This chart maps out advanced Finance electives by subfield either Corporate Finance or Investment Capital Markets, and their associated prerequisites. Click each prerequisite to see a selection of courses that proceed it. These courses have also been color coded to correspond to match their subfield:
4 units. Fall, spring, and summer. Prerequisites: STAT-UB 103 or STAT-UB 1 and STAT-UB 3, or ECON-UA 18 or ECON-UA 19, ECON-UB 1 or ECON-UA 2 or ECON-UA 5, and sophomore standing. Corequisite: ACCT-UB 1. This is a rigorous course developing the basic concepts and tools of modern finance. It explores in detail basic concepts of return and risk with a view to understanding how financial markets work and how different kinds of financial instruments are valued. These instruments, including equities, fixed income securities, options, and other derivative securities, become vehicles for exploring various financial markets and the use of these markets by managers in different kinds of financial institutions to enhance return and manage risk.
3 units. Fall, spring, and summer. Prerequisite: FINC-UB 2. This course helps students develop an analytical framework for understanding how organizations make investment and financing decisions. Students also learn the theory and practice of various valuation techniques. There is an emphasis on understanding the theory and its applications to the real world as well as appreciating the limitations of the tools in practical settings. Specific topics include capital budgeting, investment decision rules, discounted cash flow valuation, real options, cost of capital, capital structure, dividend policy, and valuation methods such as WACC and APV.
3 units. Prerequisite: FINC-UB 7. The purpose of this course is to familiarize students with the core concepts and theory underlying much of the general understanding of corporate finance and its impact on corporate valuation. The first part of the course consists of lectures on corporate finance theory which explore the links between a firm's financing decisions, its investment decisions, and corporate structure through the lenses of taxes, information asymmetries, and the conflicts of interest between its various stakeholders. The second part of the course consists of case studies which illustrate the relevance of the theoretical framework for (understanding and designing) real-world corporate financial strategy and for (understanding and dealing with) strategic issues in corporate valuation. The course material is organized around central corporate "finance concepts" (debt overhang, risk-shifting, managerial agency, adverse selection, etc.) and "application"; (bankruptcy and restructuring, IPOs and valuation, M&A, corporate governance, etc.)
3 units. Prerequisite: FINC-UB 2. This course examines the management of risks in a wide range of financial activities, with a particular focus on market risk, credit risk, and liquidity risk. It uses quantitative models to estimate credit losses, economic capital and value at risk, and to perform stress tests and scenario analysis. The course also analyzes the consequences of technological change, globalization, monetary policy, and the entry of new types of institutions into existing financial markets. It emphasizes the importance of systemic risk, moral hazard, and new regulations in light of the recent financial crisis.
3 units. Prerequisite: FINC-UB 2. Corequisite: FINC-UB 7. This course covers the fundamentals of real estate, real estate finance and real estate investment from an entrepreneurial perspective and is directed toward providing students with grounding in the fundamental practical concepts and techniques required to evaluate, finance, acquire and operate income-producing property. The course will focus on: (i) the nature of commercial real estate, (ii) the language, concepts, agreements and instruments that are critical to real estate transactions, (iii) the interrelationships between owners, their tenants, lenders and investors, and the issues that arise in those relationships, and (iv) common methods used to analyze cash flows and determine valuations, capital requirements, and returns on capital and deal feasibility.
3 units. Prerequisite: FINC-UB 7. This course provides a broad overview of investment banking and of the forces that are continuing to change it worldwide. It focuses on three big questions: (1) How are things done in this business? (2) Why are they done that way? (3) How are they likely to be done in the future? The approach is to examine each of the principal businesses in which various financial service firms have been involved, including raising capital, financial advisory, broker/dealer positions, trading, investing the firm's own capital, managing the assets of others, both institutions and individuals, and risk management. Throughout, there are a number of overarching themes. Among these are the interplay of regulation, politics, globalization, and technology; the emergence of private equity funds and hedge funds as both critical clients and potential competitors for the major investment banks; the search for new, high-margin products, and whether that process has reached its limits; and the changing relationships among the different groups within the financial service company.
