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Tag: finance courses

Understanding Financial Leverage the Physics Way!

Posted on by Imarticus Learning

We have often heard of Leverage in various Financial contexts such as a Leveraged Buyout, Leverage ratio of a Hedge fund etc. What does it mean?
Lets get to Physics first, for it is more common-sensical and straightforward
We define Torque as the radios vector multiplied by the force vector.
This finds application in as mundane a thing as opening a door.
The force we apply is of course the FORCE =F and the distance between the knob and the axis about which the door rotates is the RADIUS =R.
Imagine for a moment if the knob were to be fixed or engineered to be operated from the middle of the door instead of the end as we conventionally have it. This would mean that we would require more force for the same output. The output here being the door being opened. Say 45 degrees.
In the Financial scheme of things, the force that we apply is the monetary effort coming from ownership.i.e, say equity. The inherent radius is analogous to the inherent effortlessness involved of not having to ‘own’ or in other words, not having to raise equity but debt. The torque here could be considered as the revenue/profit/return
This situation of having more debt than equity is akin to having more radius and the knob of the door hence being attached to the end of the door. This makes the door opening rather relatively effortless.Or gaining profit effortlessly or by leverage.
So does that mean that a high leverage or debt is always the go-to choice of investment? I am afraid NOT necessarily.
Imagine the flip side of the door story. If someone were to have kept the hand at the edge of the door, while it is being closed .A given amount of force (equity) will definitely do more harm to the innocent hand when the radius is more (debt) than it would if the radius were less due to the door knob located unconventionally in the middle.
Needless to say financially it could go as far as saying “He burnt his fingers venturing into the business”!
Imarticus Learning offers short term courses in finance that not only train students to become investment bankers, or learn to manage their own finances via wealth management courses. Imarticus Learning is a leading industry expert trainer in financial services.

Author Bio :
Kumar Simha is an NIT Graduate with an MBA, Finance from HULT, Boston, USA, Kumar has more than 8 years of experience across Financial services, Business management and Training.

Fundamentals of Forecasting – Basic Modeling Hygiene – III

Posted on by Imarticus Learning

By Reshma Krishnan
We are continuing to understand the Fundamentals of Forecasting. Please click here for Part 1 and Part 2.
Many aspiring candidates ask us what is so special about the FMVC program at Imarticus Learning. After all, shouldn’t an MBA suffice? The problem with MBA’s, regardless of which school you go to, is that they don’t teach you role specific issues. For instance, they don’t have specific modeling modules. They will have a forecasting module but they won’t teach you how to model or how to forecast step by step. In the Financial Modelling and Valuation Course (FMVC), India’s leading Forecasting and Financial Modeling program, we teach you the minutae and we go into specifics. One such specific is modeling and forecasting hygiene.
Hard Coding- the model users bane.
This is the first thing I teach in modeling class. Hard Coding is essentially a stand alone number in a cell, which has no back up. It says nothing about the number. You must never hard code a forecasted number because the forecast is always done on the back of an assumption, which has to be modeled in. Hard coded numbers are usually past data, actual data that has been verified and been the result of auditing. A forecasted number should always be a linked number from an assumption.
Colour Coding
Staying with hard coded numbers, it always helps to colour code. In fact, in my class, I mark an assignment zero if it is not colour coded. Red hardcoded number tells me that the forecaster had no option but to hard code. All actuals should be in a different colour to forecasts and all delta numbers, that is the variable you are using to arrive at a forecast needs to also be in a different number.
Give the delta its own cell
Let’s say you want to increase the sale of pencils in 2017 by 10% from 2016. You have two ways to do it.
=(2016 revenue cell) x 10% +(2016 revenue cell) = 2017 revenue.
Or
You create a special cell for 10%
= ((2016 revenue cell) x (10% cell) )+(2016 revenue cell) = 2017 revenue.
Here I am assuming that revenue is growing by 10% . This helps me change the delta as I see fit which then changes my model. The delta is the rational for my model. If you hide it within a formula, I have to constantly look at formulas to find my assumptions.
Learn more about Forecasting by joining our course, FMVC,Financial Modeling and Valuation Course, India’s leading program in Financial Modeling and Valuation and focused on improving your chances on having a career in Investment Banking or Equity Research.

