I need help with Python work Q3 only

FIN383 Copyright © 2021 Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) Page 1 of 10
ECA – January Semester 2021

FIN383

End-of-Course Assessment – January Semester 2021

Financial Technologies and Innovations

__________________________________________________________________________________________

INSTRUCTIONS TO STUDENTS:

1. This End-of-Course Assessment paper comprises TEN (10) pages (including the cover

page).

2. You are to include the following particulars in your submission: Course Code, Title of the

ECA, SUSS PI No., Your Name, and Submission Date.

3. Late submission will be subjected to the marks deduction scheme. Please refer to the

Student Handbook for details.

IMPORTANT NOTE

ECA Submission Deadline: 4 May 2021, 12 noon

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ECA – January Semester 2021

ECA Submission Guidelines

Please follow the submission instructions stated below:

A – What Must Be Submitted

You are required to submit the following THREE (3) items for marking and grading:

• A Report (you should submit this item first as it carries the highest weightage).

• A Video Presentation:

o SUSS conducts Hands-on workshop on how to record ECA video presentation for SBIZ
students every semester. Students will receive an invite to the workshop via Student
Portal, Canvas as well as email, a month before the ECA cut-off date.

o The ECA video recording and submission guides are also available as an external
links/downloads in the invite.

• The set of PowerPoint slides, converted to PDF, upon which the video presentation is

based.

Please verify your submissions after you have submitted the above THREE (3) items.

B – Submission Deadline

• The THREE (3) items of Report, Video and Presentation Summary are to be submitted by

12 noon on the submission deadline.

• You are allowed multiple submissions till the cut-off date for each of the THREE (3) items.

• Late submission of any of the THREE (3) items will be subjected to mark-deduction

scheme by the University. Please refer to Section 5.2 Para 2.4 of the Student Handbook.

C – How the (3) Items Should Be Submitted

• The Report: submit online to Canvas via TurnItIn (for plagiarism detection)

• The Video: submit online to Canvas (refer to workshop invite for the user guide)

• The Presentation Summary:

o submit online to Canvas via TurnItIn (PPT must be converted to PDF and submission
is in PDF only)

o The PPT must contain at least 20 words
o Refer to workshop invite for the user guide

• Avoid using a public WiFi connection for submitting large video files. If you are using

public wireless (WiFi) connection (e.g. SG Wireless at public areas), you might encounter
a break in the connection when sending large files.

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ECA – January Semester 2021

D – Additional guidelines on file formatting are given as follows:

1. Report • Please ensure that your Microsoft Word document is generated by
Microsoft Word 2007 or higher.

• The report must be saved in .docx format.

2. Video • Showing your PowerPoint projection in the background is NOT
required.

• Time Duration: a minimum of 3 minutes and a maximum of 6
minutes

There are two methods for ECA video assignment submission; either
Record Media or Upload Media.

For Record Media
Video can be recorded via Canvas through desktop/laptop with built-
in webcam and microphone or through Canvas mobile app.

For Upload Media
Video can be recorded using other recording devices and uploaded as
a media file. Do ensure that your video file conforms to these
requirements:
a) File Format: .mp4
b) File Size: No more than 500MB

Note: You will receive an invite to the ECA Hands-On workshop via
Student Portal, Canvas as well as email, a month before the ECA cut-
off date. The invite will allow you to register for the workshop as well
as download a copy of the user guide.

3. Presentation
Summary

• Your PowerPoint presentation must contain at least 20 words.

• Please ensure that your PowerPoint presentation is converted to
PDF format before you submit.

• The maximum number of slides is fifteen (15).

• Please do NOT download and use PowerPoint slide design

templates from the Internet.

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ECA – January Semester 2021

E – Please be Aware of the Following:

Submission in hardcopy or any other means not given in the above guidelines will not be
accepted. You do not need to submit any other forms or cover sheets (e.g. form ET3) with your
ECA.

You are reminded that electronic transmission is not immediate. The network traffic may be
particularly heavy on the date of submission deadline and connections to the system cannot be
guaranteed. Hence, you are advised to submit your work early. Canvas will allow you to
submit your work late but your work will be subjected to the mark-deduction scheme. You
should therefore not jeopardise your course result by submitting your ECA at the last minute.

It is your responsibility to check and ensure that your files are successfully submitted to
Canvas.

F – Plagiarism and Collusion

Plagiarism and collusion are forms of cheating and are not acceptable in any form in a
student’s work, including this ECA. Plagiarism and collusion are taking work done by others
or work done together with others respectively and passing it off as your own. You can avoid
plagiarism by giving appropriate references when you use other people’s ideas, words or
pictures (including diagrams). Refer to the APA Manual if you need reminding about quoting
and referencing. You can avoid collusion by ensuring that your submission is based on your
own individual effort.