3 units. Prerequisite: FINC-UB 7. This course presents the theories and empirical evidence on mergers, acquisitions, and restructuring, and analyzes the effects of various policy options on the stock values of acquirer and target companies. Findings about the reaction of stock prices to information on control transactions are used to analyze the effects of various policy options in such transactions. Topics related to M&A include evaluating acquisition targets, methods of payment in acquisitions, acquisition strategies, the use of leverage in acquisitions and the effects of acquisitions on bond values, major legal issues, case law, and defensive measures against hostile acquisitions. The course combines lecture material, case analysis, quantitative and qualitative analysis, and discussions of relevant news of such transactions. There is an emphasis on fundamental concepts of valuation and other areas of corporate finance related to M&As.
3 units. Prerequisite: FINC-UB 7. The course is designed to reinforce and develop the concepts learned in the introductory corporate finance course by applying them to entertainment, media and technology (EMT) companies. Students will explore the distinctive characteristics of EMT companies/sector while practicing and building on fundamental analytical skills. Similar skills are critical to analytical needs in investment banking, equity and fixed income valuation, and corporate development. Students will analyze recent and ongoing transactions to make the material more topical and relevant. We will be using SEC filings found on Edgar for primary research on many of the companies studied
3 units. Prerequisite: FINC-UB 2. ECON-UB 11 The financial crisis has shown both how important the financial system is to the global economy, and how complicated it is. Financial systems are centered around financial institutions and capital markets, but they also involve governments, public policy and regulation. They span the globe from the US, the EU and Japan to Russia, China and the Emerging Markets. This course provides students with a broad and rigorous understanding of (i) how the global financial system works and what purposes it serves, (ii) who the major players are and how they operate, and (iii) what challenges the system creates for public policy. In doing so, the course helps students understand and make the most of their own opportunities in the financial system.
3 units. Prerequisite: FINC-UB 7. This course is an advanced elective designed to introduce students to the excitement of doing research in the field of finance. The course will usually focus on a sub-category of Finance, such as Corporate Finance, Asset Management, Market Microstucture, or other topics depending upon the faculty interest. Students will be required to read original research articles and develop an understanding of the research process from the development of testable hypotheses, collection of suitable data, application of appropriate analytic or statistical methodology, and ultimately to an understanding of research findings and their limitations. Deliverables in the course will typically include written literature surveys and projects that replicate classic research studies or develop new research ideas.
3 units. Prerequisite: FINC-UB 7. Uses human psychology and market frictions to shed light on asset returns, corporate finance patterns, and various Wall Street institutional practices. Starts with motivating evidence of return predictability in stock, bond, foreign exchange, and other markets. It then proceeds to themes including the role of arbitrageurs in financial markets, the psychological and judgmental biases of average investors, and the financing patterns (such as capital structure and dividend policies) of firms who raise capital in inefficient securities markets and/or are led by irrational managers.
3 units. Prerequisite: FINC-UB 7. This course examines the operation of international currency exchange and capital markets and applies financial management principles to the financial decisions of multinational corporations. It addresses such topics as economic determinants of exchange rates, currency market efficiency, exchange rate forecasting, techniques for measuring and managing exposure to exchange and political risk and financing alternatives and capital budgeting decisions of multinational corporations. Readings and case studies are employed.
3 units. Prerequisite: FINC-UB 7. This course seeks to provide an understanding of the financial and transactional skills required to fund new businesses and mature firms. The course integrates both an academic and practitioner view of the challenges facing entrepreneurs and investors involved in business start-up, venture capital, and private equity investment activities. The course presents frameworks and techniques needed to evaluate high-risk opportunities and structure appropriate investment transactions.
3 units. Prerequisite: FINC-UB 7. This course examines the lifecycle of high-growth new ventures (i.e. startups), with a focus on how they are funded. We will follow a successful startup's path from founding through the stages of new venture finance. These include developing a business plan and its financials, the core skills of valuation, the venture capital industry, and how entrepreneurs and investors realize returns. Through examples of specific companies and technologies, we will also learn about the emerging landscape of financial technology (fintech) startups. We will consider the following subsectors, where startups are either seeking to displace incumbents or sell them their services: personal finance, blockchain, equity crowdfunding, lending (peer-to-peer and AI-augmented), payments, insurance, institutional investment, and money transfer.
