Graduate Courses
Finance
- FIN 390.1 Financial Markets and Institutions
- FIN 394.1 Advanced Topics in Corporate Finance
- FIN 394.2 Financial Strategies
- FIN 394.3 Global Finance
- FIN 394.4 Financial Management of Small and Middle-Sized Enterprises
- FIN 397.1 Investment Theory and Practice
- FIN 397.2 Portfolio Management and Security Analysis
- FIN 397.4 Financial Risk Management
- FIN 397.5 Fixed Income Analysis
Real Estate and Urban Land Management
- RE 386.1 Real Estate and Urban Land Economics
- RE 386.2 Real Estate Investment Decisions
- RE 388 Seminar in Real Estate Finance
Business Administration
FINANCE
FIN 390.1 Financial Markets and Institutions
The course presents an overview of financial market pricing of
debt, equity, and foreign exchange and how the pricing in these
markets interrelate to each other and to the performance of the
economy. The course develops frameworks to understand the
contemporaneous risks the market is pricing such as the rate of
economic growth/recession, inflation/deflation, country risk and the
pricing interventions by governments in financial markets. We examine
how the global market came about and how it has affected financial
pricing. Other topics include financial market policy-making;
regulation in financial markets; how debt securities are created and
traded; how equity securities are created and traded; primary and
secondary market operations; investment banking and the functions of
brokers, dealers and intermediaries. The course makes use of current
media and historical events to discuss the above topics based on
financial and economic theory.
Exams: Mid term and Final Essays Exam Questions
Prerequisites: BA 385T, FIN 394.1, FIN 397.1
FIN
394.1 Advanced Topics in Corporate Finance
This
course provides continues and extends the discussion of the basic
corporate financial management decision-making process begun in BA
385T. Topics covered in the course will include: an overview of
financial management in the global marketplace; comparisons of
financial and real investments; valuing real assets and real options;
valuation with taxation; the role of financial leverage; optimal
capital structure; bondholder-stockholder conflicts; stockholder-owner
conflicts; evaluating financial distress; optimal debt management;
managerial incentives and compensation arrangements; value-based
management and information management; corporate control and
restructuring: mergers, acquisitions, takeovers, spinoffs and selloffs;
corporate governance issues; and the role of institutional activism.
Prerequisites: BA 385T
FIN 394.2 Financial Strategies
This
course develops an integrated, in-depth analysis of the interaction
between the operating policies of a corporation and its financial
decision-making strategies. Topics covered in the course will
include: the tools of financial decision-making; corporate cash
management; cost of capital evaluation; project analysis and
valuation; the financial impact of marketing strategies; public and
private company valuation; corporate acquisition policies; financing
the required asset base; dividend policy; capital structure: internal
versus external financing; assessing and managing investor clienteles;
and assessing and managing business risk exposures.
Prerequisites: BA 385T, FIN 394.1, FIN 397.1
FIN
394.3 Global Finance
This
course provides students with an in-depth look at the financial
management function in a multinational corporation. The
following topics will be covered: an overview of global capital and
equity markets; an analysis of the balance of payments; the creation
of international money and the determination of foreign exchange
rates; the mechanics of currency trading; interest rate and purchasing
power parity relationships; managing foreign exchange risk; analyzing
foreign direct investment; capital budgeting in a global environment;
taxes, transfer prices, and intracompany loans; assessing and
measuring political risk; and financial issues in emerging markets.
Prerequisites: BA 385T, FIN 394.1, FIN 397.1
FIN
394.4 Financial Management of Small and Middle-Sized Enterprises
This
course offers a practical application of financial principles for
owner-managed businesses. Specific topics include valuation of
closely-held businesses, legal forms of organization and taxation of
the small business, working capital management, cash budgeting,
capital budgeting, financial statement analysis, sources of capital,
and capital structure. Half of the semester is lecture style
instruction on specific financial topics with the other half dedicated
to case presentations. Prerequisite: BA 385T
FIN
397.1 Investment Theory and Practice
This
course focuses on the examination and valuation of the major
investment vehicles popular today throughout the world. Topics
covered will include: an overview of the investment decision-making
process; asset allocation in the global investment setting; analysis
of security types; analysis of security markets and trading practices;
aggregate market analysis and market indicators; risk,
diversification, and optimal portfolio formation; risk and expected
return: CAPM, APT, and factor models; domestic and international
fixed-income investing: instruments, valuation, and strategies;
domestic and international equity investing: instruments, valuation,
and strategies; forward and futures contracts: valuation and
strategies; option contracts: valuation and strategies; investment
companies; and performance measurement.
