Criteria Unsatisfactory Limited Proficient Exemplary Critical Analysis - Demonstrates Careful Reading and Inquiry into Subject Discussion postings show little or no evidence that readings were completed or understood. Postings are largely personal opinions or feelings, or "I agree" or "Great idea," without supporting statements with concepts from the readings, outside resources, relevant research, or specific real life application. Discussion postings repeat and summarize basic, correct information, but do not link readings to outside references, relevant research or specific real- life application and do not consider alternative perspectives or connections between ideas. Sources are not cited. Discussion postings display an understanding of the required readings and underlying concepts including correct use of terminology and proper citation. Discussion postings display an excellent understanding of the required readings and underlying concepts including correct use of terminology. Postings integrate an outside resource, or relevant research, or specific real life application (work experience, prior coursework, etc.) to support important points. Well edited quotes are cited appropriately. Participation in the Learning Community Discussion postings do not contribute to ongoing conversations or respond to peers' postings. There is no evidence of replies to questions. Discussion postings sometimes contribute to ongoing conversations as evidenced by:  Affirming statements or references to relevant research  Asking related questions  Making an oppositional statement supported by any personal experience or related research. Discussion postings contribute to the class' ongoing conversations as evidenced by:  Affirming statements or references to relevant research  Asking related questions  Making an oppositional statement supported by any personal experience or related research. Discussion postings actively stimulate and sustain further discussion by building on peers' responses including:  Building a focused argument around a specific issue  Asking a new related question  Making an oppositional statement supported by personal experience or related research. Etiquette in Dialogue with Peers Written interactions on the discussion board show disrespect for the viewpoints of others. Some of the written interactions on the discussion board show respect and interest in the viewpoints of others. Written interactions on the discussion board show respect and interest in the viewpoints of others. Written interactions on the discussion board show respect and sensitivity to peers. Quality of Writing and Proofreading Written responses contain numerous grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors. The style of writing does not facilitate effective communication. Written responses include some grammatical, spelling or ...

1. Criteria Unsatisfactory Limited Proficient Exemplary
Critical Analysis -
Demonstrates
Careful Reading
and Inquiry into
Subject
Discussion postings show little or
no evidence that readings were
completed or understood.
Postings are largely personal
opinions or feelings, or "I agree"
or "Great idea," without
supporting statements with
concepts from the readings,
outside resources, relevant
research, or specific real life
application.
Discussion postings repeat and
summarize basic, correct
information, but do not link
readings to outside references,
relevant research or specific real-
life application and do not
consider alternative perspectives
or connections between ideas.
Sources are not cited.

2. Discussion postings display an
understanding of the required
readings and underlying concepts
including correct use of
terminology and proper citation.
Discussion postings display an
excellent understanding of the
required readings and underlying
concepts including correct use of
terminology. Postings integrate an
outside resource, or relevant
research, or specific real life
application (work experience,
prior coursework, etc.) to support
important points. Well edited
quotes are cited appropriately.
Participation in the
Learning
Community
Discussion postings do not
contribute to ongoing
conversations or respond to
peers' postings. There is no
evidence of replies to questions.
Discussion postings sometimes
contribute to ongoing
conversations as evidenced by:
references to relevant
research

3. statement supported by any
personal experience or
related research.
Discussion postings contribute to
the class' ongoing conversations
as evidenced by:
references to relevant
research
statement supported by any
personal experience or
related research.
Discussion postings actively
stimulate and sustain further
discussion by building on peers'
responses including:
around a specific issue
statement supported by
personal experience or

4. related research.
Etiquette in
Dialogue with
Peers
Written interactions on the
discussion board show disrespect
for the viewpoints of others.
Some of the written interactions
on the discussion board show
respect and interest in the
viewpoints of others.
Written interactions on the
discussion board show respect
and interest in the viewpoints of
others.
Written interactions on the
discussion board show respect
and sensitivity to peers.
Quality of Writing
and Proofreading
Written responses contain
numerous grammatical, spelling
or punctuation errors. The style of
writing does not facilitate
effective communication.
Written responses include some
grammatical, spelling or

