| Course | MT423 Asset Allocation and Risk Management |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 1 |
| Paper type | Discussion board post |
| Length | About 490 words, 2 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 discussion post |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MT423 Unit 1
Selling at the Bottom With a Reason: An MT423 Unit 1 Discussion Post on a March 2020 Exit That Cost $40,704
MT423 · Unit 1 Discussion Board Post
Posted by [Student Name]
The seller and her account are composite; the index dates and closing levels are real, the bond side is held flat as a stated simplification, and the sources cited are real.
Initial Post
Ana, a composite friend of mine, had $200,000 on February 19, 2020, in a workplace account split 60 percent in a stock index fund and 40 percent in a bond fund. She manages a dental office, and in mid-March the practice closed for all but emergency care and furloughed her.
The market record is easy to check. The S&P 500 closed at 3,386.15 on February 19 and at 2,237.40 on March 23, a fall of 33.92 percent, and it did not close above its February level again until August 2020 (S&P Dow Jones Indices, 2025). To keep the arithmetic plain, I hold her bond fund flat over those weeks, which is a simplification; bond funds moved, but far less than stocks. On that basis her $120,000 in stocks fell to about $79,296, and her account stood at about $159,296, down 20.4 percent, on March 23, the day she sold everything to cash.
Had she simply held, her stock fund would have regained its February value by August while the bond side stayed roughly where it was, returning the account to about $200,000. Waiting in cash until the index recovered left her about $40,704 behind, a loss she locked in by selling, not one the market imposed on her.
The market took $40,704 from her on paper for five months; selling made the loss permanent.
But I do not think Ana was simply irrational. In the work of Kahneman and Tversky (1979), losses register far more strongly than matching gains, and Ana was watching a loss in the same week her paycheck stopped. Those are two different reasons to sell. One is psychological: the pain of watching the account fall. The other is financial: she may have needed cash, and with no emergency fund, the account was the only place to get it. So here is my question back to everyone: what evidence would tell us which reason drove her sale, and would knowing it change what she should have done?
Reply to Malik
Malik, you held your 401(k) through March 2020 and said selling is always a mistake. Your situation made holding easier than Ana's, though: you kept your job and had six months of savings, so you never needed the account. If Ana's furlough had lasted a year and she had no other cash, selling some of her bond fund, which had barely moved, might have been a reasonable way to pay rent. Would you still call that a mistake, or is the real mistake having nowhere else to turn?
References
Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1979). Prospect theory: An analysis of decision under risk. Econometrica, 47(2), 263-291. https://doi.org/10.2307/1914185
S&P Dow Jones Indices. (2025). S&P 500. https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/indices/equity/sp-500/
The Purdue Global MT423 Unit 1 instructions
The opening MT423 discussion asks students to describe how an investor behaved in a market downturn and what it cost. Instructors want the story measured: the account, its mix, the dates, the market's fall and what holding would have produced. Market figures should name the index, the source and the dates, since figures quoted from memory are often wrong. Any simplification, such as holding the bond side flat, should be stated, because modeling a mixed account as all stock inflates the loss. The post should not simply call the seller irrational; the course builds toward separating how much loss a person can stand from how much a plan can absorb. A closing question for classmates is expected, and replies of about 130 words should probe circumstances rather than praise.
Inside the MT423 Unit 1 example
In this sample the first paragraph introduces Ana, her $200,000 account and the furlough. Paragraph two gives the S&P 500's closing levels from S&P Dow Jones Indices, states the bond simplification and computes the account's value on the day she sold. Paragraph three sets her outcome against holding until August and arrives at the $40,704 gap, under a highlighted line on the loss made permanent. The last paragraph brings in Kahneman and Tversky, then separates the psychological reason for selling from the financial one, and asks how classmates would tell them apart. The reply to Malik points out that his job and savings made holding easy, and asks whether the real mistake was having nowhere else to turn.
Reading the MT423 Unit 1 grading rubric
Graders of an MT423 opening post look first for a measured account of a downturn decision: the mix, the dates and a dollar figure for what selling cost against holding. Rubrics reward market figures traced to an index and a source. Naming any simplification in the arithmetic earns method credit. Posts that dismiss the seller as irrational miss the distinction between tolerance and capacity that the course develops, so separating fear from financial need is where the analysis marks sit. A good closing question invites classmates to apply that distinction. A reply gains when it asks whether a classmate's circumstances, such as a steady job or savings, made holding easy. Citation of the market source and one behavioral reading in APA 7 is normally expected.
Common MT423 Unit 1 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Weak downturn posts stay anecdotal: a friend panicked and sold, with no amounts or dates, so classmates have nothing to examine. Another frequent error quotes the market's fall from memory, gets the dates wrong and never names the index. Some posts model a balanced account as if it were all stock, roughly doubling the loss. Many conclude that selling is always a mistake, which ignores investors who needed the cash. Replies often congratulate a classmate who held without asking why holding was possible. Before posting, write down the account's value on three dates, the market top, the day of the sale and the day the index recovered. Those three numbers give you the cost of the decision and keep the rest of the post honest.
Get an MT423 Unit 1 example written to your instructions
A downturn story, from family or invented where the section permits, is all a first MT423 board post requires. It comes free, priced in dollars against dated index data, following your posting rules and rubric, and it arrives within 24-48h. Replies to classmates can be added once the thread fills. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
More MT423 papers and BS in Business Administration samples
- MT423 Unit 2: Risk Tolerance Assessment
- MT423 Unit 3: Risk Capacity Analysis
- MT423 Unit 4: Asset Class Review
- MT423 Unit 5: Strategic Allocation Proposal
- MT423 Unit 6: Seminar Reflection
- MT423 Unit 7: Glide Path Design
- MT423 Unit 8: Stress Test Report
- MT423 Unit 9: Sequence Risk Illustration
- MT423 Unit 10: Rebalancing Policy
- MT422 Unit 1: Meanings of Risk Board Post
- MT421 Unit 1: Opportunity Cost Board Post
- MT400 Unit 1: Stalled Handoff Board Post
MT423 Unit 1 questions, answered
Does the story have to be my own?
Usually not. Many prompts accept a relative's experience, a public example or a composite investor, provided it is labeled honestly. What matters is that the story includes enough facts, amounts, dates and circumstances, to separate a behavioral reaction from a financial constraint, since that distinction carries through the rest of the term.
Which downturn should the post use?
Any documented one works: 2008 to 2009, early 2020 and 2022 are common because index data for them is easy to cite. Choose the episode the story actually lived through, name the index and dates, and keep the arithmetic simple enough that classmates can check it in a minute, since a thread moves faster than a spreadsheet.
Is it acceptable to say selling was the right decision?
Yes, if the reasoning supports it. Selling to cover lost income with no reserve can be rational even at a low price, and a post that argues this carefully is stronger than one assuming every sale is panic. The aim is to explain the decision, not to grade it with hindsight.
Where can I find a free MT423 Unit 1 sample paper?
You can read the full MT423 Unit 1 board post on this page, pricing a March 2020 exit from a 60/40 account at about $40,704.
Why does the MT423 Unit 1 sample hold the bond fund flat?
To keep the arithmetic plain. Bond funds moved far less than stocks in those weeks, and the post states the simplification so readers can see its effect.