In this course, you will start by reviewing the fundamentals of investments, including the trading off of return and risk when forming a portfolio, asset pricing models such as the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) and the 3-Factor Model, and the efficient market hypothesis. You will be introduced to the two components of stock returns – dividends and capital gains – and will learn how each are taxed and the incentives provided to investors from a realization-based capital gains tax. You will examine the investment decisions (and behavioral biases) of participants in defined-contribution (DC) pension plans like 401(k) plans in the U.S. and will learn about the evidence regarding the performance of individual investors in their stock portfolios. The course concludes by discussing the evidence regarding the performance of actively-managed mutual funds. You will learn about the fees charged to investors by mutual funds and the evidence regarding the relation between fees charged and fund performance. Segments of the portfolios of mutual funds that may be more likely to outperform and examples of strategies designed to “earn alpha” will also be introduced.
This course is part of the Financial Management Specialization

About this Course
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Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Course Orientation
Module 1: Fundamentals and Composition of Returns
Module 2: Investment Decisions in DC Pension Plans
Module 3: Performance of Individual Investors
Module 4: Performance of Mutual Funds and Search for Alpha
Course Conclusion
Reviews
- 5 stars83.70%
- 4 stars11.97%
- 3 stars2.59%
- 2 stars0.61%
- 1 star1.11%
TOP REVIEWS FROM INVESTMENTS II: LESSONS AND APPLICATIONS FOR INVESTORS
Great course with excellent, relevant content and entertaining presentation. Whish there were more like this in the series.
Professor Weisbenner is amazing! Insanely smart, yet delvers complex concepts in such a manner you would never realize it. This is a must take class for investments!
Great sequel to the Investment I course, and dives into a lot of interesting finance research. Great course, and very engaging.
it was an excellent course. Professor Scott Weisbenner has a unique and an interactive style of teaching. I thoroughly enjoyed this course
About the Financial Management Specialization

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