5. punctuation errors that distract
the reader.
Written responses are largely free
of grammatical, spelling or
punctuation errors. The style of
writing generally facilitates
communication.
Written responses are free of
grammatical, spelling or
punctuation errors. The style of
writing facilitates communication.
Score:
Comments:
FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND LAW
ACADEMIC YEAR 2020/21Coursework Assessment Brief
Module Code: UMADRU-15-2
Module Title: Introduction to Finance
Submission Deadline: 02nd February 2021, 14:00
Assessment Component: B Coursework
Assessment Weighting: 40 per cent of total module mark
Marking and feedback deadline (20 working days): 02nd March,
2021
Assessment Instructions
Requirements: Complete all the tasks described below.
One final submission should be made per student, which should
comprise the following:
1. One 1,500-word report.

6. 2. One Excel workbook.
3. One reference list, which should be in UWE Harvard format
and should cover the whole submission.
Tasks:
Students are required to build a portfolio containing an analysis
of Apple Inc. and The Coca-Cola Company. To this end, the
portfolio should be structured as follows:
PART I – Company Profile (150 words)
1. Prepare a brief description of Apple Inc and The Coca-Cola
Company using the latest Annual Reports. The description
should include: main areas of business activities, main
products/services, and principal geographies.
PART II – Financial Performance (400 words)
2. Using the companies’ financial statements, carry out a full
financial statement analysis using a variety of financial ratios,
including liquidity measures (acid test ratio; cash ratio), long-
term solvency measures (total debt ratio; interest coverage
ratio), turnover measures (inventory turnover; asset turnover),
and profitability measures (net profit margin; return on equity)
in the analysis. Present the ratios in bar-charts depicting the
change of the ratios over the past five years.
3. Comment on the performance of both companies over the past
five years using your findings, outlining changes in the
companies’ fortunes and change drivers.
PART III – Market Performance (450 words)
4. Using relevant literature, explain the importance of financial
markets and the driving forces of share prices in the stock
market.
5. Download the daily historical price data for Apple Inc., The
Coca-Cola Company and the S&P500. The data should include 5
years of daily stock prices from 14th October 2015 until 13th
October 2020.
6. Compute the average daily return, standard deviation,
skewness and kurtosis for each share and the market.

7. 7. Create a density plot of the daily returns. The returns
distribution should range between -3.50% and +3.50%, and the
bin width should be 0.5%.
8. Plot the average annual returns and standard deviations in the
return-volatility space.
9. Using the plots and summary statistics, write a full comment
on the risk-return profiles of Apple Inc, The Coca-Cola
Company, and the market index.
Note: Format your answers to keep three digits after the decimal
point.
PART IV – Portfolio of Shares (500 words)
Consider the following portfolio: Apple Inc; The Coca-Cola
Company.
10. Compute the correlation matrix for Apple Inc, The Coca-
Cola Company and the S&P500. Explain the importance of the
correlation information.
11. Compute the portfolio return and variance with weights
combinations varrying from 0% in Apple Inc – 100% in The
Coca-Cola Company to 100% in Apple Inc – 0% in The Coca-
Cola, increasing Apple Inc.’s weight by 10% each time.
12. Plot the returns and variances of the portfolio combinations.
13. Explain the efficient frontier and highlight it on the return-
variance plot.
14. Using the Excel Solver, find the weights of the two assets
for the minimum variance portfolio (MVP) and report the return
and variance of the MVP. Add the MVP to the plot.
15. Explain the limits of diversification, referring to the types
of risks and their sources, with examples. Support your
argument with references to relevance literature.
Note: Format both axes numbers as percentages with two digits
after the decimal point.
Formatting and Presentation
Please closely follow the following guidelines:
· All work should be word processed in 12-point font Times

