Portfolio Management and Wealth Planning【Reading 15】 2012

andytrader

The funding status of an ongoing defined benefit plan is usually computed by the plan’s:

A) accumulated benefit obligation (ABO).

B) total future liability (TFL).

C) projected benefit obligation (PBO).

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Funding status is the relationship between present value of pension assets and present value of pension liabilities. Determining over- or under-funded status for an ongoing defined benefit plan is usually computed using the plan’s projected benefit obligation (PBO). Defined contribution plans do not have a funded status.

clearlycanadian

The following statements concern differences between the investment policy statement for an institution and that for an individual. Which of these statements is least accurate? The institutional investment policy statement:

A) is likely to give more prominence to legal constraints.

B) has four main steps--planning, estimation, execution, and feedback--while the individual investment policy statement has three.

C) may have asset structure and liquidity requirements that are driven by the institution's liability structure.

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Both individual and institutional policy statements should have three main steps: planning, execution, and feedback. The institutional statement is more likely to include legal and regulatory constraints, and may have the asset structure and liquidity requirements driven by the institution’s liability structure.

clearlycanadian

A portfolio manager at an endowment fund expects inflation to increase over the intermediate to long term. How should the return objective of the investment policy statement reflect these expectations?

A) An exclusive income oriented approach should be adopted so that spending requirements can be met in the impending inflationary environment.

B) An exclusive capital gain oriented approach should be followed so that purchasing power is preserved, while at the same time spending requirements must be reduced.

C) A total return objective should be pursued so that spending requirements are met, while at the same time purchasing power of fund assets is maintained.

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An endowment fund should adopt a total return objective, especially in an impending inflationary environment. In this way, not only are current spending requirements met, but the ability to meet future spending requirements is also increased.

clearlycanadian

The ending of a general business cycle may indicate the last rounds of increased firm profitability. With the prospects of lower profits on the horizons, a pension fund plan sponsor may wish to take which of the following actions? Shift pension assets into those that have a:

A) low correlation with pension liabilities and low correlation with the firm's operations.

B) high correlation with pension liabilities and low correlation with the firm's operations.

C) low correlation with pension liabilities and high correlation with the firm's operations.

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Pension assets that are highly correlated with pension liabilities and have a low correlation with the firm’s operations will have a greater probability of meeting pension fund obligations and lowering contributions in the event contributions are required during the upcoming business cycle downturn.

clearlycanadian

A nonlife insurance company is facing the end of its underwriting cycle. What should the firm do with respect to the duration of its fixed-income portfolio and the liquidity constraints in its policy statement? The duration of the nonlife insurance company’s fixed-income portfolio should be:

A) lowered in expectation of decreasing claims, and the investment policy statement should reflect the possibility of a decreasing claims environment in its liquidity constraint towards the end of its underwriting cycle.

B) shortened in expectation of increasing claims, and the investment policy statement should reflect the possibility of an increasing claims environment in its liquidity constraint towards the end of its underwriting cycle.

C) lengthened in expectation of decreasing claims, and the investment policy statement should reflect the possibility of a decreasing claims environment in its liquidity constraint towards the end of its underwriting cycle.

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Nonlife insurance companies experience a noted underwriting cycle that generates low claim submissions at the beginning of the cycle and high claim submissions at the end of the cycle. The investment policy statement should reflect this changing underwriting cycle reality, which would impact a greater liquidity constraint towards the end of the cycle. Bond portfolio durations should be lowered, if they have not been already, to meet the impending increased claims submissions.

clearlycanadian

Which of the following underlying processes provides a natural framework from which to establish investment criteria and objectives?

A) Credit risk management.

B) Asset-liability management.

C) Community reputation risk management.

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Asset-liability management is a natural framework from which a bank creates investment portfolio objectives.

clearlycanadian

Cayse Medical Foundation (CMF), a private foundation, subsidizes research into an array of medical conditions. An external donor funds its operating expenses. Manny University Endowment (MUE) is a $500 million fund that contributes $30 million per year to the university’s operating budget, or about half the university’s budget, which grows by at least the inflation rate. Which fund has a higher risk tolerance?

A) MUE because CMF has greater liquidity constraints.

B) CMF because CMF’s spending rate is low and the foundation does not need to grow its assets.

C) CMF because CMF has a longer time horizon.

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Because CMF operating expenses are funded externally, CMF’s spending rate is low, which increases its ability to tolerate risk. In addition, compared to endowments, which typically have to maintain the purchasing power of its assets, foundations need not grow their assets thereby increasing their risk tolerance. Both CMF and MUE have very long, perhaps infinite, time horizons. CMF must maintain a five percent spending rate to preserve its tax-exempt status, while MUE’s spending rate is six percent. MUE’s higher spending rate creates a higher liquidity constraint and lower risk tolerance. Because the university is quite dependent on the MUE, MUE has a lower risk tolerance than CMF.

clearlycanadian

Which of the following statements most accurately describes asset-liability management for the specified institution?

A) Managers of foundations typically attempt to match the duration of assets and liabilities.

B) Asset allocation for pension funds is generally unaffected by regulatory constraints.

C) Risk tolerance for an endowment is determined by the spending rate and its importance to the operating budget of the recipient.

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Managers of pension funds typically attempt to match the duration of assets and liabilities. Asset allocation for foundations must accommodate a five percent spending rate so the fund may maintain its tax-exempt status. Asset allocation for pension funds is generally affected by regulatory constraints, such as restrictions on private and speculative debt.

clearlycanadian

Asset-liability management (or surplus management) is the primary consideration in formulating an investment policy and asset allocation for a(n):

A) defined contribution pension plan.

B) endowment.

C) defined benefit pension plan.

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Sponsors of defined benefit pension plans are responsible for funding any shortages of a pension plan’s future liabilities. Therefore, they are typically concerned with the difference between the value of the pension plan’s assets and liabilities. Most of a sponsor’s financial obligation for a defined contribution plan is fulfilled once the plan is initially funded so asset-liability management is not a concern. Endowments must have investment policies that maintain spending rates determined by their objectives and constraints.

clearlycanadian

Asset liability management techniques between a life and nonlife insurance company are similar in that liability payment:

A) timing is unknown for both.

B) amounts are known for both.

C) amounts are unknown for both.

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The payment timing for liabilities is unknown for both the life and nonlife insurance companies.