Applied Portfolio Management: How University of Kansas Students Generate Alpha to Beat the Street

Preface.

Acknowledgments.

Part One. Introduction to the Applied Portfolio Management Class.

Chapter 1. APM History.

In the Beginning.

How do Beginning Investors Think?

Student Groups – Short-Term Investing and Portfolio Contests.

Getting Close to the Information.

Onions, Poker, and Ants.

What about the Ants?

Things to Come.

Chapter 2. APM Guidelines.

Professional Money Managers.

Tactical Asset Allocation and Sector Benchmarking.

APM Approach.

Wrapping Up.

Chapter 3. Conventional Wisdom.

Diversification and Risk.

Efficient Markets.

Conclusion.

Chapter 4. How Students Find An Investment Edge.

Build Your Own Information Network.

Neglected Firms.

Surface Analysis.

Wrapping Up.

Chapter 5. Alpha, Sigma, Beta.

APM's Risk and Reward.

The Risk-Return Trade-off.

Other Risk Measures.

Wrapping Up.

Appendix. Risk and Return Calculations.

Part Two. Building an Investment Case.

Chapter 6. Many Ways to be a Successful Investor.

Common Traits of Successful Investors.

APM's Philosophy.

LSB Industries.

Wrapping Up.

Chapter 7. Prepping for a Case.

Getting Started.

Understand the Business.

Ready to Write the Case.

Appendix. 10-K Requirements.

Chapter 8. Writing a Case.

Case Format.

Description.

Investment Thesis.

Next Steps.

Chapter 9. Gazing into the Crystal Ball.

Pro Forma Statements.

Pro Forma Financial Statements and Free Cash Flow.

Building a Pro Forma.

Next Steps.

Chapter 10. Valuation.

Relative Valuation.

Discounted Cash Flow Valuation.

Investing is Dynamic.

Appendix. Discounted Cash Flow Formulas.

Part Three. Class Specials.

Chapter 11. Investing in China.

Financial Systems in China.

Raising Equity in China.

Company Example - China Green.

Wrapping Up.

Chapter 12. It's a Big World (After All).

Interceramic.

World Commodities.

Wrapping Up.

Appendix. Valero's Numbers.

Chapter 13. Local Biases.

American Italian Pasta (PLB).

Novastar Financial (NFI).

Inergy, L.P. and Inergy Holdings, L.P.

Tortoise Capital Advisors (and more about Inergy).

Wrapping Up.

Chapter 14. Making Corporate Governance Pay.

Board Issues.

Corporate Activists.

Oplink Campaign.

Wrapping Up.

Chapter 15. It's All About Who You Know.

APM Students.

APM Speakers.

The Last Word.

About the Authors.

Index.