ÉCOLE DE GESTION TELFER SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT

ADM 3352A, FALL 2021

Professor Dr. Qianru (Cheryl) Qi, Ph.D.,

Office Access is currently unavailable

E-mail [email protected]

Office Hours No scheduled physical office hours

Class Location Online via BrightSpace

Class Hours Mo 2:30PM - 3:50PM; Th 4:00PM - 5:20PM

Prerequisite(s) ADM 2352, the Foundations of Statistics

Optional Course of Finance Major
Program of study

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is now an optional course for students in the Finance Major of the B.Com
program. By introducing the key principles of investment and portfolio management, it
guides the students to respond to real-world challenges in their professional and/or
personal lives. The fundamental principle of investment is a trade-off between risk and
return because risk-averse investors require adequate risk premiums on risky investments.
Students are expected to measure return on investment, risk of return, and to understand
the relationship between the expected return and the associated risk. Students are
expected to develop skills of risk management by examining real financial data. This
objective is to be accomplished, in addition to lectures and exams, by writing a portfolio
management project using Capital IQ database to obtain financial data and perform
analysis.
COURSE CONTRIBUTION TO PROGRAM LEARNING GOALS

This course contributes to the following five learning goals:

LG1: Understand, Apply, and Integrate Core Management Disciplines

This course teaches the students the key theory of investments. It requires the students to
apply this theory and the basic knowledge acquired from previous finance, accounting,
statistics, and economics courses to understand the construction of portfolios and to
measure portfolio performance. The five quizzes and the final exam are the primary
instruments to determine if a student has achieved this learning objective.

LG2: Demonstrate Critical Thinking and Decision-Making Skills

Critical thinking and decision-making skills are required to apply the principles learned in
class to the real world because real world situations typically differ from classical
textbook problems. Students should expect all the problems on the quizzes and final will
attempt to simulate the variety of situations found in the real world. The group portfolio
management project also requires critical thinking and decision-making skills.

LG3: Demonstrate Leadership, Interpersonal, and Communications Skills

The portfolio management project of this course, which counts for 30% of the course
evaluation, requires the students to work in a group. At the end of the class, the students
will present their work in front of judges who are portfolio managers and wealth advisors
from the banking industry. This work requires excellent leadership, interpersonal, and
communication skills.

LG4: Apply High Standards of Integrity, Ethics, and Social Responsibility

Throughout the course the professor will emphasize ethical professional conduct. The
final exam will be the main instrument for assessing the students’ understanding of the
importance of ethical conduct.

LG5: Unlock the Value of Globalization

For the group portfolio management project, students will learn first-hand the value of
globalization by diversifying their stock portfolios globally.

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TEXTBOOK/COURSE PACKAGE

COURSE MATERIALS WHERE TO GET IT

Get it for free if registered for

CFA level 1 exam or
CFA PROGRAM CURRICULUM 2020 LEVEL I
Get it from Amazon.ca
VOLUMES 6: PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
https://www.amazon.ca/Program-
Curriculum-2020-Level-
Volumes/dp/1946442941

Recommend but not request: Get it from Amazon.ca

Portfolio Management, by Stewart, Heisler & Piros, https://www.amazon.ca/Portfolio-
McGraw Hill, 2007 Management-Practice-Scott-
Stewart/dp/1119397413

Bloomberg terminal
Lab Resources - Financial
Capital IQ dataset
Research and Learning Lab

Readings Online (Brightspace): Whenever article readings

U Ottawa Library, use Search+
are referenced for sessions, references will be provided
(http://biblio.uottawa.ca/en)
along with a link to the uOttawa library database. If link is
broken, search using reference.

