As an investment manager, you frequently make decisions about investing in stocks versus other types of investments, and about types of stocks to purchase.

a. You have noticed that investors tend to invest more heavily in stocks after interest rates have declined. You are considering this strategy as well. Is it rational to invest more heavily in stocks once interest rates have declined?

b. Assume that you are about to select a specific stock that will perform well in response to an expected run-up in the stock market. You are very confident that the stock market will perform well in the near future. Recently, a friend recommended that you consider purchasing stock of a specific firm because it had decent earnings over the last few years, it has a low beta (reflecting a low degree of systematic risk), and its beta is expected to remain low. You normally rely on beta as a measurement of a firm's systematic risk. Should you seriously consider buying that stock? Explain.

c. You are considering an investment in an initial public offering by Marx Co., which has performed very well recently, according to its financial statements. The firm will use some of the proceeds from selling stock to pay off some of its bank loans. How can you apply stock valuation models to estimate this firm's value, when its stock is not yet publicly traded? Once you estimate the value of the firm, how can you use this information to determine whether to invest in it? What are some limitations involved in estimating the value of this firm?

d. Assume that you were also asked to manage a portfolio of European stocks. How would your method for measuring your performance in managing this portfolio differ from the U.S. stock portfolio in the previous question?