Assessment Brief
| Academic year and term: | 2017/2018 Second Semester |
| Module title: | Capital Markets and Investment |
| Module code: | BUS020X640S |
| Module Convener: | |
| Learning outcomes assessed within this piece of work as agreed at the programme level meeting | 1. Evaluate investment criteria and apply research in a practical scenario.
2. Identify ways in which the international economic environment affects the capital markets, and appreciate the role of macroeconomic policy. 3. Develop understanding of financial market reporting in the media through the study of the financial press, journals and other reporting media. 4. Appreciate the applicability of portfolio theory to investment decisions and critically evaluate its conceptual foundations. 5. Understand the role that derivatives play in risk management and their overall importance in global financial transactions. |
| Type of assessment: | Written coursework assignment – an investment portfolio exercise |
| Assessment deadline: | The suggested deadline is 2pm on Thursday the 26th of April 2018 |
Instructions for assessment
The assessment for this module is to complete a project based on your choice of an investment portfolio.
You have £150,000 to invest. You should study the markets and the available financial products and then select a portfolio of between 5 and 10 individual products/assets. The products that you include in the portfolio may be debt, equity, derivatives or cash in any combination, although all must be listed in a publication where they can be tracked and measured.
Over the course the portfolio should be monitored, analysed and reported upon. The report should contain an analysis of your chosen investments with a detailed reasoning for your selection. You are expected to consider all the risk factors involved and also to give a brief assessment of your expectations.
The portfolio will be deemed to be in existence for the period from Monday 26th of February 2018 to Monday 2rdof April 2018 (5 weeks).
Note that this is an assessment of your ability to thoughtfully construct and justify a portfolio and your ability to report and analyse its performance professionally. You should do external research and explain your answers. You should not limit yourself to the content covered in the lectures – doing so is not sufficient for the assignment – you should at least read the assigned portions of the textbooks.
Word limit 3000
The actual performance of the portfolio will not be a factor in the marking of your work i.e. you will not get more marks for a portfolio which makes more money.
Assessment Criteria:
- Rationale for choice of portfolio (40%)
- Evaluation and application of investment theory (25%)
- Conclusion based on portfolio performance (25%)
- Presentation and referencing (10%)
How will we support you with your assessment?
- You will receive formative feedback in Week 11. This will take the form of comments on a one page plan for your investment portfolio. This plan should be presented by the beginning of the week 10 lecture (plans submitted after the deadline will not receive any feedback).
- There will be an assessment briefing in Week9.
- Frequently asked questions and their answers will be posted on the module’s Moodle site
How will your work be assessed?
Your work will be assessed by a subject expert who will use the marking grid provided in this assessment brief. When you access your marked work it is important that you reflect on the feedback so that you can use it to improve future assignments.
Referencing
You MUST use the Harvard System. The Harvard system is very easy to use once you become familiar with it.
Assignment submissions
The Business School requires a digital version of all assignment submissions. These must be submitted via Turnitin on the module’s Moodle site. They must be submitted as a Word file (not as a pdf) and must not include scanned in text or text boxes. They must be submitted by 2pm on the given date. For further general details on coursework preparation refer to the online information via StudentZonehttp://studentzone.roehampton.ac.uk/howtostudy/index.html.
Mitigating circumstances/what to do if you cannot submit a piece of work or attend your presentation
The University Mitigating Circumstances Policy can be found on the University website – Mitigating Circumstances Policy
Marking and feedback process
Between you handing in your work and then receiving your feedback and marks within 20 days, there are a number of quality assurance processes that we go through to ensure that students receive marks which reflects their work. A brief summary is provided below.
- Step One – The module and marking team meet to agree standards, expectations and how feedback will be provided.
- Step Two – A subject expert will mark your work using the criteria provided in the assessment brief.
- Step Three – A moderation meeting takes place where all members of the teaching and marking team will review the marking of others to confirm whether they agree with the mark and feedback
- Step Four – Work at Levels 5 and 6 then goes to an external examiner who will review a sample of work to confirm that the marking between different staff is consistent and fair
- Stop Five – Your mark and feedback is processed by the Office and made available to you.
| Outstanding 100 | Excellent
(80-89) |
Very Good
(70-79) |
Good
(60-69) |
Satisfactory
(50-59) |
Adequate
(40-49) |
Marginal Fail
(30-39) |
Fail
(20-29) |
Not done
0 |
|
| Rationale for choice of portfolio (40%) | Outstanding demonstration of reasons for each selection of the assets allocation and selection. Overall shape of the portfolio is very well justified | Reasons for each selection of the assets are excellently demonstrated; the overall shape of the portfolio is very well justified | Reasons for each selection of the assets are very well explained and detailed; the overall shape of the portfolio is very well justified | Reasons for each selection of the assets are well explained; the overall shape of the portfolio is well justified | Reasons for each selection of the assets are fairly well explained; the overall shape of the portfolio is fairly well justified | Reasons for each selection of the assets are adequate; the overall shape of the portfolio is adequately justified | Poor demonstration and reasoning of the rationale for the choice of portfolio | Very poor demonstration and reasoning of the rationale for the choice of portfolio | Missing. Wholly incorrect or not attempted. |
| Evaluation and application of investment theory (25%)
|
Major theories/models are discussed at outstanding level, critically and applied well; outstanding understanding of the investment theories/models | Major theories/models are discussed extensively and critically and applied well; excellent understanding of the investment theories/models | Major theories/models are discussed extensively and applied well; very good understanding of the investment theories/models | Major theories/models are discussed and applied well; good understanding of the investment theories/models | Major theories/models are discussed and applied; fairly good understanding of the investment theories/models | Major theories/models are discussed and applied; adequate understanding of the investment theories/models | Limited evaluation and application of investment theory | Very limited evaluation and application of investment theory | Missing. Wholly incorrect or not attempted. |
| Conclusion based on portfolio performance (25%)
|
Sophisticated choice of benchmark; outstanding and detailed evaluation of the portfolio performance; outstanding reflection | Sophisticated choice of benchmark; excellent and detailed evaluation of the portfolio performance; excellent reflection | Very good choice of benchmark; very good and detailed evaluation of the portfolio performance; very good reflection | Good choice of benchmark; good evaluation of the portfolio performance; good reflection | Adequate choice of benchmark; fairly good evaluation of the portfolio performance; fairly good reflection | Poor choice of benchmark; poor evaluation of the portfolio performance; no or very limited reflection | Very poor conclusion and evaluation of the portfolio performance | Insufficient conclusion and evaluation of the portfolio performance | Missing. Wholly incorrect or not attempted. |
| Presentation and referencing (10%)
|
The structure and level of presentation as a whole is outstanding. The Harvard system of referencing is used. The bibliography is accurate and consistent | The structure and level of presentation as a whole is excellent. The Harvard system of referencing is used. The bibliography is accurate and consistent. | The structure and level of presentation as a whole is very good. The Harvard system of referencing is used. The bibliography is accurate and consistent. | The structure and level of presentation as a whole is good. The Harvard system of referencing is used. The bibliography is generally accurate and consistent. | The structure and level of presentation as a whole is fairly good. The Harvard system of referencing is used. The bibliography is generally accurate and consistent. | The structure and level of presentation as a whole is adequate. The Harvard system of referencing is used. The bibliography is inaccurate or inconsistent. | The structure and level of presentation as a whole is weak. The Harvard system of referencing is not recognised or used inadequately. The bibliography is inaccurate or inconsistent. | The structure and level of presentation as a whole is poor. The Harvard system of referencing is not recognised or used inadequately. The bibliography is incomplete or inaccurate. | Missing. Wholly incorrect or not attempted. |
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