The electronic submission of your ECA will be screened by plagiarism detection software. For
more information about plagiarism and collusion, you should refer to the Student Handbook
(Section 5.2.1.3). You are reminded that SUSS takes a tough stance against plagiarism or
collusion. Serious cases will normally result in the student being referred to SUSS’s Student
Disciplinary Group. For other cases, significant mark penalties or expulsion from the course
will be imposed.

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ECA – January Semester 2021

Video Presentation Evaluation Criteria

Note: Students will be assessed on the quality of the presentation and not the quality of the video

recording. However, the recording is expected to have video and audio clarity. Showing
your PowerPoint projection in the background is NOT required.

Organisation of Presentation /8

• Logical flow of presentation

Posture & Body Language /5

• Posture: Standing, straight back etc…

• Body language:

– Hand gestures supporting oral arguments, etc…

Eye-Contact /5

• Looking at the video camera

• No reading of slides or notes or cue cards

Pace & Articulation /7

• Pace: Speaks neither too fast nor too slow

• Articulation: Oral expression is clear and confident in the presentation.

TOTAL /25

Presentation Summary Evaluation Criteria

Format and Style of Slides /3

• Layout, clarity of text elements, colour blends, graphical enhancements

Clarity and Coherence /4

• Proper flow – title page, introduction, body, results, recommendations /
discussion points, conclusion/summary; quick to understand, free from
grammatical errors

Creativity /3

• Ability to use creative elements to value-add to the presentation so as to
enhance understanding and clarity of difficult concepts

TOTAL /10

FIN383 Copyright © 2021 Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) Page 6 of 10
ECA – January Semester 2021

SECTION A (Total 65 marks)

You are required to submit the following items for this ECA:

• A report, answering Questions 1 — 2 of Section A
• A Jupyter Notebook (.ipynb) for Question 3 of Section A. All

documentation/comments/assumptions of Question 3 must be made within the .ipynb
file using either Markdown or inline comments.

• A pdf version of your ipynb submission for Question 3 of Section A for Turnitin
evaluation.

• A video for Section B
• A set of PowerPoint slides in PDF format for Section C

2020 has been an exciting year for those who have been following fintech developments. A
few major developments have further entrenched the usage of technology in all matters related
to finance. For example, in 2020, China begun her testing of CBDC to further accelerate the
uptake of RMB as a world reserve currency. 2020 also witnessed Ant, a major fintech player
in China seeking for the largest IPO listing in history. In our local front, Singapore witnessed
the significant uptake of digital payments, driven by the fear of infection through paper notes
in the COVID-19 pandemic and deliberate government’s efforts for greater digitalisation
among businesses through the Fortitude Budget.

In this ECA, we seek to explore and understand the chain of events culminating to these major
developments and how these developments will further accelerate the adoption of technology
to deliver affordable financial services to the masses.

Question 1

Ant, the titan of fintech in China, is seeking a dual listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai and
when it is listed, it is believed that Ant’s IPO will probably be the biggest IPO in history. If
Ant’s listing is successful, it will have a market capitalisation that is comparably to JP Morgan
Chase, the world’s biggest bank that begun in 1799. It took Ant less than 20 years to achieve
what JP Morgan Chase has achieved in 221 years.

Discuss and explain the factors behind the meteoric rise of Ant in China.

Make good uses of examples, statistics and events to augment your discussion.

Word Limit: Less than 1,500 words

(25 marks)

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ECA – January Semester 2021

Question 2

The rise of Ant has been watched closely by many in the banking industry, not lest the CEO
and Chairman of JP Morgan Chase, Mr Jamie Dimon. They have kept a wary and admiring eye
on the rise of Ant and have taken proactive steps to ensure their profitability has not been
eroded by these new players.

Discuss and explain the approaches that have been taken by incumbent banks to adapt to the
rising competition.

Conclude, in your opinion, what would be the future of banking and finance.

Make good uses of examples, statistics and events to augment your discussion and conclusion.

Word Limit: Less than 1,500 words

(25 marks)

Question 3

With increasing use of technology in finance, regulators are also showing keenness in the usage
of technology in regulatory matters. To quote the words of Mr. Andrew G Haldane, Chief
Economist of the Bank of England, in a speech he made in 2014, he said1

I have a dream. It is futuristic, but realistic. It involves a Star Trek chair and
a bank of monitors. It would involve tracking the global flow of funds in close
to real time, in much the same way as happens with global weather systems
and global internet traffic. Its center piece would be a global map of financial
flows, charting spillovers, and correlations.

There might be a start-up trying to achieve the dreams of Mr. Haldane. However, for this dream
to be possible, one of the most important, but mundane, task ahead is to standardise all
regulatory reporting forms and formats. Only with a standardised reporting format, the
collected data can be aggregated effortlessly for subsequent dissemination, comparison, and
decision-making. More importantly, by standardising the reporting format and providing a
clear definition of the data to report, contributors will ensure that the reported data is the
intended data to be collected with sufficient depth and clarity for decision-making.