PowerPoint slides Posted in advance of class

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COURSE SCHEDULE

(Week) Class Subject, Module or Required Activities / Assessment

Date Unit Readings &
Deliverables

(1) 8-11 Sep o Syllabus review Lecture notes

o Approach to
online delivery
o Lecture #1:
Introduction
(2) 12-18 Sep Lecture #2 A: CFA Session 18, Interview your parents to get
Foundations of reading 54 their investment preferences
Statistics
o Finish Investor’s Risk
Lecture #2 B: Attitude questionnaire:
o RBC:cd17c4ad-
Investor’ preference 23a4-4767-8ada-
781cbf50595d
(rbcwealthmanagem
ent.com)
o CI :
pss_questionnaire_e
.pdf (ci.com)
o BMO: bmo-gif-
investor-profile-
questionnaire-
615e.pdf

(3) 19-25 Sep Lecture #3: CFA study

session 18,
Calcualte the return reading 51,52 a-
of portfolios using b
real-life stock data

(4) 26 Sep-2 Oct Lecture # 4: CFA Session 19,

reading 52 c-i
Risk of portfolios

(5) 3-9 Oct Lecture #5: CFA Session 19, Portfolio Management Team

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(Week) Class Subject, Module or Required Activities / Assessment
Date Unit Readings &
Deliverables

reading 53 Competition begins

Efficient Market

(6) 10-16 Oct Lecture #6: Introduction to GROUPS FINALIZED THIS

Bloomberg WEEK: Ideally max 5 per
Training in the Terminal and group based on risk attitude,
Financial Lab Capital IQ gender balanced
database

Bloomberg
Education

(7) 17-23 Oct Lecture #7: CFA Session 19,

reading 55
Risk Management

(8) 24-30 Oct Reading week

(9) 1-7 Nov Lecture #8: CFA Session 19,

Reading 57
Fintech in Asset
Management:

Big data and data

science

Machine learning
and AI

(10) 8-14 Nov Lecture #9: CFA Session 19,

Reading 57
Fintech in Asset
Management:

Rodo-advisors,
Blockchain

(11) 15-21 Nov Tutorial for the Final Quiz 1,2,3,4 due
presentation

(12) 22-28 Tutorial for the Final

Nov presentation

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 (Week) Class Subject, Module or Required Activities / Assessment
Date Unit Readings &
Deliverables

(13) 29 Nov-5 Tutorial for the Final Course project due

Dec presentation

INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS
This online course contains both synchronous and asynchronous activities, purposefully designed
to provide flexibility in your learning process. The pedagogical methods include lectures, guest
speakers, quizzes, a portfolio management project to be performed on group basis, and the final
exam. The quizzes and final exam are closed books. Synchronous activities will be completed
during the online lecture sessions using MS Teams, while asynchronous activities can be
completed online at any time once made available in Brightspace. A portfolio management
project includes examples of what students will face in industry. Lectures are designed to
provide tools necessary to effectively address course project. Students will have the opportunity
to present their projects to three guest portfolio managers at the end of the course.

METHODS USED TO EVALUATE STUDENT PERFORMANCE

The professor will provide online lectures on the assigned topics. Students are expected to read
the text chapters AFTER listening to the lectures. The quizzes and final exams are designed to
help students acquire knowledge of portfolio management, while the course project is designed
to help students build skill sets for portfolio management including critical thinking, problem
solving, effective communication, as well as teamwork.

Course Deliverable Due Date Weight on Final Grade

Quiz #1 Nov 19th, 2021 6%

Quiz #2 Nov 19th, 2021 6%

Nov 19th, 2021
Quiz #3 6%
Nov 19th, 2021
Quiz #4 6%

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 Course Deliverable Due Date Weight on Final Grade

A portfolio Dec 7, 2021(group take home) 30%

management Project

Project TBA 10%

Presentations

Final exam TBA 36%

Quizzes:

1. There will be four quizzes. They are randomly selected from the CPA level I question
banks.

2. Each quiz will be based on the material discussed in class in the preceding two or three
weeks. The weight of each quiz will be 6% of your course grade for a total of 24% for the
4 quizzes.

3. Students must remember to sign the Personal Ethics Statement on each quiz.

4. There are NO makeups of missed quizzes. With a legitimate excuse, the weight on the
final will be increased for a missed quiz.

Project

The project will be a competition of portfolio management teams. Students will form groups of
five and compete to construct a portfolio that has the highest return with their risk preference
(will explain in class). The competition will start in Week 5 and the performance of each
portfolio will be posted on Brightspece. Students can use all the possible financial instruments
that they learned in class (including stocks, index funds, treasure, and mortgage-backed-
securities) and all the techniques (including big data analysis, AI) to select and rebalance their
portfolio each week. At the end of the class, each portfolio management team needs to submit a
customer report (30%) and explain and defend their investment strategy in front of three guest
portfolio managers (10%).

