106 Smart/Gitman/Joehnk • Fundamentals of Investing, Thirteenth Edition
currency is worth in U.S. Dollars.” In part (1) of problem 6-14, the exchange rates are not expressed
in terms what one unit of foreign currency is worth in dollars. Instead, they are expressed in terms of
what one dollar is worth in euros. If we want to use Equation 6.4, we have to express the exchange
rates in the right way, which simply means inverting them:
euros per dollar(€/$) dollars per euro($/€)
Now apply Equation 6.4
Now let’s turn to Swisscom. Swisscom stock is currently worth 71.5 francs. The current exchange
rate tells us that 1 franc is worth $0.75, so the dollar value of Swisscom today is
In a year we expect Swisscom to be worth 76 francs, plus it will pay a 1.5 franc dividend. If at the
end of the year 1 franc is worth $0.85, then the end-of-year dollar value of the investment in
Swisscom will be
Which means the total rate of return is
In this part of the problem, the exchange rate is already expressed in terms of how much one unit
of foreign currency is worth in dollars, so we can plug the values directly into Equation 6.6 to get
the answer:
The bottom line here is that once we account for expected currency movements, the better
investment looks like Swisscom rather than Bayer. When you invest your money in a foreign
stock, your investment performs better if the dollar depreciates and the foreign currency
appreciates. That’s what’s happening here. In Germany, the value of $1 is 0.9025 euros when we
buy the stock, but when we expect to sell it we think the value of $1 will be more, 1.015 euros. So
the dollar has appreciated, the euro has depreciated, and the dollar return suffers as a result (i.e.,
the return in dollars is less than the return in euros).
In Switzerland the opposite happens. When we make the investment, 1 Swiss franc is worth $0.75,
but a year later we think 1 Swiss franc will be worth more at $0.85. The franc has appreciated, the
dollar has depreciated, and that makes the dollar return on the Swiss investment even higher than the
return in local currency.
6.15 If the stock falls by 50%, Bruce’s stock would be worth $12,500 ($25,000/2). To get back to $25,000,
the stock would have to increase by 100%.
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