1
Personal Finance: Another Perspective
Classroom Slides:
Investments 9: Portfolio Rebalancing and
ReportingUpdated 2014-03-07
22
Objectives
• A. Understand portfolio rebalancing• B. Understand the importance of portfolio
management and performance evaluation • C. Understand risk-adjusted performance
measures • D. Understand how to perform attribution
analysis
33
Investment Plan Assignments
Investments 9: Portfolio Rebalancing and Reporting1. Determine the type of rebalancing you will likely use
and how often you will rebalance, and include it in your investment plan under section IV.B.2 of your Investment Plan.
2. Think through the new money/donations addendum, and how you will utilize it to minimize taxes and transactions costs in rebalancing
3. Determine how often you will monitor and report on your portfolio, and include it in IV.A.1.
4. Determine how you will communicate portfolio results and include it in section IV.C.
44
Investment Plan Assignments
Investments 10: Behavioral Finance1. There are no assignments for your Investment Plan
from this section. Listen and try to determine ways Behavioral Finance can help you to be a better investor.
55
A. Understand Portfolio Rebalancing
• What is portfolio rebalancing?• The process of bringing portfolios back into given
target asset allocation ratios
• What causes the need to rebalance?• Changes occur due to:
• Changes in asset class performance
• Changes in investor objectives or risk
• Introduction of new capital
• Introduction of new asset classes
66
Portfolio Rebalancing (continued)
• Why is this rebalancing so critical?• There are competing principles:
• Minimize transactions costs and taxes
• Minimize tracking error at your risk tolerance level
• What is tracking error?• It is the return that is lost from your portfolio being
different from your target weight
• What are the different ways of rebalancing?• Periodic-based (or calendar-based)
• Percent-range-based (or volatility-based)
77
Portfolio Rebalancing (continued)
• Periodic-based rebalancing• Specify a time period, i.e. bi-annually, annually, etc. After
each time period, rebalance the portfolio back to your original asset allocation targets
• Advantages
• Most simple of the methods
• Longer periods have lower transactions and tax costs (but higher tracking error costs)
• Disadvantages
• Independent of market performance
• Performance will depend on relative timing of large market moves and rebalancing
88
Portfolio Rebalancing (continued)
• Percent-range-based rebalancing• Rebalance the portfolio every time actual holdings
are +/-5% (or +/-10%) from target ratios. Rebalance whenever you are outside this range
• Advantages• Easy to implement• Wider ranges will reduce transactions costs (at
the expense of higher tracking error)• Asset performance will trigger rebalancing
• Disadvantages• Setting an effective range is difficult• Assets with higher target ranges and volatility
will generate most rebalances
99
Portfolio Rebalancing (continued)
• “NMD” (New Money / Donations) Addendum• Since you pay yourself monthly and are very
careful in your selection of assets, you can combine the previous strategies with a “New Money / Donation” strategy
• Rebalance as determined previously. But use new money to purchase the “underweight” assets, so you do not have to sell and incur transactions costs or taxable events
• This way you are not selling assets
• In addition, this strategy helps you to buy “low,” as you are generally purchasing underperforming asset classes
1010
Portfolio Rebalancing (continued)
• NMD Addendum (continued)
• Rebalance using appreciated assets for your charitable contributions (see Learning Tool 8)
• Use the money you would have spent for contributions to purchase underweight assets
• This way you eliminate your capital gains taxes for the contributed assets, and you get the full benefit of the deduction for your taxes, i.e., you sell without tax consequences
1111
Portfolio Rebalancing (continued)
• Which are the best methods?• Generally, for most investors with fewer investable
assets, the easiest is likely to be most useable
• Generally, a combination of periodic-based or percent-range-based rebalancing is most useful with the NMD addendum
• Review the portfolio annually, but only rebalance when you are +/- 5% to +/-10% (or some range) beyond your targets. Then rebalance back to your targets
• Remember, the goal is to minimize transactions costs, taxes, and tracking error costs
1212
Questions
• Any questions on portfolio rebalancing?
