marginal investor, it is apparent that the two stocks are in equilibrium.
e. Stock A should have a higher expected return than Stock B as viewed by the
marginal investor.
xiv
. Assume that the risk-free rate is 5%. Which of the following statements is
correct?

a. If a stocks beta doubled, its required return would also double.

b. If a stocks beta doubled, its required return would more than double.
c. If a stocks beta were 1.0, its required return would be 5%.
d. If a stocks beta were less than 1.0, its required return would be less than 5%.
e. If a stock has a negative beta, its required return would be less than 5%.
i. Beta coefficient Answer: d Diff: E

ii. Portfolio risk Answer: b Diff: E

The standard deviation of the portfolio will be less than the weighted
average of the two stocks standard deviations because the correlation
coefficient is less than one. Therefore, although the expected return on the
portfolio will be the weighted average of the two returns (10 percent), the
CV will not be equal to 25%/10%. Therefore, statement a is false. Remember,
market risk is measured by beta. The beta of the portfolio will be the
weighted average of the two betas; therefore, it will be less than the beta
of the high-beta stock (B), but more than the beta of the low-beta stock (A).
Therefore, the market risk of the portfolio will be higher than As, but
lower than Bs. Therefore, statement b is correct. Because the correlation
between the two stocks is less than one, the portfolios standard deviation
will be less than 25 percent. Therefore, statement c is false.

iii. Portfolio risk and return Answer: e Diff: E

iv. Required return Answer: b Diff: E N

Step 1: We must determine the market risk premium using the CAPM equation with data
inputs for Stock A:
kA = kRF + (kM kRF)bA
11%= 5% + (kM kRF)1.0
6% = (kM kRF).

Step 2: We can now find the required return of Stock B using the CAPM equation with data
inputs for Stock B:
kB = kRF + (kM kRF)bB
kB = 5% + (6%)1.4
kB = 13.4%.

v. Coefficient of variation Answer: b Diff: E

Using your financial calculator you find the mean to be 10.8% and the
population standard deviation to be 15.715%. The coefficient of variation is
just the standard deviation divided by the mean, or 15.715%/10.8% = 1.4551
1.46.

vi. Expected returns Answer: b EASY

Conditions Probability Return Prob x Ret

Good 0.50 32.2% 16.1%

Average 0.35 9% 3.15%

Poor 0.15 -25% -3.75%

1.00 15.50%

vii. CAPM Answer: c MEDIUM

 Beta: Parr 1.442
Beta: Clover 0.80
Risk-free rate 4.00%
Required return 13.00%
Market risk premium 6.24%

Clovers required return 8.99%

viii. Portfolio beta Answer: d MEDIUM/HARD

Number of stocks 10
Portfolio beta 1.120
Stock thats sold 1.000
Stock thats bought 2.260

New portfolio beta 1.246

ix. Beta coefficient Answer: b

12.75% = 5% + 6.2%(b)
7.75% = 6.2%(b)
b = 1.25.

x. Portfolio return Answer: b

The portfolios beta is a weighted average of the individual security betas as follows:

($50,000/$75,000)1.5 + ($25,000/$75,000)0.9 = 1.3. The required rate of return is then

simply: 4% + 2%(1.3) = 6.6%.
xi. CAPM and portfolio return Answer: d

$100,000 $150,000 $50,000

bp = $300,000 (0.8) + $300,000 (1.2) + $300,000 (1.8)
bp = 1.1667.

Last year: r = 13%

13% = 7% + RPM(1.1667)
6% = RPM(1.1667)
RPM= 5.1429%.

This year:
r = 7% +(5.1429% + 2%)1.1667
r = 15.33%.

xii. Market risk premium Answer: b MEDIUM

CAPM equation: rs = rRF + (rM - rRF)b

 Statement a is false, because if the market risk premium (measured by r M - rRF) goes up by 1.0, then the
required return for each stock will change by its beta times 1.0. Statement b is true, because as shown
in statement a, the required returns on all positive-beta stocks will increase, although negative betas will
result in decreases. Statement c is false, because if the market risk premium increases by 1%, then the
required return increases by 0.5 times the stocks beta. Therefore, the required return of a stock with a
beta of 1.0 will increase by 0.5%. Statements d and e are false.

xiii. Portfolio risk Answer: b MEDIUM

The standard deviation of the portfolio will be less than the weighted average of the two
stocks standard deviations because the correlation coefficient is less than one. Therefore,
although the expected return on the portfolio will be the weighted average of the two returns
(10%), the CV will not be equal to 25%/10%. Therefore, statement a is false. Remember,
market risk is measured by beta. The beta of the portfolio will be the weighted average of the
two betas; therefore, it will be less than the beta of the high-beta stock (B), but more than the
beta of the low-beta stock (A). Therefore, the market risk of the portfolio will be higher than
As, but lower than Bs. Therefore, statement b is correct. Because the correlation between
the two stocks is less than one, the portfolios standard deviation will be less than 25%.
Therefore, statement c is false. Statements d and e are false, because Stock B has a higher
beta and consequently a higher required return, but the stocks have the same expected
returns.

xiv. CAPM and required return Answer: e MEDIUM

From the CAPM equation: rs = rRF + (rM rRF)b, statement e is the only correct answer.