Prerequisites:
BA 385T
FIN
397.2 Portfolio Management and Security Analysis
This
course is designed to acquaint the student with the modern practice of
valuing financial securities and managing investment portfolios.
Topics covered in the course will include: portfolio optimization
methods; asset management for institutional investors: pension funds,
endowment funds, and corporations; asset management for individual
investors; asset allocation strategies: strategic, dynamic, tactical,
and insured; domestic and international equity portfolio style
management; risk control with derivatives; performance measurement
techniques; managing client relationships; fundamental, technical, and
efficient market equity valuation; aggregate market, industry, and
company analysis: top-down versus bottom-up valuation; and financial
statement analysis: earnings and cash flow analysis.
Prerequisites: BA 385T, FIN 394.1, FIN 397.1
FIN
397.4 Financial Risk Management
This
course focuses on how corporations manage their myriad business risk
exposures and which of these exposures derivative securities are
designed to address. The following topics will be covered: an
overview of capital and derivative markets and the participants in
those markets; the risk management process; measuring corporate risk
exposure: gap analysis, value at risk, and stress testing; comparison
of forward, futures, insurance, and option markets; theory of hedging,
speculation and arbitrage; commodity, interest rate, stock index, and
foreign exchange futures contracts: valuation and strategies; option
valuation: binomial, Black-Scholes, exotic; commodity, interest rate,
stock index, and foreign exchange option contracts: strategies and
applications; and swap contracting.
Prerequisites: BA 385T, FIN 394.1, FIN 397.1
FIN
397.5 Fixed Income Analysis
This
course provides a comprehensive analysis and valuation of fixed-income
securities from the perspective of a financial, security, or credit
analyst. Topics covered in the course will include: an overview
of Treasury, agency, and corporate fixed-income securities; trading
conventions and practices in fixed-income markets, general approaches
to valuing debt securities; theories and models of the term structure
of interest rates; par, spot, and forward yields; an analysis and
valuation of credit risk; fixed- and variable-income debt securities;
asset-backed securities and structured notes; fixed-income
derivatives: valuation and applications; and fixed-income portfolio
management strategies. Prerequisites: BA 385T, FIN
394.1, FIN 397.1
REAL ESTATE AND URBAN LAND MANAGEMENT
RE
386.1 Real Estate and Urban Land Economics
An
introduction to real estate analysis and urban development. It
applies financial and economic concepts to the examination of
financing, investment, development, and public policy issues in real
estate and mortgage markets. This is a survey course providing a
basic coverage of a large number of real estate topics. By the
end of the course, students will have a basic understanding of real
estate and mortgage markets and the fundamentals of real estate
investment analysis.
RE
386.2 Real Estate Investment & Development Decisions
This course examines selected advanced problems and issues in the area of real estate investment. Topics include: discounted cash flow techniques, risk, sensitivity analysis, taxation, form of ownership, syndication/limited partnerships, the role of institutional investors, property management and marketing investment property. Financial concepts and models are applied to real estate analysis so the student can take away an understanding of the real estate investment market.
RE
388 Seminar in Real Estate Finance
Examination
of the debt financing of residential and commercial properties.
It analyzes primary and secondary mortgage markets, mortgage banking,
loan instruments, mortgage securitization, as well as lenders and
borrowers decisions regarding real estate financing. By the end
of the course, students should have a thorough understanding of the
use of debt to finance property investments, the measurement of the
returns and risks of mortgage instruments, and the securitization of
residential and commercial mortgages. Because of the important
role that mortgaged-backed securities play in financial markets, this
course will be of particular interest to students interested in
derivative instruments.
BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
BA 385T - Financial Management
Description
This is an introductory survey MBA core course in the financial
decisions that confront corporate managers in a global environment.
In particular, it develops answers to two specific decisions: how do
companies decide what projects to invest in and how should companies
pay for those investments? The following topics will be covered:
time value of money techniques; estimating risk and return:
probability and return distributions, covariance; linking risk and
return: Capital Asset Pricing Model and Arbitrage Pricing Theory;
capital market efficiency; capital budgeting: cash flow estimation,
project evaluation techniques; capital acquisition: debt, preferred
stock, and equity financing; capital structure theory:
Modigliani-Miller theorems, taxes, default, and agency theory;
dividend policy; working capital management; leasing versus
purchasing; ethical and legal issues; and using derivatives in
corporate finance.
