Math Problem Statement

Mary Reid invested $10,000 and borrowed $10,000 to purchase shares in JP Morgan Chase. At the time of her investment, Chase was selling for $141 a share.

If Mary paid a commission of $12, how many shares could she buy if she used only her own money and did not use margin?Note: Round your final answer to 1 decimal place.

Note: Round your final answer to 1 decimal place.
If Mary paid a commission of $20, how many shares could she buy if she used her $10,000 and borrowed $10,000 on margin to buy Chase stock?

Note: Round your final answer to 1 decimal place.
Assume Mary did use margin to buy her Chase stock. Also, assume she paid another $20 to sell her stock and sold the stock for $157 a share. How much profit did she make on her Chase stock investment?

Note: Round intermediate calculations to 1 decimal place. Round your final answer to 2 decimal places.

Solution

Let's break down each part of the problem step-by-step:

1. Number of Shares without Margin (using $10,000 and a $12 commission)

If Mary uses only her own money and does not use margin, she has $10,000 to invest. Subtracting the $12 commission, the amount she has available to buy shares is:

10,00012=9,98810,000 - 12 = 9,988

The cost per share is $141, so the number of shares she can buy is:

Number of shares=9,98814170.9shares\text{Number of shares} = \frac{9,988}{141} \approx 70.9 \, \text{shares}

So, Mary can buy 70.9 shares with her own money.


2. Number of Shares with Margin (using $10,000 of her own money + $10,000 borrowed, and a $20 commission)

If Mary uses both her own money and the borrowed money, she has a total of:

10,000+10,000=20,00010,000 + 10,000 = 20,000

Subtracting the $20 commission, the amount she has available to buy shares is:

20,00020=19,98020,000 - 20 = 19,980

The cost per share is $141, so the number of shares she can buy is:

Number of shares=19,980141141.7shares\text{Number of shares} = \frac{19,980}{141} \approx 141.7 \, \text{shares}

So, Mary can buy 141.7 shares using margin.


3. Profit Calculation when Selling Shares

Mary bought 141.7 shares (from Part 2) using margin. She paid an initial commission of $20 when buying and an additional $20 commission when selling.

The selling price is $157 per share, so the total amount she receives is:

141.7×157=22,238.9141.7 \times 157 = 22,238.9

After subtracting the $20 selling commission:

22,238.920=22,218.922,238.9 - 20 = 22,218.9

The amount borrowed was $10,000, which she needs to repay. So, her net amount after repaying the borrowed amount is:

22,218.910,000=12,218.922,218.9 - 10,000 = 12,218.9

Initial Investment:

Mary's initial investment was $10,000 of her own money.

Profit:

12,218.910,000=2,218.912,218.9 - 10,000 = 2,218.9

Therefore, Mary made a profit of $2,218.90.


Let me know if you'd like more details or have further questions. Here are 5 related questions for exploration:

  1. How would the profit change if the stock sold for $150 per share instead of $157?
  2. What if Mary did not use any margin and invested $10,000 without borrowing?
  3. What would happen if the stock price dropped to $120 instead of increasing?
  4. How does the commission fee affect the number of shares Mary can buy?
  5. What is the percentage return on her investment?

Tip: When calculating profits using margin, always remember to subtract the borrowed amount to determine the true gain or loss.

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Math Problem Analysis

Mathematical Concepts

Arithmetic
Profit and Loss
Investment Calculations

Formulas

Number of shares = (Total money - commission) / Price per share
Profit = (Selling price * Number of shares) - Borrowed amount - Initial investment - Commissions

Theorems

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Suitable Grade Level

Grade 10-12 (Financial Math)