Session 18: Portfolio Management: Capital Market Theory and the Portfolio Management Process Reading 68: International Asset Pricing
LOS f: Calculate the expected 1) exchange rate and 2) domestic-currency holding period return on a foreign bond (security).
A U.S. investor is considering investing in Swiss bonds. The $/SF (SF = Swiss Franc) exchange rate is 2. Inflation, which is completely predictable, is 5% and 3% in the U.S. and Switzerland, respectively. Current U.S. interest rates are 7% and Swiss interest rates are 5%. If the real exchange rate is constant, what is the domestic currency return from buying the Swiss bond?
The domestic currency return on the Swiss bond is equal to the foreign interest rate plus the currency appreciation. Since the inflation differential favors the SF and the real rate is assumed to be constant, the SF will appreciate by 2%. Hence, the domestic currency return is 7% (= 5% foreign rate + 2% currency appreciation). |