1313
B. Understand the Importance of Portfolio Management and Evaluation
• What is portfolio management?• The development, construction, and management of
a portfolio of financial assets to attain an investor’s specific goals
• What is performance evaluation?• The process of evaluating a portfolio’s performance
with the goal of understanding the key sources of return
• Why are these two topics so important?• Both are complicated subjects and both are critical
to investing
1414
Management and Evaluation (continued)
• What is “active” portfolio management?• The process of using publicly available data to
actively manage a portfolio in an effort to:
• Beat the benchmark after all transactions costs, taxes, management, and other fees
• However, you must do this consistently year-after-year, and not just from luck
• Why is “active” management such a hot topic?• Management fees for mutual funds which can
consistently outperform their benchmarks are 5-25 times higher than those on passive management (19 basis points versus 250 basis points)
1515
Management and Evaluation (continued)
• What is “passive” portfolio management?• The process of buying a diversified portfolio which
represents a broad market index (or benchmark) without any attempt to outperform the market or pick stocks
• Why is “passive” management such a hot topic?• Most active managers fail to outperform their
benchmarks, especially after costs and taxes
• Investors have realized that if you can’t beat them, join them, so they buy low-cost passive funds which meet their benchmarks consistently and minimize taxes
1616
Management and Evaluation (continued)
• What factors lead to above-benchmark or excess returns?• 1. Superior asset allocation
• Shifting assets between a poor-performing asset class and a better performing asset class, i.e. between large cap to international or small cap
• 2. Superior stock selection
• Picking sectors, industries, or companies within a specified benchmark which, as a whole, outperform the return on the specified benchmark
1717
Management and Evaluation (continued)
• What is superior asset allocation?• The process where the investor gains a higher
return than the benchmark from adjusting the investment portfolio for movements in the market
• The investor shifts among stocks, bonds and other asset classes based on their expectations for returns from each of the asset classes
• What are the results?• Done well, superior asset allocation yields higher
returns with lower risk.
• Done poorly, it yields lower returns, higher transactions costs, and higher taxes
1818
Management and Evaluation (continued)
• What is superior stock selection?• The process where the investor builds an
investment portfolio which earns returns in excess of the benchmark through buying or selling undervalued stocks, sectors or industries
• The investor shifts among the various securities of the index in an attempt to buy the securities with the highest growth potential
• What are the results?
• Done well, superior selection yields higher returns with lower risk.
• Done poorly, it yields lower returns, high transactions costs, and high taxes
1919
Management and Evaluation (continued)
• What is portfolio evaluation?• The process of monitoring financial asset
performance, comparing asset performance to the relevant benchmarks, and determining how well the fund is meeting its objectives.
• If the assets are underperforming benchmarks, the investor may sell underperforming assets and purchase other assets which would more closely align asset performance with benchmarks
2020
Management and Evaluation (continued)
• Why monitor performance?• Unless you monitor performance, you will not
know how you are doing in working toward accomplishing your objectives
• You need to know how every asset you own is performing, and performing versus its benchmark, so you can determine how well you are moving toward your goals
2121
Management and Evaluation (continued)
• How do you evaluate performance?• Calculate:
• 1. The period return on each owned asset
• 2. The period index return for each benchmark
• 3. The difference between the asset return and benchmark return
• 4. The weight of each asset or portfolio in the overall portfolio
• 5. The overall portfolio return
• With this information, you can know how each asset is performing versus its benchmark, and how well the portfolio is moving toward its objectives
2222
Management and Evaluation (continued)
• What is portfolio reporting?• The process of reviewing portfolio performance
with the necessary participants, i.e. your spouse
• If you are managing your portfolio, you should report performance to your spouse at least monthly or quarterly
• If others are helping you manage your portfolio, they should report performance to you and your spouse at least quarterly as well.
• Be careful not to do too much buying and selling, as these incur transactions costs and taxes
2323
Questions
• Any questions on the importance of portfolio management and evaluation?
