A portion of a data set containing information for 45 mutual funds that are part of the Morningstar Funds 500 for 2008 follows. The complete data set is available in the file named MutualFunds. The data set includes the following five variables:
Fund Type: The type of fund, labeled DE (Domestic Equity), IE (International Equity), and FI (Fixed Income).
Net Asset Value ($): The closing price per share on December 31, 2007.
5-Year Average Return (%): The average annual return for the fund over the past five years.
Expense Ratio (%): The percentage of assets deducted each fiscal year for fund expenses.
Morningstar Rank: The risk adjusted star rating for each fund; Morningstar ranks go from a low of 1-Star to a high of 5-Stars.

a. Develop an estimated regression equation that can be used to predict the 5-year average return given the type of fund. At the .05 level of significance, test for a significant relationship.
b. Did the estimated regression equation developed in part (a) provide a good fit to the data? Explain.
c. Develop the estimated regression equation that can be used to predict the 5-year average return given the type of fund, the net asset value, and the expense ratio. At the .05 level of significance, test for a significant relationship. Do you think any variables should be deleted from the estimated regression equation? Explain.
d. Morningstar Rank is a categorical variable. Because the data set contains only funds with four ranks (2-Star through 5-Star), use the following dummy variables: 3Star-Rank = 1 for a 3-Star fund, 0 otherwise; 4StarRank = 1 for a 4-Star fund, 0 otherwise; and 5Star Rank = 1 for a 5-Star fund, 0 otherwise. Develop an estimated regression equation that can be used to predict the 5-year average return given the type of fund, the expense ratio, and the Morningstar Rank. Using α = .05, remove any independent variables that are not significant.
e. Use the estimated regression equation developed in part (d) to predict the 5-year average return for a domestic equity fund with an expense ratio of 1.05% and a 3-Star MorningstarRank.

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Net 5-Year Asset Average Expense Fund Value Return Ratio Morningstar Type ($) (%) DE 28.88 12.39 14.37 30.53 3.34 DE 24.94 10.88 DE 46.39 11.32 25.52 24.95 DE 16.92 15.67 DE 50.67 16.77 DE 36.58 18.14 Fund Name Rank 2-Star 3-Star 4 Star 3-Star 2-Star 3-Star 3-Star 5-Star 4 Star Amer Cent Inc & Growth Inv American Century Intl Disc American Century Tax-Free Bond American Century Ultra 5 1.41 49 FI 10.73 1.03 1.23 1.18 1.31 1.08 Artisan Intl Val Artisan Small Cap Baron Asset Brandywine