Fundamentals of Forecasting – the Basic Premise of Forecasting – II

Posted on by Imarticus Learning

By Reshma Krishnan
We are continuing to understand the Fundamentals of Forecasting. Please click here
The fewer the assumptions, the stronger the forecast – at least in the beginning when you are learning how to model. Most investment Banking models end up running into 40 assumption sheets, each linked to another. While you might believe such minutiae makes a difference, it’s almost always just to make yourself feel better. Yes, your ability to understand every cost element is good, but its futile if your understanding of the industry works or its cost structure is weak. Key assumptions built into the forecast can also be lost, like trees in a forest. Links can be very hard to find. A simple forecast on the other hand helps you understand what drives basic line items while giving you the ability change basic assumptions. So for instance if you are forecasting the cost of a cup of tea, you break the cup of tea into its major elements, milk, tea, sugar. Three basic drivers, but if you decide to link the price of tea not to the retail rate but to an auction rate that is further linked to an auction house pricing, there are many chances your Financial Analyst coursemodel will be faulty for no tangible benefit.

Forecasting is hard- if it wasn’t, financial modeling and forecasting would not be the number one skill required in financial services, especially Equity Research, or the most popular program in Financial Services Education. It requires patience and a deep thorough understanding of the industry. Forecasting is what Equity Research Analysts do all the time which is why Equity Research Analysts are industry specialists. You won’t find an analyst doing both steel and retail e-commerce. If you are not detail oriented, you are not going to be great at forecasting.
Your forecast is as good as your data, or your weakest link- using solid numbers always feels like an attractive proposition. Investment Bankers love to receive solid data from the clients. Equity Research analysts love to receive solid numbers from the industry or a company but what data do you trust. How often do you use that data? Can you remove the bias in the data. Data you receive from clients will almost always be optimistic, same with industry. Data you receive from Private Equity will almost always be pessimistic. There is bias in every data and your job is to remove bias.
Learn more about Forecasting by joining our course, FMVC, Financial Modeling and Valuation Course, India’s leading program in Financial Modeling and Valuation and focused on improving your chances on having a career in Investment Banking or Equity Research.

Introduction to Investment Management

Posted on by Imarticus Learning

What is Investment Management? What does the investment management industry constitute?

The world of finance can be complicated. To simplify for the sake of understanding, let us consider the financial world as broadly constituting of banks – (retail, commercial, and investment), insurance companies, and investment managers.

Banking: Retail and commercial banks are the ones most people are familiar with and are mostly straightforward. They take in money through deposits from customers, other banks, and shareholders. They then distribute this money through credit cards and loans to individuals, companies, and other banks.

Retail and commercial banks make money on the interest charged on these loans. Investment banks on the other hand are more complicated. They allow their clients, which include investment managers, to trade on the financial markets. They also deal with IPO, mergers, and acquisitions.

Insurance: Insurance companies take in money by charging for private and corporate insurance policies, in return for against the unexpected. They in turn are protected from being unable to payout on policy claims by moving money to a reinsurance company and therefore reducing exposure.

Investment Management: Investment managers also known as fund or asset managers do as the name suggests – they manage investments of private investors, corporates, banks, or insurance companies. Investment managers make their clients’ money grow by using investment banks to buy and sell investments.

Let us consider the funds managed by an investment manager as raw material whether in shares, bonds, commodities, or derivatives, and an investment manager as a machine that converts this raw material into a product by using a series of processes. The product is a fund. The goal of the fund is to make money for the investors. Thus, an investment manager uses an investor’s money to make money.

These processes vary greatly and depend on the investment strategy used. E.g.: passive vs. active investment. However, the principle remains the same. The fund aims to make a return by balancing risk and rewards and thus, in a process-driven manner ensures effective mobilization/channeling of its resource i.e. money from investors.

Thus, the players in the investment management industry can be classified into just two broad categories – the investment managers and the investors. Investment occurs directly i.e. investment contracts or more commonly via collective investment schemes. A mutual fund is a type of collective investment scheme. They provide an efficient way of pooling funds for investment purposes.

The Flow of funds in the asset management industry:

*PMS – Portfolio Management Services, AMC – Asset Management Services, WM – Wealth Managers.

What is the Investment Process? What role does the investment manager play? What is the role of portfolio performance measurement in the investment process?

Like any process, the investment process can be broadly classified based on four phases – Plan, Do, Check and Act. Similarly, it is pertinent to note that the investment management process, forming a part of the investment process cannot be improved without performance measurement. The following is an overview of the Investment Process.

From the above, it is clear that for the investment process to be complete it needs to be measured. This measuring of the portfolio performance should preferably be a part of the investment management process itself. In this case, it will contribute to improving the portfolio management process internally and thus contribute to process improvement. On the other hand, performance measurement can be undertaken by the investor as a part of the larger investment process. In this case, the same measures behave as a stricter audit function rather than a must-suited process improvement role.