7FNCE020W.

1
Contemporary Finance

INDIVIDUAL
COURSEWORK

Dr Milica Matovic
Submission deadline and feedback

▪ Assessment weighting: 30%

▪ Qualifying mark: 35%
▪ Submission date: Thursday 26th November, 2020
▪ Submission time: No later than 13:00 UK time
▪ Provisional mark & feedback: Thursday 10th December, 2020

Please note: Do NOT use the Safari Browser when uploading your coursework, IT has notified
us that it doesn’t work.

2
Assessment details

▪ The pass mark for the module is 50%.

▪ If your mark for the module is between 40-49%, you will be required to complete one or more
referral assessments and your mark for these will be capped at 50%.
▪ Refer to module handbook for full assessment details.

Assessment Weighting (%) Qualifying mark Qualifying set Assessment type

name (%)
Individual 30% 35% N/A Written report
coursework
Final exam 70% 35% N/A Online Timed
Assessment

3
Assessment details: UoW policy

▪ Submission electronically via Turnitin on Blackboard.

▪ Submissions by email will NOT be accepted.

▪ Only one submission (single document) per student.

▪ Do NOT attempt to upload your coursework multiple times.

▪ Due NO LATER than 13:00 UK time on Thursday, November 26th 2020.

▪ Up to 24 hours late: 10% deduction; more than 24 hours late: mark of 0.

▪ Mitigating circumstances? Issues uploading? Must contact the registry BEFORE the deadline.

4
Individual coursework assignment

Assignment topic:

“The value of Tesla Inc shares (NASDAQ: TSLA) has more than quadrupled this year, which pushes
the company’s market capitalisation over $400 billion. Analyse the implications of this valuation on
market efficiency and investor rationality.”

5
Marking scheme – refer to CW brief

Theoretical discussion 40%

▪ Introduction 10%
➢ Includes motivation/background on topic

▪ Literature review 30%

➢ Summarizes the efficient markets theory using at least five relevant, academic sources
➢ Critical discussion of papers in relation to the topic is provided

6
Marking scheme – refer to CW brief

Empirical study 40%

▪ Company description 5%
➢ Introduction of the company is provided

▪ Data analysis 20%

➢ Shows relationship between recent Tesla’s Inc valuation and efficient markets theory
➢ Includes relevant financial data figures and tables
➢ Draws research findings and evidence from existing literature and databases
➢ Evidence of stock’s fundamental analysis

▪ Results 15 %
➢ Critical analysis of financial data from the case study is provided, with appropriate interpretations in the
framework of market efficiency and investor rationality.
➢ Results are linked with previous studies covered in literature review, as well as relevant news sources

7
Marking scheme – refer to CW brief

Structure, writing style and referencing 20%

▪ Essay is well organised.

▪ Essay is well written.

▪ Referencing follows the Westminster Harvard format.

➢ https://libguides.Westminster.ac.uk/referencing

8
Suggested structure

▪ Cover page
➢ Title of coursework
➢ Module name & module code
➢ Word count
➢ Do NOT put name or college ID (Anonymous marking)
▪ Table of contents (optional)
▪ Introduction
▪ Literature review
▪ Case study
▪ Conclusion

9
Literature review

▪ A good literature review should review what has been done about the topic that you want to discuss.

▪ You need to provide critical comments in the literature review. For example, what are the weaknesses or potential problems in
the chosen papers?

▪ Remember that the aim of a literature review is to discuss a topic based on previous studies, it should not read as a list of
abstracts.

▪ A literature review should fulfil the following:

➢ Survey journal articles, books, news, and other sources
➢ Be relevant to a particular research area
➢ Provide description, summary, and critical evaluation of each source that is reviewed
➢ Critically discuss findings of different authors/sources

▪ A literature review should NOT:

➢ Only be a summary of articles, books and other resources
➢ Dedicate a separate paragraph to each author
➢ Be arranged in alphabetical order by author
➢ Have no links between ideas of different authors
➢ Contain resources that are irrelevant to your topic

10
Descriptive vs critical/analytical writing

Descriptive writing Critical/analytical writing

States what happened Identifies significance

States what something is like Evaluates (judges the value) strengths and
weaknesses

Says how to do something Argues a case according to the evidence

Explains what a theory says Shows why something is relevant or suitable

Explains how something works Indicates why something will work

Gives information Draws conclusions

11
Empirical case study

▪ Application of theory to real life context.

▪ Must be meaningful for the discussion of the case of Tesla Inc valuation.

▪ Analyse whether there is an obvious link between Tesla’s recent valuation and efficient markets theory, or the
case supports argument of market inefficiency and investor irrationality.

▪ Use various financial data to analyse the stock valuation and support your view:
➢ Fundamental analysis to derive intrinsic value of the company!
➢ Qualitative factors (economic moat, management, etc) & quantitative factors (assets, liabilities, revenue,
earnings, cash flows, P/E, P/B, P/CF, etc)

▪ Your case study should be supported by careful analysis, tables/figures, reliable data, and insightful findings.

12
Linking literature review with case study

Examples from past assignment on relationship of dividend theory and firm financial performance:

• “If the signalling hypothesis holds, firms with higher earnings (ROE, ROA) in the future whould be willing to
pay out more dividends. We find that dividend changes are signficiantly and positively related to ROE and
ROA in years one and two. The results support the signalling hypothesis of dividends. Moreover, consistent
with prior findings, dividend changes cannot predict future ROE levels but negatively affect future ROA”.

• “…after 2009, the graph shows a steady, positive trend between dividends and ROA. This is contrary to the
findings of Grullon et al. (2005) and Liu and Chen (2015) who found that as dividends increased, ROA
decreased.”

13
Resources

• Bloomberg
• DataStream
• Financial Times
• Yahoo Finance
• CNBC
• Company website
• Journals
• Books
• Reliable news media
• Investopedia
• As a starting point to understand concepts
• Do NOT use as one of your references!

14
Questions?

15