Ace Your CIFC Investments & Banking Exam

Gross domestic product (GDP) is a measure of the total economic activity in a country. It is calculated by adding up the market value of all the final goods and services produced within a country’s borders in a given period of time, usually a year or a quarter. Final goods and services are those that are sold to the end users, such as consumers, businesses, or the government, and are not used as inputs for further production. For example, a loaf of bread sold to a consumer is a final good, but the flour used to make the bread is not. The market value of goods and services is the price that buyers are willing to pay for them in the market. This reflects the value added by the producers at each stage of production and avoids double counting. For example, if a farmer sells wheat for $10 to a miller, who then sells flour for $20 to a baker, who then sells bread for $30 to a consumer, the value added at each stage is $10, $10, and $10, respectively. The total value added is $30, which is equal to the market value of the final good (bread). Therefore, GDP only includes the market value of final goods and services and excludes intermediate goods and services.

References: Canadian Investment Funds Course, Unit 4, Section 4.1; 5; 6; 7; 8

 C is correct because bond funds receive fixed interest payments from most of their investments, as they invest mainly in bonds and other fixed-income securities that pay a regular coupon rate. Dividend funds receive variable dividend payments from most of their investments, as they invest mainly in stocks and other equity securities that pay dividends based on the company’s earnings and policies. The return of dividend funds does not rely only on interest rates (A), but also on other factors such as stock prices, earnings growth, dividend yield, and dividend payout ratio. The return of bond funds also depends on interest rates, as well as other factors such as credit quality, maturity, duration, and yield curve. When interest rates rise, the NAVPU of both bond funds and dividend funds decreases (B), not rises, as it lowers the present value of their future cash flows. Bond fund distributions do not receive more favorable tax treatment than that of dividend funds (D), but rather less favorable, as interest income is fully taxable at the investor’s marginal tax rate while eligible dividends receive a dividend tax credit that reduces their taxable amount. References: Canadian Investment Funds Course (CIFC) | IFSE Institute

According to the Closed-End Funds vs. Open-End Funds: What’s the Difference? - Investopedia, open-end funds are mutual funds that can issue an unlimited number of shares to investors. The number of units is not fixed, and varies with investor demand and redemption orders. Investors buy and sell open-end funds directly from the fund company at the net asset value (NAV) of the fund, which is calculated at the end of each trading day. Open-end funds are not traded on an exchange or in the secondary market.

This is because a target date fund is designed to reduce the risk and volatility of the portfolio as the investor gets closer to their retirement or other savings goal. Equities tend to have higher returns but also higher risk than fixed income, so a target date fund gradually reduces the exposure to equities and increases the exposure to fixed income over time. This way, the investor can benefit from the growth potential of equities in the early years and preserve their capital with the stability of fixed income in the later years.