INVE3001 Portfolio Management
Trading Game Assignment - Group Report (40%)
This assessment requires students to participate in a simulated stock trading game via “StockTrak”, making investments in the Australian and/or U.S. equity market.
Students are required to form. a team of no more than three (3) members and to write a comprehensive report based on their investment strategy and performance. Team members must treat each other respectfully and communicate professionally. Any significant team disputes must be reported to your lecturer at least two (2) weeks before the end of the trading game. (Note: penalties will be applied to free riders).
Each team will be allocated A$200,000 (virtual capital) to create an investment portfolio. Your goal is to (at minimum) track, and (hopefully) outperform. a selected index (e.g., S&P 500, ASX 200, etc.). You will NOT be penalised should you fail to achieve your goal; marks are awarded in accordance with the marking rubrics provided on Blackboard.
You are expected to monitor your portfolio daily and rebalance weekly.
Report Structure
A critical part of the report is to demonstrate your understanding of portfolio management, e.g., How did you construct your portfolio? Why did you buy/sell certain assets? Why did your portfolio under-/out-perform. your benchmark? Your report must address the following five (5) questions:
1. Discuss the rationales of building your initial portfolio and why it changed (if applicable).
2. Discuss the performance of your portfolio using metrics such as the Sharpe ratio and Jensen’s alpha.
3. Compare the performance of your portfolio and your selected benchmark, and discuss whether your portfolio under-/out-performed the benchmark.
4. Discuss the risk factors that have impacted (both positively and negatively) your portfolio’s performance. These factors can be global/local events and major economic drivers, e.g., geopolitical risk, inflation, interest rate, energy price, etc. (Note: distinguish between systematic and idiosyncratic risk)
5. Reflect on Efficient Markets Hypothesis and Behavioural Biases, in light of your experience in managing your portfolio.
Marks Allocation
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In total, 40 marks will be awarded for:
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i. Calculation of performance metrics for your portfolio and benchmark, and a discussion of any differences in their performance
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8
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ii. Understanding of market-wide (i.e. systematic) influences on your portfolio.
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8
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iii. Understanding of idiosyncratic influences on the stocks held in your portfolio.
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8
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iv. Mature reflection of the EMH taking into account the evidence provided during the investment exercise and behavioural considerations.
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8
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v. Discussion of your initial strategy. Clear and concise expressions and use of graphs, tables and sources.
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8
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Report Format:
Please include the Cover Sheet (available on Blackboard) in your report.
The report should be no more than 10 pages (graphs and tables not counted). You may use:
• Times New Roman or Calibri (size 12).
• 1.5 line spacing.
• APA or Chicago referencing accurately.
• A4 paper.
You are required to attach your trading records (screenshots from “StockTrak”). These screenshots do not count toward the page limit.
Report Submission
• Submit a PDF/Word document of the report and Excel workings via Turnitin links on Blackboard.
• ONE person (NOT all members) submits on behalf of the team.
• Don’t use GenAI tools (including but not limited to ChatGPT, AI translation/grammar-check software, etc.) to write the report. Turnitin can detect such behaviour. Further investigations will be undertaken if flagged as potential misconduct by Turnitin, and penalties may be applied.
StockTrak Registration
1. Each team only needs to register ONE (1) account on “StockTrak”. Please make sure your username and password are securely shared among team members.
2. Registration link: https://www.stocktrak.com/members/register?sessionid=320410
Trading Game Rules
i. The trading game starts at the beginning of week 3. You must establish your initial portfolio holdings no later than the end of week 3.
ii. It is recommended to focus on a single market, i.e., invest in either the U.S. or AU market, as this would make the risk-free rate easier to manage. (To find the proper risk-free rate, please refer to lecture slides and consult with your lecturer)
iii. You must have at least 90% of capital invested, i.e., A$180,000.
iv. You must have at least six (6) stocks in your portfolio throughout the trading game period. You CANNOT have more than 25% of capital invested in a single security.
v. You must trade/rebalance at least once each week. Please keep a record of the main reasons for each trade/rebalance (e.g., news-driven, fundamental analysis, instinct/emotions, etc), as this would help you address relevant questions.
vi. Students may implement advanced trading techniques, e.g., short-selling, limit order, stop-loss/taking-profit orders, etc.
vii. The trading game concludes at the end of week 7. Please use the close balance as of Friday week 7 in your portfolio performance evaluation.
Note: please be aware of the time zone differences when trading your preferred market (AU or US).
Additional Materials
Below are some helpful links and videos about how to use StockTrak and conduct trading activities:
https://content.stocktrak.com/student-faq-technical-support/
https://content.stocktrak.com/stocktrak-student-user-guide/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUD8XZa_r1M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiO0n6LER7E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M5NTAK3pUY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et5nJdmK8Vg&t=15s