Additional information will be posted on the website created for this course as the project is
unfolded.

Final

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The final exam is cumulative. The final exam will consist primarily of problems that test the
concepts involved in the weekly discussion problems. They are also randomly selected from
the CPA level I question banks.

Please note that it is not possible to submit extra course work to improve your mark.

RECORDINGS OF SESSIONS
Class sessions may be recorded, and your image, voice and name may be disclosed to
classmates. Note that by remaining in sessions that are being recorded, you are agreeing to the
recording.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS AND SUPPORT

The course requires that you to have a laptop or desktop computer with a reliable, high-speed
Internet connection that allows you to watch videos, participate in discussion forums, upload
images and use your uOttawa Google Drive.

Video conferencing software (MS Teams, Adobe Connect, Zoom) is used for meeting with the
instructor-- so you will need to have a webcam and audio/voice capabilities through your
computer. MS Teams, Adobe Connect, and Zoom work on mobile/smart phones as well.

If you experience difficulties with Brightspace or with logins to any uOttawa systems, please do
not contact the instructor or the course TA until you have tried to solve the problem through the
IT supports in place at the University.

For all questions related to Brightspace, call the support line between 8 AM and 8 PM (Eastern)
at 1-866-811-3201 OR submit an online request using this form 24 hours a day.

For any other IT related issues, please contact IT services. They have a helpdesk that you can
call, or you can submit a service ticket with a specific request 24 hours a day.

For problems connecting to the library services, you can also contact the Morisset Help Desk.

USE OF RESPONDUS SOFTWARE FOR ONLINE EXAMS

The University of Ottawa will be implementing the use of software provided by Respondus exam
proctoring services for the purposes of ensuring the integrity of online examinations. Respondus
is just one means of ensuring academic integrity when conducting assessments. Please consult
the TLSS FAQ for more information.

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The Respondus software is comprised of two components – 1) LockDown Browser and 2)
Monitor. Please watch this short video to get a basic understanding of how the LockDown
Browser and the Monitor software works.

Prior to taking an online test, you will be required to download and install the LockDown
Browser. Start the LockDown Browser and navigate to the exam. For additional details on using
this service, please review this Student Quick Start Guide.

When taking an online exam, note the following:

o Make sure to have access to a private and well-lit location with access to reliable internet.
o Turn off all mobile devices, phones, etc. and do not have them within reach.
o Clear your exam area of all external materials — books, papers, other computers, or
devices.
o Know how much time is available for the exam, and that you have allotted sufficient time
to complete it. LockDown Browser will prevent you from accessing other websites or
applications, and you will be unable to exit the test until all questions are completed and
submitted.
o Remain at your desk or workstation for the duration of the exam.

Notice of Collection of Personal Information - Respondus

In accordance with the Ontario Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (“FIPPA”)
and with the University of Ottawa (the “University”) Policy 90, your personal information is
collected under the authority of the University of Ottawa Act, 1965.

Your personal information collected for remote proctoring will be used by the University for the
purposes of and those consistent with the fulfillment of the course learning activities,
administering online exams and maintaining the academic integrity of the exam process. After
each evaluation, the personal information collected during the remote proctoring session will be
reviewed by your instructor (or their designate) for the purposes stated above. The personal
information collected may be used where academic fraud is alleged as described in Academic
regulation I-14 - Academic fraud. 

The remote proctoring is supported by Respondus, an online proctoring tool integrated with and
accessed through Brightspace. LockDown Browser is a customized browser that locks the testing
environment and Respondus Monitor is a companion service for LockDown Browser that uses
webcam technology to maintain the integrity of online evaluations. Consult the Respondus
Privacy Policy and Terms of Use - LockDown Browser or Terms of Use - Respondus Monitor
for information on how Respondus collects, uses and discloses information and its security
measures for safeguarding the information maintained by it. The personal information may be
stored outside Canada and subject to the laws of the jurisdiction where it is stored. The
information collected in accordance with this notice will be retained for one year from the end of
the semester.

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If you have questions about the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information in
this notice, please contact your instructor. Questions of a general nature regarding the collection,
use and disclosure of information should be addressed to the Chief Privacy Officer of the
University.

EXPECTATIONS FOR COMMUNICATIONS

I prefer email for communications. Please use my email [email protected] for all communications
related to our course.

