Portfolio Management: Risk and Return

This lecture covers the concepts of rate of return on a portfolio, valuation under uncertainty, characterizing the distribution of portfolio returns, estimating moments from time-series data, and historical performance of asset classes. It also discusses mean-variance utility, indifference curves, optimal mean-variance portfolio choice, and diversification benefits. The instructor explains the importance of diversification benefits depending on correlation and illustrates the mean-variance efficient frontier in the two-asset case.