Finance - Course Descriptions

320 - Finance (core requirement class)
Prerequisites: Business 210 and 350 (Business 350 may be taken concurrently). Introduction to the principle ideas in finance and their application to the solution of financial problems. Topics include choice among investment projects (capital budgeting), corporate policy towards dividend payments and retentions, capital structure (e.g., debt versus equity), and analysis of risks and returns.

321 - Finance and Economics of the Film Industries
Prerequisites: Business 201 or Econ 101 and 112 or instructor permission. Introduces students to the underlying economic structure and financing of films and current trends impacting filmmaking and its role in the overall U.S. economy. This course will explore contemporary models and theory of finance as they relate to the film industry as well as finance and economic theory in such areas as industrial organization, public finance, and labor economics within the context of the film industry. Special consideration is given to both major studios and independent films and emphasis is placed on examining issues related to development, production and post-production costs as well as industry-specific financial considerations arising from the creation and distribution of films.

420 - Advanced Corporate Finance
Prerequisite: Business 320. Introduces advanced topics in corporate finance in addition to reviewing and extending some topics covered in Business 320. In addition, the theories presented in Business 320 and 420 will be applied in the analysis of case studies. Through case studies the course explores strategies for increasing firm value in the context of commonly faced financial management problems.

421 - Corporate Governance & Restructuring
Prerequisite: Business 320. The market for corporate control is the market in which alternative management teams compete to control corporate resources. This course will examine the forces which can potentially explain corporate phenomena, which affect corporate resources under the command of a management team, like takeovers, leveraged buyouts, stock buybacks, leveraged acquisitions, divisional sales, etc. This course will also examine internal and external control mechanisms, as well as any interactions between them, which serve to discipline management and align management goals with shareholder wealth maximization.

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422 - Advanced Financial Markets (this class does not count toward the Finance Area Depth)
Prerequisite: Business 320. Ties together many of the concepts students learn throughout their undergraduate studies and prepares them for a career, perhaps in the financial markets. The course has been designed to study economic and financial theory from the daily changes in market prices rather than from a textbook. The course is divided into two sections. The first section is a review of the various instruments that trade in the financial markets including stocks, bonds, commodities, forwards, futures, options, & mortgages. Students will examine the general features and risks of investing in each security. The second section of the course focuses on understanding how current events are affecting the financial markets and the implication of these changes. The overall goal of this course is to provide students with a strong command of what is going on in “the real world” and what issues are worrying market participants.

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423 - Investments
Prerequisite: Business 320. Study of the organization and function of securities markets. Emphasis will be on equity markets and the management of equity portfolios, though bond, options and futures markets will also be covered. The course is constructed to be an introduction to professional portfolio management. The concepts of modern portfolio theory, capital asset pricing, efficient markets and security analysis are introduced.

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424 - Derivative Asset Analysis
Prerequisites: Business 320 and 350. This course deals with the valuation and use of options and futures contracts. The course presents relative pricing requirements for these contracts that are enforced by arbitrage trading strategies. Extension of this analytic technique will lead to the derivation of exact valuation models. The class gives students the skills to value derivative assets and to develop strategies based on the students’ analysis.

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425 - Real Estate Finance
Prerequisite: Business 320. This course covers the contemporary principles of valuation, acquisition, financing, and financial management of real property. Emphasis is on the analytical techniques of mortgage lending, valuation, tax factors, investor objectives, and trends in the industry.

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427G - International Finance
Prerequisite: Business 320. A study of financial decision making in the international setting of investors, exporters, importers, and multinational firms. Special consideration is given to foreign exchange risk management, international money and capital markets, exchange rate determination, international money and capital markets, and exchange rate determination and forecasting. International macroeconomics and political risk evaluation and management are also introduced.

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428 - Investment Banking
Prerequisite: Business 320. This course will examine major investment banking activities. First, we examine trends in the investment banking business, which include consolidation and globalization. Second, we examine trading and principal investments, which includes fixed income, interest rate derivatives, commodities, currencies, convergence trading, and M&A risk arbitrage. After sales and trading, we move to raising capital, both fixed income and equity capital (IPOs). We conclude with a segment on transactional finance and advisory services, which includes valuation and mergers & acquisitions. For certain topics, guest lecturers from major investment banks will discuss their day-to-day experience dealing with a particular activity.

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428B - Venture Capital & Private Equity
Prerequisite: Business 320. This course surveys the private equity industry, with an emphasis on the financial and economic tools useful for leveraged buyout and venture capital investing. The course is divided into four modules. We begin with an introductory module on the organization and strategies of private equity funds. The second module covers examples of the basic types of private equity transactions, and the third module expands on these types by studying transactions with options and hybrid financing structures. The final module covers some “special topics”: the IPO market, incubators, and corporate venture capital. The primary audience for this course is finance majors interested in careers at private equity funds. The secondary audience is students planning careers that have significant interaction with private equity funds, either as providers of these funds (pension fund managers, institutional investors, investment advisors) or as consumers of them (managers/owners of startups or buyout candidates). The course will be primarily case-based, with written assignments by student-formed teams required for about half of the class meetings.

