FINANCE 4710 TERM PROJECT ASSIGNMENT – PROF. J. C.

FRANCIS
Spring Semester 2019 - Weight: 10% Of Semester Grade – Version: 26 January 2019
Due date: Wednesday 27 February 2019

ASSIGNED INVESTMENTS: Pull up the finance.yahoo.com web site on your PC. (2) Find Vanguard 500
Index Investor Fund (ticker symbol: VFINX). (3) Find the stock named Nintendo (ticker: NTDOY). Other
investments may not be used for this assignment. (4) Gather the information you need.

SECURITY ANALYSIS: Security analysts should do detective work to discover valuable information. For
more information consult: (A) Google.com; (B) www.marketwatch.com; (C) www.morningstar.com; (D)
www.valueline.com; (E) Vanguard’s web site; and, (F) Nintendo’s web site.

REQUIRED INFORMATION: Write double-spaced type-written report that has a total of four pages of your
writing. Where is each corporation’s world headquarters located and where is its common stock listed? For
VFINX explain the total assets under management (AUM), how many different mutual funds Vanguard
manages, the goal of VFINX’s portfolio manager, annual turnover rate, the portfolio manager’s job education,
the fund’s management fee, load fee, exit fee, and 12b-1 fee. What was NTDOY’s largest short-term gain
during 2016-2018? Explain NTDOY’s history and forecast what you predict lies ahead for the stock. How has
each investment, VINFX and NTDOY, performed over the last few decades? Should you manage each
investment actively or passively?

REPORT: Write a total of [(two pages for each investment) times (two investments) equals] four double-
spaced typewritten pages which follow your cover page. Please do not insert any graphs in your report, you
are being graded on your writing skills. No plagiarism will be tolerated. Staple your (1 + 2 + 2 =) five page
document together with page numbers typed at the bottom of each page. Print your name and Prof. Francis’s
name on every page in case Prof. Francis accidently drops the stack of papers and the pages become
separated and mixed up.

GRADING: Hand in a professional (not amateurish) document typed neatly on 8.5 x 11 inch white paper
portrait style. Insert a cover page in front of your report that gives your full name, your email address, your
phone number, and identify the class and which Section of the class in which you are enrolled and the
professor’s name. One percentage point will be deducted from your 10% maximum potential total score for
each class session late. Three percentage points will be deducted if you email any part of your Term Project
to Prof. Francis. Points will be deducted for spelling errors, punctuation errors, lack of headings, lack of
information sources, bad grammar, crooked margins, changing fonts or font size arbitrarily, using first
person pronouns (such as I, me, you, we), failure to capitalize where appropriate, creating an unattractive
report, and failure to provide the requested information or adequate information. Plagiarism will be dealt
with by the Zicklin Dean’s Office.

THREE GOALS OF THIS TERM PROJECT: (A) Writing: Learn to write a report in a professional
manner. (B) Investing: Learn the difference between active and passive investment management. (C)
Financial data: Become familiar with the investments software and data available on the internet.

FILE: C:/InvestHO/TermProjectAssign.2019Fall.docx