2424
C. Calculate Risk-adjusted Performance• How do you determine whether a portfolio manager is
generating excess returns (i.e., returns above the manager’s benchmark)?
• Is it only returns?
• Should you also be concerned about risk?
• It is not just returns that matters—they must be adjusted for risk.
• There are a number of recognized performance measures available:
• Sharp Index
• Treynor Measure
• Jensen’s Measure
2525
Risk Adjusted Performance: Sharpe
• Sharpe Index• A ratio of your “excess return” divided by your
portfolio standard deviation
rp – rf
sp
• rp = Average return on the portfolio
• sp = Standard deviation of portfolio return
• The Sharpe Index is the portfolio risk premium divided by portfolio risk as measured by standard deviation
2626
Risk Adjusted Performance: Treynor
• Treynor Measure
• This is similar to Sharpe but it uses the portfolio beta instead of the portfolio standard deviation
rp – rf
ßp
rp = Average return on the portfolio
rf = Average risk free rate
ßp = Weighted average b for portfolio
• It is the portfolio risk premium divided by portfolio risk as measured by beta
2727
Risk Adjusted Performance: Jensen
• Jensen’s Measure• This is the ratio of your portfolio return less CAPM
determined portfolio return
• ap = rp - [ rf + ßp (rm – rf) ]
ap = Alpha for the portfolio
rp = Average return on the portfolio
ßp = Weighted average Beta
rf = Average risk free rate
rm = Average return on market index port.
• It is portfolio performance less expected portfolio performance from CAPM
2828
Risk Adjusted Performance (continued)
• Which measure is most appropriate? Are there some general guidelines?• Generally, if the portfolio represents the entire
investment for an individual, the Sharpe Index compared to the Sharpe Index for the market is best
• If many alternatives are possible, or if this is only part of the overall portfolio, use the Treynor measure versus the Treynor measure for the market, or the Jensen’s alpha
• Of these two, the Treynor measure is more complete because it adjusts for risk
2929
• Are their limitations of risk adjustment measures?• Yes, very much so. The assumptions underlying
measures limit their usefulness
• Know the key assumptions and be careful!
• When the portfolio is being actively managed, basic stability requirements are not met
• Be careful when portfolios are actively managed
• Practitioners often use benchmark portfolio comparisons and comparisons to other managers to measure performance
• This is largely because they are easier
Risk Adjusted Performance (continued)
3030
Risk Adjusted Performance (continued)
• What about style analysis?• Another way of obtaining abnormal returns is
chasing style
• Growth versus value—what’s hot?
• You can decompose returns by attributing allocation to style
• Style tilts and rotation are important active portfolio strategies
• Style analysis has become increasingly popular in the industry
3131
Questions
• Any questions on risk-adjusted performance measures?
3232
D. Understand How to Perform Portfolio Attribution (this is optional)
• What is portfolio attribution?• The process of separating out portfolio returns into
their related components, generally attributable to asset allocation and securities selection
• What is the importance of these components?• These components are related to elements of
portfolio performance, to see what you do well
• What are examples of some of these components?• Broad asset allocation Security Choice
• Industry Currency
3333
Portfolio Attribution (continued)
• How do you determine portfolio attribution?• 1. Set up a weighted ‘benchmark’ which includes
all your chosen asset classes
• Use your chosen benchmark for each asset class, and use your target asset allocation weights from your Investment Plan
• 2. Calculate your returns for each of your asset classes
• Calculated returns for each asset class
• Calculate a weighted return for your overall portfolio
3434
Portfolio Attribution (continued)
• 4. Compare your portfolio returns in each asset class to the benchmark returns of each index
• Use Teaching Tool 17: Portfolio Attribution Spreadsheet
• 5. Calculate your attribution and make decisions accordingly
3535
Portfolio Attribution (continued)
• Why is it important to attribute performance to the portfolio’s components?• It can explain the difference in return based on
component weights or selection
• It can summarize the performance differences into appropriate categories
• It can help you know how you are doing
• What happens if you don’t perform portfolio attribution?• You will not know why you are performing as you are
• You will not know how to improve
3636
Portfolio Attribution (continued)
• What do you do if your actively managed funds continue to underperform?• Watch them carefully. Underperformance for a
month or quarter is understandable, but over 12-36 months it should be positive
• If not, find another fund or index the asset class performance
• How long does it take to determine whether an active manager is good or not?• Generally, 12-36 months
3737
Questions
• Any questions on portfolio attribution?
