Finance
Courses
FI 603 Short-Term Financial Management (3 credits)
Prerequisite(s): FI 625
Emphasizes the management of current assets and current liabilities. Particular attention is given to planning the firm's overall level of liquidity, stressing cash management and credit policies. Selected topics such as bank relations, factoring and secured inventory financing are discussed.
FI 625 Corporate Finance: Theory, Tools and Concepts (3 credits)
Prerequisite(s): BF 507 or PF Module I
Extends the basic understanding of financial concepts and tools by emphasizing the modern fundamentals of the theory of finance. Develops the ability to apply financial analysis, planning and valuation techniques to solving financial problems. Covers issues related to how managers manage the assets in place, identify and evaluate future investment opportunities, and analyze sources and costs of capital necessary to fund these projects. Topics are presented in an environment that includes strategic, global and technological issues where appropriate and relevant.
FI 627 Corporate Finance: Applications and Advanced Topics (3 credits)
Prerequisite(s): FI 625
Explores applications of concepts and tools introduced in FI 625, while emphasizing the relationship between quantitative and strategic analysis. The course covers three broad areas: corporate financing decisions, investment policies and acquisition analysis. Students will create case studies based on substantive financial decisions made by firms in recent months. This task will help students explore a variety of sources for acquiring current corporate information, thereby fostering skills in information gathering, presentation and analysis.
FI 635 Fixed Income Valuation and Strategies (3 credits)
Prerequisite(s): BF 507 or PF Module I
Pre- or corequisite(s): ST 625
Covers the pricing of fixed income securities, examining topics such as bond mathematics, term structure of interest rates, repurchase agreement market, pricing of default risk in the context of high yield corporate bonds, foreign exchange risk in the context of foreign currency denominated bonds, and pricing pre-payment risk in mortgage-backed securities. More advanced topics include the tools and their application under realistic assumptions in the real world, application of duration and convexity under realistic yield curve assumptions, risk and return in the high yield bond market and related structured products, option-adjusted spread modeling in mortgage backed securities pricing, the mortgage derivatives markets, and foreign currency denominated bond investment. Requires econometric analyses that involve using the resources of the Trading Room. Assigned readings include journal articles from applied academic finance journals and research reports from Wall Street firms.
FI 640 Equity Valuation (3 credits)
Prerequisite(s): BF 507 or PF Module I
Pre- or corequisite(s): ST 625
Teaches students to value equity securities, starting with the top-down approach and industry analysis/forecasting. Examines valuation theory, models and applications. Students analyze the IPO process to gain a detailed understanding of equity market operation, issues that affect these markets and where they are headed. More advanced topics include the implications of financial statements on cash flow and risk, the exploration of valuing distressed or bankrupt companies, closely held firms, and venture capital situations. Requires extensive use of applied academic journals, the financial media, and resources available in the Trading Room.
FI 645 Derivatives (3 credits)
Pre- or corequisite(s): ST 625
Provides materials and projects that will allow students to develop a detailed understanding of the design, mechanics and pricing of derivative securities in risk management. The concept of the law of one price will be stressed and includes the application of the tools and inputs (quantitative techniques as developed in ST 625) necessary to value derivative securities. The mathematical requirements of the course are primarily algebraic, but the student will also need to rely on statistical methods and some calculus. Please note that this is not a survey course. It is an intensive introduction to derivative securities pricing and market mechanics.
FI 649 Seminar in Equity Trading (3 credits)
Prerequisite(s): FI 625
Focuses on the nature and structure of equity markets. The learning objective is met through the study of market microstructure, with attention to the theoretical and empirical issues behind price formation/discovery and the movement of order-flow through the various market trading mechanisms. Students read and present current and forthcoming articles and papers. Explores traditional valuation models, and introduces methods and interests currently used in the marketplace. Use of data feeds and software available in the Trading Room enhances students' understanding of these issues.
FI 650 Advanced Portfolio Theory and Practice (3 credits)
Prerequisite(s): ST 625
Pre- or corequisite(s): FI 640
This course will provide the students with the issues, techniques and methodologies associated with constructing and evaluating portfolios. The course will use material from ST 625, including both statistics and calculus, to analyze issues such as diversification, optimal portfolio selection, capital market theory and application, performance evaluation, efficient markets, and behavioral finance, among others. The course will also address ethical issues and the professional code of conduct as it relates to portfolio management.
