Project Paper

FIN 450 Final Project Part I Guidelines and Rubric
Overview: Final Project Part I
There are two parts to the final project for this course. Part I is the creation of a personal wealth portfolio plan. Part II is the creation of a business wealth
management memo.
Serving high net worth clients and businesses is a critical part of a financial service firm’s work. The value of these clients’ assets makes them a significant source
of revenue, but also increases the stakes around each piece of investment advice. Consequently, companies invest a lot of time and resources in understanding
and serving these clients’ unique needs. As a current or future finance professional, you may be asked to help support those efforts in a variety of ways—
preparing marketing reports, investigating specific investment opportunities, assessing risks and returns, making preliminary suggestions to the portfolio
managers who oversee the clients’ accounts, etc. The knowledge and skills you gain in this wealth management course will help you better fulfill those roles and
set a foundation for future career advancement.
You will put what you learn in the course into practice in a two-part final project. In the first part, you will create a preliminary portfolio plan for a high net worth
client that a portfolio manager can review and potentially use for support in discussions with the client. You will be given a basic profile that includes the client’s
investment expectations, preferences, desired retirement date, dependents, and risk tolerance. Based on that information and your own research, you will
present asset allocation and other wealth management options for the client to consider, clearly noting the returns, associated risks, and tax implications.
Final Project Part I is divided into two milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final
submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Two and Four. The personal wealth portfolio plan will be submitted in Module Seven.
In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:
• Assess the needs of businesses and high net worth clients for recommending appropriate financial products and investments
• Communicate clearly to clients how asset allocation and diversification affect optimal returns for supporting sound financial decisions
• Weigh the pros and cons of various wealth-enhancing personal and business options by employing appropriate financial statement, market, and risk
analyses
• Recommend wealth management strategies for portfolio planning and tax management substantiated by sound financial analyses
Prompt: Final Project Part I
For the first part of the final project, imagine you work at a major financial service firm, providing research support to the manager of a high wealth individual’s
portfolio. You have impressed the manager with the high quality of your work to date, and the manager has decided to give you more responsibility in preparing
ideas to present to the client. Specifically, the manager is in the process of updating the client’s portfolio and would like you to prepare a preliminary personal
wealth portfolio plan designed to maximize wealth, taking into account the client’s needs and market performance. (Select one of the client profiles below to
use in preparing your plan. You may also make assumptions regarding client details that are not included in the profiles, as needed, to inform your suggestions.
However, you must specify these assumptions clearly in your portfolio plan.)
CLIENT PROFILES
Profile 1
Jane and Richard, a married couple in their mid- to upper-forties, have been building the $1.5 million they inherited about five years ago. Jane and Richard are
very optimistic about the current market and want their portfolio to meet or exceed the stock market expectation of the last year. They have asked your firm to
suggest a personal wealth portfolio commensurate to the market and risk level. The clients are open to various investment options to achieve their goals and
expectations. In addition, the clients want to maximize wealth including offshore investment options or other strategies to minimize U.S. tax consequences.
Their goal is to have sufficient funds available to maintain their current lifestyle of $200,000 per year (adjusting for inflation and not including pension or social
security benefits) when they retire in 10 years. They also want to provide for their 14-year-old daughter Mary’s upkeep and schooling should something happen
to them.
Profile 2
Ana just turned 26 years old. After losing her parents in a car accident a month ago, she inherited $5 million. She is very optimistic about the current market and
has asked your firm to identify a personal wealth portfolio, commensurate with that market outlook and risk level, which outperforms the S & P 500
performance return. She prefers to invest in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, but is open to other options including offshore investments or other strategies to
minimize her tax burden. Because she is a single parent to her one-year-old son, Robert, and is currently attending graduate school, she also needs to keep some
of her assets available to pay tuition and daycare expenses over the next two to five years. She also wants to make sure Robert is provided for should something
happen to her. Although retirement is many years away, she would like to start planning for that eventuality. Ideally, she would like to retire at age 60, with at
least $100,000 per year annual income (adjusting for inflation and not including pension or social security benefits), and ideally more.
Your preliminary personal wealth portfolio plan should lay out diverse investment, asset allocation, and other wealth management options, assessing the risks,
returns, and tax implications of each and indicating preferred options and strategies, including the reasons behind those preferences. Be sure to present
evidence—including relevant graphs and tables from financial statement, market, and risk analyses—to support your suggestions, either in the main text or in an
appendix. These should be designed to convince the portfolio manager (and ultimately the client) of the financial soundness of the options presented.
Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:
I. Executive Summary. Use this section to provide a brief synopsis of the portfolio plan. Be sure to:
a) Briefly assess the client’s needs, based on the client profile. What assumptions have you have made about the client’s needs, based on the given
information? These should include both stated client preferences and reasonable assumptions based on the client’s demographic information
and net worth.
b) Briefly explain what markets and options the plan considers, along with associated risks and returns in real numbers, and how those relate to
the client’s needs. In other words, what does the plan include and why? Remember that the purpose is to give a high level synopsis, with more
detailed rationale provided in later sections.
