17. Diversification refers to the _____.
a. reduction of the stand-alone risk of an individual investment, which is measured by its beta coefficient, by
combining it with other investments in a portfolio
b. reduction of the stand-alone risk of an individual investment, which is measured by the standard deviation of its
returns, by combining it with other investments in a portfolio
c. reduction of the systematic risk of an individual investment, which is measured by its beta coefficient, by
combining it with other investments in a portfolio
d. reduction of the systematic risk of an individual investment, which is measured by the standard deviation of its
returns, by combining it with other investments in a portfolio
e. reduction of the unsystematic risk of an individual investment, which is measured by its beta coefficient, by
combining it with other investments in a portfolio
18. Which of the following portfolios would have no diversification benefits?
a. A portfolio consisting of two perfectly positively correlated stocks
b. A portfolio consisting of two perfectly negatively correlated stocks
c. A portfolio consisting of two uncorrelated stocks
d. A portfolio consisting of two stocks with the same standard deviation of returns
e. A portfolio consisting of two stocks with the same beta coefficient
19. Combining two stocks to form a portfolio offers maximum diversification benefits when _____.
a. the stocks have a correlation coefficient equal to 0
b. the stocks have a correlation coefficient equal to +1
c. the stocks have a correlation coefficient equal to –1
d. the both stocks have a coefficients of variation of 0
e. both stocks have a coefficients of variation of –1
20. Which of the following statements about diversification is correct?
a. Portfolio diversification reduces the variability of returns on an individual stock.
b. When the company specific risk has been diversified, the inherent risk that remains is the market risk, which is
constant for all securities in the market.
c. A stock with a beta of −1.0 has maximum nondiversifiable risk.
d. When two perfectly positively correlated stocks with the same risk are combined, the portfolio risk is equal to the
risk associated with the individual stocks.
e. The systematic risk of a stock with a beta of zero is equal to its unsystematic risk.
21. Which of the following statements about correlation is correct?
a. If the returns from two stocks are perfectly positively correlated and the two stocks have equal variance, an
equally weighted portfolio of the two stocks will have a variance that is less than that of the individual stocks.
b. If a stock has a negative correlation with market, its systematic risk is more than the market risk.
c. Stocks that have correlation coefficients equal to zero will have minimum diversification benefits.
d. The weaker the positive correlation two stocks exhibit, the more risk can be reduced when they are combined in a
portfolio.
e. Risk is reduced when positively-related stocks are combined to form portfolios, especially when the correlation
coefficients are equal to +1.