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429 - Fixed Income
Prerequisite: Business 320. Fixed income finance has become known as “rocket science” finance because of its quantitative nature. This course presents an introduction into fixed income. Studies primary fixed income securities such as bonds and mortgages as well as derivative fixed income securities such as Treasury bond futures and CMOs. Specifically designed for students with no prior background in fixed income.

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481 - Urban Development Regulations
Prerequisite: Business 320. This course deals with the basic legal concepts including legislation and cases associated with real estate and the legal and governmental environment within which the use and development of real estate are regulated. Attention is given to various kinds of regulations and to regulatory processes with emphasis upon decision making by the private sector to cope with these processes.

482 - Real Estate Market Analysis
Prerequisite: Business 320 or instructor permission. This course includes an introduction to the examination of the processes used to analyze the supply and demand for real estate. General methodologies for market studies are developed and then applied to the residential, retail, and office sectors. The course also explores demographic, technological, economic, and social trends that affect these real estate markets into the future. Techniques of spatial analysis are introduced.

483 - Applied Investment Management
Prerequisite: Business 320 and 423. This course uses academic studies, practitioner-oriented readings, case studies, and projects to cover both conventional wisdom and state-of-the-art methods used in managing a portfolio of equity securities. Topics include: asset allocation, active stock selection, market timing, quantitative selection methods, technical analysis, passive management, performance measurement, trading (retail and institutional), mutual funds, and hedge funds.

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486 - Real Estate Equity Investment
Prerequisite: Business 320 and 425. This course presents information on investment in and valuation of income-producing real estate, both in public company and direct property formats. It examines the relationship of project and entity valuation to various financial and performance metrics, sources and uses of capital, and management decisions. Direct investment concepts covered include cash flow analysis, net present value, internal rate of return and yield capitalization in addition to public market measures such as Fund From Operations and financial reporting via SEC filings. The course also focuses on different property sectors within the real estate industry along with the tools and resources available to conduct relative valuations. Real world examples and applications are used to highlight these analytical techniques as are outside speakers.

487G - Global Derivatives Markets
Prerequisite: Business 320. This course will be in a “master class” format, providing students with a unique exposure to the global capital markets. The syllabus will be based upon a practitioner’s approach to applying the basics of asset valuation and derivatives theory to the real world of trading, portfolio management and capital markets. We shall apply theory from prior derivatives and finance classes to explore the real-world trading environment of a Wall Street brokerage house or hedge fund. There will be real industry involvement, in the form of project work based on actual executed trades and strategies, visiting speakers and the professor’s own industry experience. The hands-on format will prepare the student for a career on Wall Street. Students will learn trading strategies by being divided into “trading desks”, including interest rate, credit products, foreign exchange, equities and commodities A solid understanding of basic option theory will be extended to the learning about how the real-world markets are structured; the reasoning behind each trading strategy; and discussions of why the banks allocate capital and risk to these markets. Applications will mirror real-world practice, as each team of students will be responsible for structuring, valuing, building, hedging and risking their own portfolios. Each team will also be responsible for analyzing the quantitative exposure and risk on their portfolio, as well as looking at regulatory and legal aspects of the business. Following the current financial markets will be a major component of the course, as current events will determine the decision making strategies of each team’s projects. Each class will begin with a discussion of the markets and recent market events. Lecture content will be tailored to the market environment and students’ financial interests.

488 - Real Estate Development
Prerequisites: Business 320 and 425. This course will present a comprehensive look at the real estate development process. The curriculum will lead the class through a staged development and introduce the various components and individuals involved in a project. The plan for the class is to supplement the teaching with a number of outside speakers from the real estate industry that specialize in specific aspects of the development process as well as respected real estate leaders from the industry.

489 - Advanced Real Estate Investment Analysis
Prerequisites: Business 320 and Business 425. This course provides for advanced application of theory and techniques for analysis of the equity position in real estate ownership utilizing readings and cases. It considers the impact of leverage, creative financing, and federal tax policies and concentrates on the evaluation of the basic productivity of real estate assets based on net cash flows. Particular attention is paid to the operation of the capital markets and portfolio theory.

497R - Finance Honors Seminar
Prerequisites: Business 320, completion of the Finance Area Depth. This course is open only to Seniors with an overall GPA minimum of 3.6 and an average of 3.7 in the finance depth. Area honors seminars are offered to students who have a deep interest in an academic field and who have excelled in course work in the area. It is an opportunity for students to become further ground in the intellectual models and current research employed by scholars in the field. It is anticipated that a student completing an honors seminar will be able to differentiate himself or herself as someone with an in-depth understanding of scholarship and its application. Seminars will focus on research in the field and will provide students with cutting-edge thinking and the ways in which it will influence practice. Courses are conceived to be very focused on discussion and active interaction. Readings will be complex and thought-provoking. A component of the course will include guest lectures by senior faculty in the area.