Smart Excel Appendix
Smart Excel Appendix
EXCEL PREREQUISITES
You need to be familiar with the following Excel features to use this appendix:
• Exponentiation in Excel
• Statistical functions
If this is new to you, be sure to complete the Excel Prereqs tab of the Chapter 6 Excel file at the
Smart Finance Web site before proceeding.
Approach: Create a simple model that allows you to find the dividend income and
capital gain as well as the total euro and percent return on an equity investment.
Try it yourself in a blank Excel file. Think about what to include in inputs and how to set up your
calculations and output. Alternatively, you can use the setup file provided on the Returns tab of the
Chapter 6 Excel file.
© Bridget Lyons, 2004
We set up the model as follows:
Percent return
Calculate funds invested by multiplying the beginning price by the number of shares purchased.
You should find that your euro returns was €397.50 which translates into a percentage return of
24.8%. Your sister had a higher euro return, €416.25, but a lower percent return, 18.7%, due to her
higher initial investment.
Apply it
What if you change the number of shares purchased?
Suppose you each purchase 100 shares.
The euro return varies (you earn €795 and she earns €555.), but the percent returns are not
affected because the return on investment remains constant.
Approach: Set up a basic model to solve for the real rate of return.
Try it yourself in a blank Excel file. Think about what to include in inputs and how to set up your
calculations and output. Alternatively, you can use the setup file provided on the Nom & Real
Return tab of the Chapter 6 Excel file. You should get a real rate of return of 8.3%.
Apply it
What if inflation is not what you expected?
Suppose inflation is 4.5%? 1.5%?
Higher levels of inflation lead to lower real returns. At 4.5% inflation, the real rate of return is
6.2%; at 1.5% inflation, the real rate of return is 9.4%.
Output
The standard deviation function returns the standard deviation of a group of numbers.
You can use the function by either typing in individual values or using cell references.
The format is:
=stdev(value1, value2,….) or =stdev(cell ref:cell ref)
To solve, using Approach 2, again enter the years and returns as inputs. Then use the built-in
statistical functions to find the average return, variance of returns, and standard deviation of returns.
You should get the same results as with Approach 1.
Apply it
An advantage of using the built-in functions is that it is easy to look at statistics
for sub-periods.
Find the average return, variance of returns, and standard deviation of returns for
• 1995–1999
• 1996–2000
• 2000–2003
You should get the following results.
Interpret
The period selected for analysis has a tremendous impact on the results.
CALCULATING PORTFOLIO RISK AND RETURN STATISTICS
You may also want to find the average return, variance of returns, and standard deviation of returns
for a portfolio.
Problem: Solve Problem 6-19 in which you were asked to compare investments in Merck,
AMD, and a portfolio with 50% invested in each.
Apply it
Output
AMD Merck Portfolio
Average return 0.18 0.18 0.18
Variance 0.32 0.11 0.08
Std deviation 0.56 0.33 0.29
What if you vary the percent of the portfolio invested in AMD and Merck?
• Consider a portfolio with 75% in AMD and 25% in Merck.
• Consider a portfolio with 25% in AMD and 75% in Merck.
Interpret
Interestingly, in this example, varying the percents invested in each stock does not change the
average portfolio return.
Is this typical?
No. This occurs only because AMD and Merck have approximately the same average return.
The variance and standard deviation of the portfolio are, however, affected. With 75% in AMD and
25% in Merck, the variance is 0.17 and the standard deviation 0.41. With 25% in AMD and 75% in
Merck, the variance drops to 0.06 and standard deviation to 0.25.