Reference no: EM133515728

For this project, you work for a major mutual fund management company. You were hired for your financial and engineering expertise and problem-solving capabilities which the company highly values. Your supervisor is the lead fund manager for a technology investment fund specializing in an area set forth below. Your task is to develop a professional, 10- to 15-minute (maximum) presentation dealing with investments in one technology area. Because the fund company is paying you "top dollar" to guide investment decisions, your superisor expects your presentation to be "top quality" to entice new investors. At a minimum, this means that your presentation will make use of a business professional PowerPoint (15 slides maximum that emphasizes charts and graphs, keeping text to a minimum), a two-page (max) narrative to accompany the slides to present an overview of investment opportunities and strategy in your technology area. Each student will have the opportunity to present their mid-term project virtually on Thursday, August 3rd for extra credit. Your presentation will be to an audience of fund managers who makes buy/sell decisions based on your recommendations as well as highly respected peers. As a guide, your project shall address the following: 1) Identify firms that have a large component of sales and strategy in the technology area. 2) Determine the leading firms, 10 or so, their individual strategies (brief), current financial position, EVA, and outlook. 3) Use what you have learned in Financial Analysis (ratios, EVA) to support your views and to point out risks to earnings growth. 4) Determine investment potentials by comparing current stock valuation to growth rates and analyst estimates of future earnings and your view of future earnings growth. 5) Decide as a team how you would allocate $10 Million among the stocks for diversification and maximum capital gains over a 1-year period. 6) Make a convincing case for your recommendation so that the fund manager will accept your recommendations. Specific Technology Investment Areas (typical companies)-

1. Developing Communications Invest in common stocks of companies principally engaged in the development, manufacture, or sale of emerging communications services or equipment.

2. Biotechnology Invest in common stocks of companies principally engaged in the research, development, and manufacture of various biotechnological products, services, and processes.

3. Computers Invest in common stocks of companies principally engaged in research, design, development, manufacture, or distribution of products, processes, or services that relate to currently available or experimental hardware technology within the computer industry.

4. Software/Computer Services Invest in common stocks of companies principally engaged in research, design, production, or distribution of products or processes that relate to software or information-based services.

5. Electronics Invest in common stocks of companies principally engaged in the design, manufacture, or sale of electronic components (semiconductors, connectors, printed circuit boards, and other components); equipment vendors to electronic component manufacturers; electronic component distributors; and electronic instruments and electronic systems vendors.

6. Telecommunications Invest in common stocks of companies principally engaged in the development, manufacture, or sale of communications services or communications equipment.

7. Multimedia Invest in common stocks of companies principally engaged in the development, production, sale, and distribution of goods or services used in the broadcast and media industries.

8. Wireless Invest in common stock of companies involved in cellular communications, paging, mobile radio, wireless LANs, microwave transmissions, personal communications devices and networks, related software, or other companies with products or services related to wireless communications.

9. Networking & Infrastructure Invest in common stock of companies that are providers of telecommunications and network equipment, data storage systems, software, internet hardware, including servers, routers, switches and related equipment, systems for data encryption and security, internet services including hosting and commercial exchanges, fiber optics, satellites, cable equipment, and other companies involved in supporting the flow of information.

10. Healthcare Invest in common stocks of companies principally engaged in the design, manufacture, or sale of products or services used for or in connection with health care or medicine.

11. Cyber Security Invest in firms that focus on active threat management and tools for threat management. You may also nominate another tech sector with the approval of the Professor. Recommendation on a starting point for stock names: Technology sector funds are typically narrowly focused and may not be suitable as a major holding, (due to lack of diversification) but they may be suitable as part of a portfolio. Look up sector funds in the major fund companies (like Fidelity, Vanguard, etc) or on Forbes.com. Get the most recent fund report online and look at the top ten holdings at that time. This will give you a starting point for stock names.