Question #61

of 98 Bill Moxley, CFA is evaluating three bonds for inclusion in fixed income portfolio for one of his pension fund clients. All three bonds have a coupon rate of 3%, maturity of five years and are generally identical in every respect except that bond A is an option-free bond, bond B is callable in two years and bond C is putable in two years. The yield curve is currently flat. If the yield curve becomes downward sloping, the bond with the highest price impact is least likely to be: A) Bond C B) Bond B C) Bond A Explanation Due to the embedded call option, the upside potential of callable bond B is limited. (Module 27.3, LOS 27.e) Dawn Adams, CFA, along with her recently hired staff, have responsibilities that require them to be familiar with backward induction methodology as it is used with a binomial valuation model. Adams, however, is concerned that some of her staff, particularly those not enrolled in the CFA program, are a little weak in this area. To assess their understanding of the binomial model and its uses, Adams presented her staff with the first two years of the binomial interest rate tree for an 8% annually compounded bond (shown below). The forward rates and the corresponding values shown in this tree are based on an assumed interest rate volatility of 20%. A member of Adams' staff has been asked to respond to the following: