MASSIMO GUIDOLIN

1. Introduction to the course and syllabus presentation (updated syllabus here)

Introduction to the fundamentals of portfolio management 
The Opportunity Set and the Efficient Frontier (No Riskless Borrowing and Lending)
The Opportunity Set and the Efficient Frontier (with Riskless Borrowing and Lending)
Efficient Frontier under Short-Selling Constraints.

READINGS

Lecture Slide Set 1, “Fundamentals of Mean-Variance Analysis”

Guidolin, M., and M., Pedio, 2016, Essentials of Applied Portfolio Management, EGEA and Bocconi University Press, chapters 1 and 3.

VIDEO RECORDINGS ARE AVAILABLE IN BLACKBOARD FOR BOCCONI SDA'S STUDENTS ACCESS
 

2. Utility-Based Portfolio Choice

Introduction to the State-Preference Approach
Representing Preferences and Risk Aversion Attitudes with Utility Functions

READINGS

Lecture Slide Set 2, “Utility-Based Portfolio Choice”
Guidolin, M., and M., Pedio, 2016, Essentials of Applied Portfolio Management, EGEA and Bocconi University Press, chapters 2.

4. Performance Measurement and Attribution

Decomposing Performance
Active vs. Passive Portfolio Management

READINGS

Lecture Slide Set 4, “Performance Measurement and Attribution”

Guidolin, M., and M., Pedio, 2016, Essentials of Applied Portfolio Management, EGEA and Bocconi University Press, chapter 7.

Levy, M., and R., Roll (2016). Seeking Alpha? It’s a Bad Guideline for Portfolio Optimization. Journal of Portfolio Management, 42, 107-112.
Goyal, A., Ilmanen, A., and D., Kabille (2015). Bad habits and good practices. Journal of Portfolio Management, 41, 97-107.

Excel samples made available by the instructors here (empty verrsion)

5. “Smart Beta” Factor Investing: Mapping Factor Exposures into Asset Allocations

Lecture Slide Set 5, “Smart Beta and Factor Investing”

Kahn, R. N., and M., Lemmon (2015). Smart Beta: the owner's manual. Journal of Portfolio Management, 41, 76-83.
Kahn, R. N., and M., Lemmon (2016). The asset manager’s dilemma: How smart beta is disrupting the investment management industry. Financial Analysts Journal, 72, 15-20.
Dimson, E., Marsh, P., and M., Staunton (2017). Factor-based investing: the long-term evidence. Journal of Portfolio Management, 43, 15-37.

VIDEO RECORDINGS ARE AVAILABLE IN BLACKBOARD FOR BOCCONI SDA'S STUDENTS ACCESS

6. Using Sentiment Indicators in Asset Management: the Window to Big Data, Deep Learning, and Artificial Intelligence

Lecture Slide Set 6, “The Role of Sentiment in Modern Portfolio Choice”

Heston, S. L., and N., R., Sinha (2017). News vs. sentiment: Predicting stock returns from news stories. Financial Analysts Journal, 73, 67-83.

Beckers, S. (2018). Do social media trump news? The relative importance of social media and news based sentiment for market timing. Journal of Portfolio Management, 45, 58-67.

7. The Role of ESG Criteria and Constraints in the Asset Management Industry

Lecture Slide Set 7, “ESG in Asset Management”

Statman, M., and D., Glushkov (2009). The wages of social responsibility. Financial Analysts Journal, 65, 33-46.

Amel-Zadeh, A., and G., Serafeim (2018). Why and how investors use ESG information: Evidence from a global survey. Financial Analysts Journal, 74, 1-17.

8. Hedge as an Alternative Asset Class; the nature of hedge fund strategies

Lecture Slide Set 8, “What Do We Know About Hedge Funds”

PREPARING THE EXAM...

A few sample questions in view of the exam (solutions here)
2018 exam (solutions here).