In this question, we will look at the regulations governing robo-advisors and their reporting
requirements.

Robo-advisors are governed under the Securities and Futures Act in Singapore and these digital
advisors act on behalf of their clients to perform periodic portfolio rebalancing to address
portfolio drift. Under the Act, robo-advisors are required to provide their clients with details of
their portfolios regularly. Let assume that the Authority stipulate that details of the client’
portfolio be presented in the format specified in Appendix A.

1 Manuscript to the Maxwell Fry Annual Global lecture, given by Andrew G Haldane, October 2014.

https://www.bis.org/review/r141030f.pdf

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ECA – January Semester 2021

Given the following inputs:

Figure 1: query_date refers to the date that the portfolio’s holding is queried from the portfolio
and prices databases. selected_pf refers to the portfolio that was selected to generate the holding
report. pf_file and price_file are the databases recording all the clients’ portfolios and the
historical stock prices, respectively. Details of the data format of the databases are given in
Appendix B.

Design and create a Python script that allows you to provide the details of the portfolio’s
holding in accordance with the format specified in Appendix A. You can assume that query
date is always on the last trading day of a year.

Use your script to generate the report for the inputs given in Figure 1.

(15 marks)

SECTION B (Total 25 marks)

Prepare a video presentation of at least 3 minutes, but not exceeding 6 minutes that can be used
to help prospective investors in Ant to understand the strengths and risks of the business.

There are two methods for ECA video assignment submission; either Record Media or Upload
Media. For Upload Media, please note that your file size should be no more than 500MB and
the format is in .mp4.

(25 marks)

SECTION C (Total 10 marks)

Prepare a set of PowerPoint presentation upon which the video presentation is based. Please
note that the PowerPoint must be converted to PDF before submission to Canvas.

(10 marks)

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ECA – January Semester 2021

Appendix A

The historical stock holding of a client’s portfolio must be reported in the following format:

Figure A1: Reporting format of a selected portfolio. The units of stocks held must be held in
accordance with the stock allocation in the portfolio. You can assume fractional holding of
stocks in the portfolio.

The report in Figure A1 was generated using the following inputs:

Figure A2: Inputs to Python script

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ECA – January Semester 2021

Appendix B

When you on-board a new client to your platform, you will recommend a combination of stocks
to form a portfolio that is suitable for your client’s risk-return preferences. With the portfolio
formed, the specifics of the portfolio are created in the portfolio database with the following
details:
• Portfolio id (id), which is a unique identifier to the portfolio
• Portfolio construction date, (PC Date) which refers to the date when the portfolio is set

up
• The composition of the portfolio, which will include the names of the stocks and their

respective composition. It is assumed that a maximum of 7 stocks is allowed in the
portfolios and the names of the stocks are obtained in the columns denoted by x_1, x_2,
…, x_7. The weight of each stock is obtained from the columns denoted by w_1, w_2,
…, w_7.

• The initial investment amount (initial_invt) is the amount of wealth used to create the
portfolio

• The monthly investment amount (monthly_invt) is the sum of money which the client
will pay every month to acquire the portfolio

The details of all the portfolios that is managed by your robo-advisor are recorded in the
portfolios.csv file.

The portfolio is set up on the last trading date of the month specified by PC Date and the initial
investment amount is used to buy stocks with their allocation specified in w_1, … w_7. The
monthly investment amount is used to acquire stock on the subsequent trading dates.

For example, for portfolio with id = 1, it is a 5-underlyings portfolio with the portfolio
construction date specified to be 14-April-2008. The first acquisition of the stocks in the
portfolio will happened on the last trading date of April-2008, i.e. 30-April-2008. A sum of
$2100 is used to acquire the appropriate integer units of stocks. For all subsequent month-end
dates, the portfolio will be set up with a sum of $410.

The file raw_price_data.csv provides the observed closing prices of stocks at different trading
dates. The historical prices span from 1-Jan-2007 till 31-Jan-2017. As the name suggests, the
price data has not been pre-processed, so there will be incomplete price information for stocks
which did not begin trading before 1-Jan-2007. An example is NYSEARC: MENU which did
not have any price information earlier than 7-Nov-2016.

For some stocks, there might not be any price information at all, either due to a data query
malfunction or human errors. An example is NYSEARCA: TPYP where you will see an empty
column.

There are some stocks where there are holes in the price data. An example is NYSEARCA:
PFM where price data between 7-Dec-2016 to 20-Dec-2016 is missing.

The remaining columns denotes the observed closing prices of stocks. The column headers
specify the names of stocks.

—– END OF ECA PAPER —–

1. This End-of-Course Assessment paper comprises TEN (10) pages (including the cover page).
IMPORTANT NOTE