The final part of question 4 required candidates to discuss the factors to be considered in choosing between traded bonds, new equity issued via a placing, and venture capital as sources of finance. Answers to this question were of variable quality, indicating that some candidates were lacking on knowledge in this area of the syllabus. A number of answers, for example, showed limited understanding of placing venture capital.

Some answers limited themselves to discussing each source of finance separately, without addressing the requirement to discuss the factors to be considered in choosing between them, and so could not be awarded full marks. At the other extreme, some answers discussed a number of factors, but related these very loosely, if at all, to the three sources of finance to which the question referred.

For example, saying that a company should consider maturity, without indicating how maturity is a feature of the three sources of finance, does not help in choosing between them. A balanced discussion was therefore needed for full marks.