I have four stocks with beta of .75,1.1,1.36, and 1.88 respectively. 
The risk free rate is 4% and expected return on market portfolio is
15%  Can someone tell me in layman terms how to fiqure out the
expected portfolio of these stocks.  The more I read on CAPM
calculations the more confused and agitated I am getting.  Is there a
simple way--help?

Hi!!

First thing you need is to know the composition of the portfolio, this
info is missing in your statement of the problem. That is what amount
of each stock are composing the portfolio, for example (note that this
could not be the case):

Stock A  $1,000  Beta 0.75
Stock B  $2,000  Beta 1.1
Stock C  $3,000  Beta 1.36
Stock D  $4,000  Beta 1.88
Total Investment --> $10,000

Now we need to calculate the beta of the portfolio. Since the beta of
a portfolio is the weighted average of the betas of its individual
securities, we need the "weight" of each stock in the portfolio (Wi):
Wi = Amount of Stock_i / Total investment

Then:
WA = $1,000 / $10,000 = 0.1
WB = $2,000 / $10,000 = 0.2
WC = $3,000 / $10,000 = 0.3
WD = $4,000 / $10,000 = 0.4

Then:
Beta_ P = WA*Beta_A + WB*Beta_B + WC*/Beta_C + WD*Beta_D =
        = (0.1)*(0.75) + (0.2)*(1.1) + (0.3)*(1.36) + (0.4)*(1.88) =     
        = 1.455


Now you can apply the CAPM:

Ep = rf + Beta_P * [E_m ? rf]

where
Ep = the expected return on the portfolio
rf = the risk-free rate
E_m = the expected return on the market portfolio
Beta_P = portfolio's beta

For this problem we have:
rf = 0.04
Beta_P = 1.455
E_m = 0.15

Ep = 0.04 + 1.455*(0.15 ? 0.04) =
   = 0.20005

The expected return on the portfolio is 20.005% for this example.

I hope that this helps you. Feel free to request for a clarification
if you need it.

Regards,
livioflores-ga

Thanks for the help.  I now have a better picture of how CAPM works.  Thanks

what i don't understand is..... when someone answers a question in
detail and also logically, who does he or she not DESERVE 5 stars? The
only thing I can figure out is that some people will not give total
credit for anything. Am I correct? 4 stars for an answer I guess....

This is an interesting topic dear fred, but in my case I am fully
satisfied with knowing that my work is useful. The stars are a
subjective method of qualification, the costumer consider my answer as
good but not excellent. I agreed with the fact that there are better
answers for this question.
I am really glad with the good rating (four stars means that ,I
hope...) and the tip.

Sincerely,
livioflores-ga