Please ensure that you have set up your Brightspace account to receive notifications of
announcements to your uOttawa email address -- and please check your uOttawa email daily.

Likewise, I ask that you use your uOttawa.ca email address for sending messages.

The professor will only respond to email message from registered students using their
uOttawa.ca email account.

EXPECTATIONS FOR STUDENT PARTICIPATION

Students will learn in their own pace. The lectures are to help students understand course
materials and prepare for the portfolio management project.

We will be using MS team to connect synchronously. As an essential aspect of academic

integrity, do not share any of the details (i.e., link, sign-in information) with anyone outside this
section of the course. If any issues with sharing such information arises (e.g., “zoombombing”, I
will manage the issue, terminating our session if necessary. I hope not to have to do this, as these
synchronous sessions are an essential part of building knowledge and skills in the course and
help you prepare for the final exam. We will have make-up sessions if all the issues resolved.

COURSE POLICIES

PREVENTION OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE

The University of Ottawa is committed to a safe and healthy campus for work, for study and for
campus community life for all members of the University community. The University, as well as
various employee and student groups, offer a variety of services and resources to ensure that all
uOttawa community members have access to confidential support and information, and to

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procedures for reporting an incident or filing a complaint. For more information, please visit
uOttawa Sexual violence: support and prevention.

CLASS ATTENDANCE

Class attendance is encouraged and is helpful to successfully complete this course.

Students are expected to write (or submit) all course deliverables as scheduled according to this
Course Outline. Medical absences (with the appropriate medical certificate) are the only
acceptable reasons for failure to hand-in or complete a requirement of this course at the specified
time. THERE WILL BE NO EXCEPTIONS. For a missed quiz or final examination, medical
certificates must be submitted along with a deferred exam application and a medicate certificate
form to the Student Services Centre (DMS1100) of the Telfer School of Management.

Please visit the following webpage to download the form and carefully read the directives.

For other missed deliverables, the original medical certificates can be submitted directly to the
Professor.

LANGUAGE & WRITING

You will be judged on your writing abilities on all written deliverables. It is recommended to
take the appropriate measures to avoid mistakes such as spelling, syntax, punctuation,
inappropriate use of terms, etc.

Professors show a marked bias for a movement from theory/definition (textbook, supplementary
readings, class discussion) to your own words to a concrete example. In other words, make a
clear reference to an accepted theoretical foundation, then explain it in your own words and then
provide a concrete example to support your idea (from a case study, from a class discussion,
from a real-life situation that you have observed, from history…).

In the event of poor language quality, you may be penalized up to 15% to the professor’s
discretion. Please see the “Error: Reference source not found”.

LATE SUBMISSIONS

Late submissions are not tolerated. Exceptions are made only for illness or other serious
situations deemed as such by the professor.

ABSENCES FROM EXAMS

University regulations require all absences from exams/quizzes and all late submissions due to
illness to be supported by a medical certificate.

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Absence for any other serious reason must be justified in writing, to the Student Services Centre
([email protected]) within five business days following the date of the exam.
Please visit the following webpage to download the deferral request form and carefully
read the directives. The Telfer School reserves the right to accept or refuse the reason.

Religious absences: If a religious holiday or a religious event will force you to be absent during
an evaluation, it is your responsibility to inform your professor as early as possible.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

All forms (printed, digital, etc.) of course materials prepared by the instructor (including e-
mailed or Brightspace content) are protected by copyright. This covers all files, assessments,
solutions, cases, and other materials. Copying, scanning, photographing, posting, or sharing by
any means is a violation of copyright and will be subject to appropriate penalty as prescribed by
University of Ottawa regulation.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Academic Regulation 14 defines academic fraud as “any act by a student that may result in a
distorted academic evaluation for that student or another student. Academic fraud includes but
is not limited to activities such as:

a) Plagiarism or cheating in any way.

b) Submitting work not partially or fully the student’s own, excluding properly cited
quotations and references. Such work includes assignments, essays, tests, exams,
research reports and theses, regardless of whether the work is written, oral or another
form.
c) Presenting research data that are forged, falsified or fabricated.
d) Attributing a statement of fact or reference to a fabricated source.
e) Submitting the same work or a large part of the same piece of work in more than one
course, or a thesis or any other piece of work submitted elsewhere without the prior
approval of the appropriate professors or academic units.
f) Falsifying or misrepresenting an academic evaluation, using a forged or altered
supporting document or facilitating the use of such a document.
g) Taking any action aimed at falsifying an academic evaluation.”1

The Telfer School of Management does not tolerate academic fraud. Please familiarize yourself
with this guidance.