3838
Review of Objectives• A. Do you understand the different types and
uses of indexes?• B. Do you understand the Importance of
Portfolio Management and Performance Evaluation?
• C. Do you understand portfolio rebalancing?• D. Do you understand risk-adjusted
performance measures? • E. Do you understand how to perform
attribution analysis?
3939
Case Study #1Data
• Steve and Suzie, both 45, are aggressive investors, and have a portfolio of over $250,000. Their target asset allocation is 60% equities and 40% bonds and cash which they have invested in 10 mutual funds. Their actual asset class weights are different from their targets due to the out-performance of the equity part of their portfolios.
Asset Class Actual Weight Target Weight Difference
Equity 70% 60% 10%
Bonds 20% 30% -10%
Cash 10% 10% 0%
Application: When should they rebalance their portfolio and how should they do it?
4040
Case Study #1 Answers• The decision of when to rebalance should be part of
their investment plan. They need to determine the best time for them to rebalance, and the most cost effective means. The key is to minimize transactions costs and turnover, while maintaining diversification and return.
• One thought is the new money donation (NMD) strategy where they use new money and donate appreciated assets to rebalance. Since this change is due to appreciation of equities, if they will donate the appreciated equity assets, i.e. donations in kind to a charity, they can take the money they would have spent on their charity donations, and purchase more bonds. (See Teaching Tool 8 – Tithing Share Transfer Example)
4141
Case Study #2Data• Steve is reviewing the performance of his largest asset,
the XYZ mutual fund (which is actively managed), for the most recent sample period. The T-bill rate during the period was 4%. Fund XYZ Market• Average return 12% 10%• Beta 1.2 1.0• Standard Deviation 26% 24%
Calculations and Application• A. Calculate the following performance measures for
Steve for the fund and the market: Sharpe, Treynor, and Jensen’s alpha.
• b. On a risk-adjusted basis, did Fund XYZ outperform the market?
• c. Which risk-adjusted measure should Steve use?
4242
Case Study #2 Answers XYZ Fund Market
Average return 12.0% 10.0%Beta 1.2 1.0Standard Deviation 26.0% 24.0%T-Bill rate 4.0%
a. Performance measures
Sharpe = (rp – rf )/ sd• Portfolio (12-4)/26 = .31• Market (10-4)/24 = .25
Treynor = (rp – rf )/ ßp
• Portfolio (12-4)/1.2 = 6.7
• Market (10-4)/1.0 = 6.0
4343
Case Study #2 Answers XYZ Fund Market
Average return 12.0% 10.0%Beta 1.2 1.0Standard Deviation 26.0% 24.0%T-Bill rate 4.0%
Jensen = rp – [rf + ßp (rm – rf)]• Portfolio alpha = 12 – [4 + 1.2 (10-4) = 0.8%• Market alpha = 0
• b. Steve’s XYZ Fund outperformed the market in terms of all three measures: the Jensen’s alpha, Treynor measure, and the Sharpe ratio.
4444
Case Study #2 Answers• c. Which measure is most appropriate?
• Generally, if the portfolio represents the entire investment for an individual, the Sharpe Index compared to the Sharpe Index for the market is best. This is not the case here.
• If many alternatives are possible, or if this is only part of the overall portfolio, use the Treynor measure versus the Treynor measure for the market, or the Jensen’s a alpha
• Of these two, the Treynor measure is more complete because it adjusts better for risk
4545
Case Study #3 (optional)
Data: •Steve and Suzie are 45 years old, married, and have a portfolio with three asset classes. Last quarter they had the following performance. The equity benchmark is the S&P 500, bonds the SB Intermediate, and cash is the Lehman Cash Index. Benchmark weights are their target asset allocation, and actual weights are different from their target get since they have not rebalanced lately. They like their current asset class weights.