3 units. Prerequisite: FINC-UB 7. This course covers the valuation of stocks and businesses. Real life valuations of companies are an inherent part of the content. By the end of the course, students should be able to: (1) apply discounted cash flow analysis to find the intrinsic value of an asset; (2) define, describe, analyze, and apply any multiple (PE, Value/EBITDA, Price/Book Value, etc.) to find the relative value of an asset; (3) value any publicly traded firm, small or large, domestic or foreign, healthy or troubled; (4) value any private business for owners or investors (private equity, venture capital, IPO); and (5) separate fact from fiction, sense from nonsense, and real analysis from sales pitch in equity research reports, valuations, and general discourse.
3 units. Prerequisite: FINC-UB 7. This course aims to provide an in-depth understanding of the strategies used by hedge funds, employing a hands-on approach based on case studies and real data. The hedge fund industry has grown rapidly over the last decade aided in part by the private nature of funds and light regulation that has enabled managers to employ strategies not available to traditional fund managers. The course examines critical aspects of hedge fund investment styles including the trading mechanism, risk-return profiles of investment styles, trading costs, risk management and performance measurement..Strategies covered include event driven strategies, equity, debt, FX, cross-market strategies, global macro and shareholder activism. Distinguished guest speakers will be invited to provide a real-life perspective and to discuss key issues.
3 units. Prerequisite: FINC-UB 2. This course provides both a theoretical and practical look into the world of managing alternative investments, in particular, hedge funds. The course is organized from the perspective of an asset manager (e.g. pension fund, endowment, family office, fund of funds, etc.) having to chose amongst a cross-section of hedge funds. Students are introduced to the dimensions and institutional features of the hedge fund sector, and then proceed to study how various classic hedge fund strategies are executed as well as more advanced quantitative strategies. Performance evaluation, risk management, and due diligence in the formation and execution of strategies are also covered. Students will have access to a proprietary software platform (Focus/Vidrio) that helps them work through and understand various aspects of the manager selection and due diligence process. This course is cross-listed with and meets jointly with MBA students in FINC-GB.2350.
3 units. Prerequisite: FINC-UB 2. This course describes important fixed income securities and markets and develops tools for valuing debt instruments and managing interest rate risk. The course covers traditional bond pricing, term structure, and interest rate risk concepts. It also covers the analytical and institutional aspects of fixed income derivatives, such as interest rate swaps, forwards, futures, and options, as well as bonds with embedded options and mortgage-backed securities. Topics also include credit risk, bond portfolio management, financial engineering, and international fixed income. The study of fixed income is quantitative and technical by nature.
3 units. Prerequisite: FINC-UB 2. The perspective in this course is that of an investment manager specializing in emerging and frontier markets and responsible for optimizing performance of investment portfolios at a bank, pension, endowment, or mutual fund. Investment opportunities in emerging financial markets around the world are examined in the context of performance optimization and global risk diversification against a typical backdrop of high per capita income growth, low leverage, favorable demographics, accelerating urbanization, and improving transparency at both the macro-policy and corporate governance levels. Challenges considered include political risk, currency risk, asymmetric information, speculative pressure, and market manipulation. Liquidity limitations, legal constraints, and varying accounting rules and standards also pose challenges to emerging market investors. These unique challenges also provide unique opportunities not available in developed markets. Asset classes range from equities, currencies, bonds, and derivatives to real estate and private equity. Class discussion and reading focus on both the theoretical background as well as practical knowledge necessary to successfully navigate the opportunities and pitfalls of emerging and frontier market investing. The course also includes a select group of guest speakers who share their firsthand knowledge and accounts of investing and operating in emerging markets.