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STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES

Academic GPS

The Academic GPS hub is a one-stop shop for academic support. Whether you’re an experienced
student or just starting out, you’ll find some great resources to help you succeed.

With the Academic GPS, you can:

 chat with a mentor seven days a week
 register for study groups
 take part in study methods workshops (note taking, time management, exam preparation,
stress management, etc.)
 book an appointment with a mentor

For more information: uOttawa.saea-tlss.ca/en/academic-gps

Health and Wellness

Your wellness is an integral part of your success. If you don’t feel well, it can be hard to focus on
your studies. Dedicated professionals and fellow students who care about you are always ready
to provide advice and support. Depending on your needs, many activities and services exist to
accompany you during your academic journey. Services include:
 opportunities to connect;
 counselling sessions
 peer support;
 physical activity;
 wellness activities and workshops;
 spiritual guidance.

If you want to connect with a counsellor, you can book an appointment online or go to their
walk-in clinic at 100 Marie-Curie, fourth floor. You can also drop-in to our wellness space, chat
online with a peer helper, or access 24/7 professional help through the website.

For more information and to access these services, go to uOttawa.ca/wellness.

Academic accommodations
We try to make sure all students with disabilities have equal access to learning and research
environments, the physical campus and University-related programs and activities. The
Academic Accommodations service works with other campus services to create an accessible
campus learning environment, where students with disabilities have an equal opportunity to

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flourish. We offer a wide range of services and resources, provided with expertise,
professionalism and confidentiality.

Some services we offer

 Help for students with disabilities in making the transition
 Permanent and temporary accommodation measures
 Learning strategy development
 Adaptive exams
 Transcriptions of learning material
 Interpretation (ASL and LSQ)
 Assistive technologies

If you think that you might need any of our services or supports, email the Academic
Accommodations service ([email protected]).

OTHER U OTTAWA SERVICES THAT YOU MIGHT FIND USEFUL

 Career Services:
o Telfer Career Centre
o U Ottawa Career Services
 Counselling Service

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Personal Ethics Statement Concerning Telfer School Assignments

Group Assignment:

By signing this Statement, I am attesting to the fact that I have reviewed not only my own work,
but the work of my colleagues, in its entirety.

I attest to the fact that my own work in this project meets all of the rules of quotation and
referencing in use at the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa, as well as
adheres to the fraud policies as outlined in the Academic Regulations in the University’s
Undergraduate Studies Calendar Academic Fraud Webpage.

To the best of my knowledge, I also believe that each of my group colleagues has also met the
rules of quotation and referencing in this Statement.

I understand that if my group assignment is submitted without a signed copy of this Personal
Ethics Statement from each group member, it will be interpreted by the Telfer School that the
missing student(s) signature is confirmation of non-participation of the aforementioned
student(s) in the required work.

______________________________ __________________________

Signature Date

______________________________ __________________________

Last Name (print), First Name (print) Student Number

______________________________ __________________________

Signature Date

______________________________ __________________________

Last Name (print), First Name (print) Student Number

______________________________ __________________________

Signature Date

______________________________ __________________________

Last Name (print), First Name (print) Student Number

______________________________ __________________________

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Signature Date

______________________________ __________________________

Last Name (print), First Name (print) Student Number

______________________________ __________________________

Signature Date

______________________________ __________________________

Last Name (print), First Name (print) Student Number

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PERSONAL ETHICS STATEMENT

Individual Assignment:

By signing this Statement, I am attesting to the fact that I have reviewed the entirety of my
attached work and that I have applied all the appropriate rules of quotation and referencing in use
at the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa, as well as adhered to the fraud
policies outlined in the Academic Regulations in the University’s Undergraduate Studies
Calendar Academic Fraud Webpage.

______________________________ __________________________

Signature Date

______________________________ __________________________

Last Name (print), First Name (print) Student Number

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