Asset Class Actual Actual Benchmark Benchmark Return Weight Weight ReturnEquity 2.0% 70% 60% 2.5%Bonds 1.0% 20% 30% 1.2%Cash 0.5% 10% 10% 0.5%
Calculations and Application: •What was their over or underperformance? What was their contribution to security selection and to asset allocation? How did they do for the quarter?
4646
Case Study #3 AnswersAsset Class Actual Actual Benchmark Benchmark
Return Weight Weight Return
Equity 2.0% .70 .60 2.5%
Bonds 1.0% .20 .30 1.2%
Cash 0.5% .10 .10 0.5%
a. Steve and Suzie’s quarterly return was (2.0%*.7) + (1.0*.2) + (.5*.1) or 1.65%. The index return was (2.5*.6) + (1.2*.3) + (.5*.1) or 1.91%. The difference between these two returns is their performance. In this case they underperformed their benchmark by -.26% for the quarter.
4747
Case Study #3 Answers (continued)
b. Their contribution of security selection to relative performance was -.39%. This is calculated as:
(1) (2) (1*2)
Market Diff. Ret. Man. Port. Wgt. Contribution
Equity -0.5% .70 -0.35%
Bonds -0.2% .20 -0.04%
Cash 0.0% .10 0.00%
Contribution of Security Selection -0.39%(1) Managed fund return less index return (2.0%-2.5%)
(2) Actual weight of the managed portfolio
(1*2) Contribution of asset class security selection to the portfolio
4848
Case Study #3 Answers (continued)
c. Their contribution from asset allocation was .13%. This is calculated as:
(3) (4) (3*4)
Market Excess Weight Index-BM Contribution
Equity 10% .59% 0.059%
Bonds -10% -.71% 0.071%
Cash 0% -1.41% 0.000%
Contribution of Asset Allocation 0.130%(3) Weight of actively managed fund less benchmark weight (- is underweight)
(4) Asset class return less total portfolio return (equity is 2.50-1.91 or .59%, bond is 1.20-1.91=-.71)
(3*4) Contribution of the asset class to the total portfolio
4949
Case Study #3 Answers (continued)
• Overall comments:
Steve and Suzie’s actively managed portfolio under performed the benchmark by .26% or 26 basis points (1.65%-1.91%). This underperformance was a combination of a -.39% contribution to security selection and a .13% contribution from asset allocation. While they did well overweighting (versus their asset allocation targets) the asset classes that performed well, they didn’t do as well picking the assets in those asset classes.
• If this performance continued for 24-36 months, they should consider indexing the stock selection decision, i.e. buy index funds, and keep doing what they are doing with the asset class decision.
5050
Case Study #4Data•You have five mutual funds in your portfolio, an emergency bond fund (VIPSX), a large cap fund (SWPPX), a small cap fund (FSCRX), an emerging markets fund (SSEMX), and a REIT (VNQ). How have they done versus their benchmarks over the past three years?
Calculations•Using the data from www.finance.yahoo.com, type in the ticker and go to the Risk tab for each fund. Look at their 3 year performance versus their categories (as a proxy for the market).
• Did they outperform their benchmarks?• Did these funds outperform over the past three years on a
risk-adjusted basis?
5151
Case Study #4 Answers
• We will use the category as the proxy for the market (as of October 31, 2013)
3 Year 3 Year Outperformed
Name Sharpe Category Treynor Category Sharpe Treynor
VIPSX .66 .59 2.19 2.77 Y N
SWPPX .61 .56 9.87 9.07 Y Y
FSCRX 1.31 1.02 18.08 13.48 Y Y
SSEMX .04 .07 -1.18 -0.40 N N
VNQ 0.78 NA NA NA ? ?
5252
Example: VIPSX Risk Tab
Top Related