Investigate an area of interest in investment analysis and portfolio management.

Assignment 1 (Term Paper) :

Introduction

Writing a research paper gives you an opportunity to investigate an area of interest in investment analysis and portfolio management. Submitting this paper for grading and feedback allows you to demonstrate what you have learned by showing the marker how you can apply the ideas you have learned in this course.

Step by Step

We recommend you work through the following steps.
1. Identify a topic.

Perhaps the most difficult part of completing a research project is identifying a topic of interest. One straightforward approach is to increase your reading while thinking critically about what you read. In addition to the assigned textbook chapters and supplemental readings, we suggest you read magazines and newspapers such as The Globe and Mail.
Visit the Journal of Portfolio Management, which can be searched via Athabasca University Library’s Full Text Electronic Journal List. Access to this Web page may require your AU library user name and password. The initial library page indicates that recent issues are not available; however, once you enter a database, you will see all issues including the most recent.
Reading extensively from all these sources can help you discover a topic of interest for your term paper.

As you read an article about volatility and the institutional investor, think about the case of Canadian institutional investors.

As you read about the psychology of financial decision making, trading, dealing, and investment analysis, you might decide to write a case study related to the points made in an article you have read.

2. Discuss your topic with your academic expert.

Once you have identified an interesting topic, you should discuss the topic with your academic expert. An academic expert will help you to assess the topic and will provide some advice on how you should proceed. Contact the Student Support Centre to arrange to speak to an academic expert about your research idea. Do this by Week 10 (or well before you are at the halfway point in your course contract).

3. Continuously work on your research project.

When you have a topic, you need to stick to it and continuously work on it until you complete your term paper. A good research project/term paper cannot be completed without a great deal of time and effort. Start the project early in the course and work on it step-by-step.
4. Revise and revise.

When you complete a draft of your term paper, continue to revise and refine it until you believe it is your best work. Do not submit the paper before you are completely satisfied. Once your term paper is submitted, there is no second chance to revise it.

Project Evaluation

Your research project term paper will be evaluated according to the following categories and weighting scale:
project originality and thorough research (40%)
contribution to portfolio management theory and practice (40%)
presentation of the final report (20%)
Your research project term paper should be between 10 and 20 double-spaced pages. Use standard margins and a standard 12-point font.