II. Market Environment. Use this section to assess how global forces may affect market performance (and wealth management strategies) in the coming
year with respect to the primary markets you are considering. Support your response with relevant market research and analysis. For example, are
particular markets more promising than others? Are there any law changes on the horizon? Resource shortages? Political or economic changes? What
implications do these have for the client’s investment decisions?
III. Asset Allocation. In this section, you should present an asset allocation option, composed of diverse asset types, for the client to consider for the
upcoming year. In particular, you should make suggestions with respect to the following:
a) How might the client allocate investments among different securities-related products? Use pie charts to show different allocation options and
explain the risks and returns of the different investment products. (Note that your allocation options must include a variety of securities-related
products in different markets.)
b) Analyze how the tax consequences associated with various financial products in diverse global markets might affect the client’s portfolio
planning decisions. Support your answer with relevant examples, research, and analysis. For example, how does taxation affect decisions on
which securities or markets to invest in?
c) How does portfolio diversification affect risks and returns to the client? Your answer should be designed for eventual use with the client, using
clear, non-technical language. In other words, explain to the client how investing in just one market or almost entirely in one type of instrument
would affect risks and returns, compared to investing in diverse markets and products.
IV. Retirement Planning and Safeguarding Wealth. Use this section to discuss financial planning services that address the client’s needs beyond investment
advice. In particular:
a) What products related to retirement and providing for dependents might be of interest to the client? Justify your response in terms of costs,
benefits, and alignment with the client’s needs.
b) What budgeting strategies should the client consider to ensure retirement at the target lifestyle level? Be sure to use time value of money
calculations to support your response.
V. Recommendations. Based on your analysis above, suggest a mix of financial products and other strategies to help the client maximize profit and meet
needs within his or her risk tolerance. Specifically:
a) What mix of financial instruments best meets the client’s needs and preferences and why? Suggest an asset allocation option, composed of
diverse asset types, for the client to consider, using clear, client-focused language, pie charts, and specific risk and return measures to make your
case.
b) What are your overall recommendations and conclusions for the client? Be sure to use clear, client-focused language, supported by evidence
from your analysis.
Final Project Part I Deliverables
Milestone One: Market Environment and Asset Allocation
In Module Two, you will submit a draft of the market environment and asset allocation sections of the final project. Assess how global forces may affect market
performance (and wealth management strategies) in the coming year with respect to the primary markets you are considering. For example, are particular
markets more promising than others? Are there any law changes on the horizon? Resource shortages? Political or economic changes? What implications do these
have for the client’s investment decisions? Next, you will present an asset allocation option for the client to consider for the upcoming year. In particular, address
how the client might allocate investments among different securities-related products. Analyze how the tax consequences associated with various financial
products in diverse global markets might affect the client’s portfolio planning decisions. How does portfolio diversification affect risks and returns to the client?
This milestone will be graded with the Final Project Part I Milestone One Rubric.
Milestone Two: Retirement Planning and Recommendations
In Module Four, you will submit a draft of the retirement planning and recommendations sections of the final project. Assess the financial planning services that
address client’s needs beyond investment advice. What products related to retirement and providing for dependents might be of interest to the client? What
budgeting strategies should the client consider to ensure retirement at the target lifestyle level? Then, based on your analysis above, suggest a mix of financial
products and other strategies to help the client maximize profit and meet needs within his or her risk tolerance. Suggest an asset allocation option, composed of
diverse asset types, for the client to consider, using clear, client-focused language, pie charts, and specific risk and return measures to make your case. Finally,
what are your overall recommendations and conclusions for the client? Be sure to use clear, client-focused language, supported by evidence from your analysis.
This milestone will be graded with the Final Project Part I Milestone Two Rubric.
Final Submission Part I: Personal Wealth Portfolio Plan
In Module Seven, you will submit a personal wealth portfolio plan. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the final
product. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course. This submission will be graded using the Final Project Part I Rubric.
Final Project Part I Rubric
Guidelines for Submission: Your portfolio plan should be 6–8 pages long (not including references or appendices), double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman
font and should use the most current APA format for references. Relevant graphs or tables may be included either in the main text or in an appendix, but these
pages do not count toward the recommended page length.