3 units. Prerequisite: FINC-UB 2. The course is designed students with a strong interest in real estate capital markets. Its target audience is students specializing in Real Estate, for whom this is a capstone course, but is also open to finance-oriented students who wish to gain an in-depth understanding of real estate investment analysis. Topics covered will span the real estate equity and debt markets, both public and private. The bulk of the course focuses on commercial real estate, but we will spend some time studying the housing markets. There are three major sections in the course: Structured finance and the CMBS market, REITs and Publicly-Traded Real Estate, the Private Real Estate Market. The class will contain a mixture of standard lectures, guest speakers, and case discussions. It will meet once per week for three hours to accommodate the relatively high number of outside speakers and cases in the course.
3 units. Prerequisite: FINC-UB 2. This course introduces students to real estate securitization from both an equity and debt perspective. It analyzes alternative types of equity securitization vehicles including real estate investment trusts (REITs), commingled real estate funds (CREFs), real estate limited partnerships (RELPs), master limited partnerships (MLPs), and real estate swaps. The course also introduces students to mortgage-backed securities (MBSs) as an example of real estate debt securitization, and explores differences in their cash flows, prepayment, and default probabilities. It discusses the dynamics of mortgage prepayments and pricing the embedded call option in a mortgage, followed by real-world applications. Students explore such mortgage derivatives as mortgage pass-throughs, interest-only and principal-only strips, floaters and inverse floaters, and various types of collateralized mortgage obligations such as planned amortization classes.
3 units. Prerequisite: FINC-UB 2. Microfinance refers to the provision of financial services to low-income clients. This course is designed to analyze the economics of microfinance and a range of related issues including product design and strategic choices for reaching clients, the impact of culture and regulation, the feasibility of for-profit or venture models of microfinance, and the impact of microfinance on economic growth and poverty.
3 units. Prerequisite: FINC-UB 2. This course covers the theoretical and practical aspects of futures, options, and other derivative instruments, which have become some of the most important tools of modern finance. While the primary focus is on financial derivatives, contracts based on commodities, credit risk, and other nonfinancial variables are also covered. Topics include market institutions and trading practices, valuation models, hedging, and other risk management techniques. The course requires relatively extensive use of quantitative methods and theoretical reasoning.
3 units. Prerequisite: FINC-UB 2. This course consists of three parts. The first section of the course is a detailed examination of the pricing and hedging of option contracts, with particular emphasis on the application of these concepts to the design of derivatives instruments and trading strategies. The first part of this section is a review and re-examination of materials covered in the basic course, but with greater rigor and depth of coverage. The emphasis in the second part of this first section is on trading applications and risk management. The second section of the course is designed to provide a broad exposure to the subject of interest rate derivative products, both swaps and options. The last section of the course deals with recent innovations in the derivatives markets such as exotic options, credit derivatives and catastrophe derivatives. In the first section of the course, the discussion of trading strategies is in the context of the management of the risk of a derivatives book. The topics covered in the second part of the course include the relationship of swaps to other fixed income contracts such as futures contracts and forward rate agreements, valuation and hedging of swaps, building the yield curve, and valuation and hedging of interest rate options, with particular reference to caps, floors and swaptions, and modeling the term structure of interest rates. The third section of the course deals with non-standard option contracts such as exotic options and options on new underlying instruments such as credit, weather and insurance derivatives.
3 units. Prerequisite: FINC-UB 2. Portfolio management: The art and science of making decisions about investment mix and policy, matching investments to objectives, asset allocation for individuals and institutions, and balancing risk against performance. (Investopedia) There has been a proliferation of new products and strategies in the asset management space in recent years, e.g., smart beta, alternative beta, fundamental indexing, low volatility, and leveraged and inverse ETFs. This course applies portfolio theory to understand and evaluate these products and strategies in the context of the empirical evidence about return patterns across assets (i.e., the factors such as value/growth, momentum, and carry that drive returns) in multiple markets/asset classes (e.g., US and international equities and bonds, currencies, and commodities). Key questions include: ?What factors drive asset returns? Is it risk or mispricing? ?Can this structure of returns be used to construct better portfolios and products? ?How should the performance of existing products be evaluated given the empirical evidence? The basic theoretical framework is standard portfolio theory, as developed in Foundations of Finance, and its extensions, and the course will rely heavily on Excel modeling using real world data.