Mr. Akbar and Ms. Arwa are both 45 years old. They have two main financial goals: saving for retirement and their childrens college education, Mr. Akbar has OMR 35,000 and Ms. Arwa has OMR 40,000. They come to you for investment advice on the basis of the following investment alternatives: -

1 Equity 12.5%

2 Preference shares 10%

3 Government Bonds 6%

4 Bank deposits 4.5%

5 Debenture 8%

6 Mutual Fund 9%

Your analysis and investment strategy proposal should:

1. Explain in general how equity, preference shares, government bonds, debentures, mutual

fund and other investment instruments are traded in financial markets.

2. Analyze investment opportunities that align with the financial goals of the Mr. Akbar and Ms. Arwa.

3. Recommend specific investments to create a portfolio from the above list of investment alternatives (at least 4 investment alternatives).

4. Calculate Expected Return, Variance, Standard Deviation, Covariance and Coefficient of Variance on each item in the proposed investment portfolio.

5. Recommend strategies for long-term and short-term investment; include justifications for the recommendations you make