8. New Roman or Arial, double spaced and justified.
· All plots axes’ numbers should be presented as percentages.
All graphs and tables should be labelled.
· The report should include a brief introduction and conclusion.
· All sections are numbered with appropriate headings.Marking
Criteria
The following criteria will be used in evaluating this
assessment. achieve a high score, the criteria below should be
satisfied.
PART I – 10 marks
· The company description is concise and accurate.
PART II – 25 marks
· A full description of the financial statements sources, the
formulae used for ratio analysis
· The analysis of the financial performance includes a clear
interpretation of each ratio.
PART III – 25 marks
· A full description of the data source, the formulae used for
return and standard deviation calculations are included.
· The analysis of the scatter plot includes a clear discussion of
the return-risk trade off.
· The analysis of the density plot is based on all four metrics.
PART IV – 30 marks
· The discussion of the efficient frontier refers to relevant
academic literature. Wikipedia and Investopedia do not qualify
as academic literature.
· The limitations of diversifications are discussed based on
relevant academic literature.
· The report includes the criteria used in the Excel Solver with
justification.
Presentation – 10 marks
· The report follows the guidelines aforementioned.
· The language used is academic and not include any
contractions such as “They’re, isn’t…” and the like.Formative
feedback and support during the module
Formative feedback provides opportunities to reflect on your

9. ongoing work and preparation for your assignment. Complete
this section to highlight formative feedback opportunities
specific to this assignment and embedded in this module.
Further information about this assessment is available on the
Blackboard site for this module and includes:Formatting
Please use the following file formats:
· .docx (Word) format for the main report,
· .xlsx (Excel) format for the Excel workbook.
We cannot ensure that other formats are compatible with
markers’ software and cannot guarantee to mark incorrect
formats.
All work should be word processed in 12-point font Times New
Roman or Arial and single spaced.
The first page of your coursework must include:
· Your student number
· The module name and number
· Your word count
Word Limit
The maximum word limit for this coursework is 1,500 words.
· There is no +/- 10% on word count and anything after the
maximum word count will not be marked, in line with UWE
Bristol’s Word Count Policy.
· In line with UWE policy, this word count includes everything
in the main body of the text (including headings, tables,
citations, quotes, lists, etc.).
· The references, bibliography and footnotes (provided
footnotes only include references) are NOT included in this
word count.Referencing and Assessment Offences
Please ensure you reference all sources used when developing
your assessment, using the UWE Harvard system. Failure to
properly reference your work to original source material can be
grounds for the assessment offence of plagiarism and may result
in failure of the assessment or more serious implications.
Further guidance on correct referencing is available on UWE’s
Study Skills referencing pages.
UWE’s Assessment Offences Policy outlines potential offences

10. and it is your responsibility to understand this policy and avoid
potential offences. Details of what constitutes plagiarism and
how to avoid it can be found on UWE’s Study Skills pages
about avoiding plagiarism.
Text-matching software (e.g. SafeAssign) is used to check every
submission against other submissions made at the same time,
previous submissions to UWE and other universities, and
internet sources. We may also manually search for matches.
When submitting your work, you will be required to confirm
that the work is your own.
It is an assessment offence to:
· copy work from any source, including your own previous
assessments, and present it as your own work for this
assessment, or to provide your own work to others
· to work with others on the assessment in any way, or for
anyone to make amends on your work (including proofreaders,
who may highlight issues but not edit the work)
· change individual words but keep, essentially, the same
sentences and/or structures from other sources: this will be
detected by text-matching software. Please write in your own
words and style to convey your own learning. Instructions for
submission
Do NOT submit the two files separately! Please attach all files
to a single submission. Please allow sufficient time to upload
your assignment, as the system becomes busier and slower as
the deadline approaches. Only your final upload will be
counted. Ensure all your information is submitted at one attempt
to avoid overwriting your intended submission. Always check
and retain your receipts
Submissions of coursework by any other method (including a
paper copy, on disk or by email) are NOT permissible for this
module unless specifically agreed in advance of the submission
date.Before submitting your work, please ensure that:
· You have proof read you work thoroughly to ensure your work
is presented appropriately
· You have addressed all the required elements of the

11. assessment
· You have referenced in accordance with the guidance provided
· You have addressed each of the marking criterion
· The submission is in the correct format
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