Academic Integrity: tutoring, explanations, and feedback — we don’t complete graded work or submit on a student’s behalf.

Suppose initially that two assets, A and B, will each make a single guaranteed p

ID: 1166952 • Letter: S

Question

Suppose initially that two assets, A and B, will each make a single guaranteed payment of $200 in one year. But asset A has a current price of $160 while asset B has a current price of $180. Instructions: Round your answers to 2 decimal places.

a. What are the rates of return of assets A and B at their current prices?

Return on asset A = Return on asset B =

Given these rates of return, which asset should investors buy and which asset should they sell?

Buy asset and sell asset b.

Assume that arbitrage continues until A and B have the same expected rate of return.

When arbitrage ends, will A and B have the same price?

Next, consider another pair of assets, C and D.

Asset C will make a single payment of $300 in one year, while D will make a single payment of $400 in one year.

Assume that the current price of C is $240 and that the current price of D is $360.

c. What are the rates of return of assets C and D at their current prices? Return on asset C =

Explanation / Answer

(a)

Return on asset A = ($200/$160) - 1 = 1.25 - 1 = 0.25 = 25.00%

Return on asset B = ($200/$180) - 1 = 1.1111 - 1 = 0.1111 = 11.11%

(b)

Investment will buy asset A (since it has higher return) and sell asset B (since it has lower return).

When arbitrage ends, assets A and B will not have same price.

(c)

Return on asset C = ($300/$240) - 1 = 1.25 - 1 = 0.25 = 25.00%

Return on asset D = ($400/$360) - 1 = 1.1111 - 1 = 0.1111 = 11.11%