F3 Exam Dumps : Financial Strategy

Company B (all equity):

Cost of equity = asset return = Ku = 17%

Company A:

Gearing D:E = 1:2 → D/E = 0.5

Pre-tax cost of debt Kd = 7%

Tax rate T = 30%

Levered cost of equity with tax:

Ke=Ku+DE(1−T)(Ku−Kd)K_e = K_u + \frac{D}{E}(1 - T)(K_u - K_d)Ke​=Ku​+ED​(1−T)(Ku​−Kd​) Ke=17%+0.5×0.7×(17%−7%)=17%+0.5×0.7×10%=17%+3.5%=20.5%K_e = 17\% + 0.5 \times 0.7 \times (17\% - 7\%) = 17\% + 0.5 \times 0.7 \times 10\% = 17\% + 3.5\% = 20.5\%Ke​=17%+0.5×0.7×(17%−7%)=17%+0.5×0.7×10%=17%+3.5%=20.5%

✅ Correct: A. 20.5%

A. True – holding more securities across different industries reduces unsystematic risk.

B. False – systematic risk (market risk) cannot be diversified away.

C. True – beta measures an investment’s systematic risk relative to the market.

D. False – beta of 1 means same risk as the market, not risk-free.

E. True – the Security Market Line (SML) plots expected return against beta (systematic risk).

So the correct three are A, C and E.

Company issues new shares and uses proceeds to repay high-interest debt.

Effects:

Cost of equity (A): financial risk falls as gearing falls → cost of equity is more likely to decrease, not increase.

Number of shares (B): new share issue → increases.

Corporate tax payment (C): interest expense falls, taxable profit rises → tax paid increases.

Gearing (D): debt falls and equity rises → gearing decreases, not increases.

Interest cover (E): operating profit unchanged, interest lower → interest cover increases.

Answer: B, C and E