Critical Elements Exemplary (100%) Proficient (85%) Needs Improvement (55%) Not Evident (0%) Value
Executive Summary:
Needs
[FIN-450-01] Meets “Proficient” criteria and
demonstrates keen insight into
client’s needs beyond what is
stated explicitly
Briefly assesses client’s needs
based on profile, including
stated preferences and
reasonable assumptions
Assesses client’s needs based on
profile, but does not include
stated preferences and
reasonable assumptions or
response is lengthy or contains
inaccuracies
Does not assess client’s needs
based on profile
12
Executive Summary:
Markets and Options
[FIN-450-01] Meets “Proficient” criteria and
response is particularly wellaligned with stated needs and
assumptions
Briefly explains markets and
options considered, including
associated risks and returns in
real numbers and in relation to
client’s needs
Explains markets and options
considered, including associated
risks and returns in real
numbers and in relation to
client’s needs, but response is
lengthy or contains inaccuracies
or inconsistencies
Does not explain markets and
options considered, including
associated risks and returns in
real numbers and in relation to
client’s needs
12
Market Environment
[FIN-450-03] Meets “Proficient” criteria and
demonstrates keen insight into
the ways in which external
forces can impact wealth
management decisions, strongly
supported by market analysis
Assesses effects of global forces
on markets and strategies,
supporting response with
relevant market research and
analysis
Assesses effects of global forces
on markets and strategies,
supporting response with
market research and analysis,
but response is cursory,
contains inaccuracies, or
support is not relevant
Does not assess effects of global
forces on markets and
strategies, supporting response
with relevant market research
and analysis
12
Asset Allocation:
Allocate
[FIN-450-03] Meets “Proficient” criteria and
suggestions are especially well
grounded in analysis of risks and
returns and well-aligned with
client’s needs
Suggests securities-related
allocation options, using pie
charts and explaining risks and
returns of different products
Suggests securities-related
allocation options, using pie
charts explaining risks and
returns of different products,
but response is cursory, illogical,
or contains inaccuracies
Does not suggest securitiesrelated allocation options, using
pie charts and explaining risks
and returns of different
products
12
Asset Allocation: Tax
Consequences
[FIN-450-04] Meets “Proficient” criteria and
analysis is particularly
comprehensive and wellsubstantiated by evidence
Analyzes how tax consequences
of financial products in diverse
markets might affect portfolio
planning, supporting response
with relevant examples,
research, and analysis
Analyzes how tax consequences
might affect portfolio planning,
supporting response with
examples, research, and
analysis, but response contains
inaccuracies, omits key details,
or support is not relevant
Does not analyze how tax
consequences might affect
portfolio planning, supporting
response with examples,
research, and analysis
8
Asset Allocation:
Diversification
[FIN-450-02] Meets “Proficient” criteria and
response is especially wellsuited to conveying options to
client in line with their needs
and interests
Communicates how portfolio
diversification affects client risks
and returns, using clear, nontechnical language
Communicates how portfolio
diversification affects risks and
returns, but response is cursory,
contains inaccuracies, or does
not use clear, non-technical
language
Does not communicate how
portfolio diversification affects
client risks and returns
8
Retirement:
Retirement and
Dependents
[FIN-450-04] Meets “Proficient” criteria and
suggestions are especially
insightful, comprehensive, or
well-substantiated by analysis of
costs, benefits, and client needs
Recommends potential
retirement and dependentsupport products, justifying
response in terms of costs,
benefits, and alignment with
client needs
Recommends potential
retirement and dependentsupport products, justifying
response in terms of costs,
benefits, and alignment with
needs, but response is cursory,
poorly-supported, or contains
inaccuracies
Does not recommend potential
retirement and dependentsupport products, justifying
response in terms of costs,
benefits, and alignment with
client needs
8
Retirement:
Budgeting
[FIN-450-04] Meets “Proficient” criteria and
suggestions are particularly
well-supported with keen
insights into impacts of time
value of money on long-term
planning and budgeting
Suggests budgeting strategies to
ensure retirement at target
lifestyle level, using time value
of money calculations to
support response
Suggests budgeting strategies to
ensure retirement at target
lifestyle level, using time value
of money calculations to
support response, but response
is cursory, poorly-supported, or
contains inaccuracies
Does not suggest budgeting
strategies to ensure retirement
at target lifestyle level, using
time value of money
calculations to support response
8
Recommendations:
Mix
[FIN-450-02] Meets “Proficient” criteria and
communication of suggestions is
especially well-suited to
conveying options to client
verbally, visually, and
numerically
Suggests allocation option
composed of diverse assets,
using clear, client-focused
language, pie charts, and
specific risk and return
measures to make case
Suggests allocation option
composed of diverse assets, but
does not use clear, clientfocused language, pie charts,
and specific risk and return
measures to make case, or
response contains inaccuracies
Does not suggest allocation
option composed of diverse
assets
8
Recommendations:
Overall
[FIN-450-02] Meets “Proficient” criteria and
suggestions are especially wellsupported by analysis of risks,
returns, and client needs
Communicates overall
recommendations and
conclusions for client, using
clear, client-friendly language
supported by evidence from
your analysis
Communicates overall
recommendations and
conclusions for client, but
response is poorly-supported,
unclear, contains inaccuracies,
or is not client-friendly
Does not communicate overall
recommendations and
conclusions for client
8
Articulation of
Response
Submission is free of errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, and
organization and is presented in
a professional and easy-to-read
format
Submission has no major errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization
Submission has major errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization
that negatively impact
readability and articulation of
main ideas
Submission has critical errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization
that prevent understanding of
ideas
4
Total 100%