FI 685 Financial Strategy (3 credits)
Prerequisite(s): FI 625, FI 635 and FI 640
This course is the capstone for students in the MS in Corporate Finance program. The course has three broad objectives. The first is to examine a framework for formulating value-enhancing corporate strategies, both short term and long term. The second is to study a variety of financial policies, and develop an understanding of how financial policy is an integral part of any value-maximizing corporate strategy. The third objective is to apply the value-maximization framework and tools to conduct an in-depth evaluation of corporate strategy for a selected firm. Various strategic decisions to create stakeholder wealth will be discussed through case discussions and analysis of actual companies. Analysis of financial decisions in a framework that views a business strategy as a series of options rather than a series of static cash flows will be discussed.
FI 701 Internship in Finance (3 credits)
Prerequisite(s): For MSF students, director's permission after completion of four or more 600- or 700-level finance courses.
Affords students the opportunity to enhance self-realization and direction by integrating classroom study with experience in professional financial environments. Requires development in cooperation with the potential employer of a proposal defining the internship experience. Consistent with the student's professional goals, the proposal should detail either a specific project or a structured development program. Includes regular meetings in which students discuss issues and business problems related to their work experience, and defend proposed solutions before fellow students and the internship coordinator.
FI 710 Enterprise Risk Management (3 credits)
Prerequisite(s): FI 625
Offers students a competitive advantage in applying and managing the latest risk-management strategies. Topics include risk profiling, derivatives and financial engineering, insurance, and securitization. With a "value creation" approach, the course explores the three methods by which corporations implement an integrated or enterprise-wide risk-management platform: modifying company operations, manipulating the company's capital structure, and employing targeted financial instruments. Students develop a detailed understanding of how to design and use contingent equity puts, reverse-convertible debt, and other contingent financing arrangements. The course employs intensive, computer-oriented case studies and modeling exercises to examine use of insurance contracts, hedging instruments, and alternative risk management strategies. These exercises emphasize the mathematical, statistical and computational models used in corporate risk management to design integrated solutions.
FI 730 Management of Financial Institutions (3 credits)
Prerequisite(s): FI 625
Analyzes the environment, structure and operation of depository financial institutions while concentrating most heavily on commercial banks. Reviews the complex role of depository institutions within a changing industry and examines criteria used to measure performance. Presents the analytical methods used to evaluate the efficiency of operations, the market position, and the development of the institutions. Factors leading to growth and profitability both internal and external to the firm are evaluated. Issues specific to the international operations of U.S. banks as well as the domestic operations of foreign banks are explored. Examines the exposure to risk of various kinds and methods used to minimize those risks. Cases and current issues are both used.
FI 735 Mergers and Acquisitions (3 credits)
Prerequisite(s): FI 625
Studies mergers and acquisitions, both as a growth strategy and as a means of increasing the market value of the firm. Students develop the skills to scan the environment for potentially attractive targets, and thereafter, to determine the terms of a merger. Through the case analysis method, students test pre-merger conditions against post-merger facts to form judgments about the soundness of a given merger. Accounting treatment of mergers, as well as the role tax and antitrust laws, is studied.
FI 745 Real Estate Investment Analysis (3 credits)
Prerequisite(s): BF 507 or PF Module I
Examines the application of investment principles and analytical techniques to the valuation of real property. Emphasizes the estimation of revenues/expenses and risk/return relationships in the investment valuation and the application of real estate economics to this process. The effects of financing, tax consequences, ownership and market conditions are integrated into the analysis process.
FI 751 International Financial Management (3 credits)
Prerequisite(s): BF 507 or PF Module I
Recommended: FI 625
Deals with the international aspects of corporate finance and investing. Areas covered include foreign exchange with emphasis on exchange rate determination, exchange risk, hedging and interest arbitrage, international money and capital markets and international financing, multinational capital budgeting, cost of capital and international portfolio management.
FI 787 Large Investments and International Project Finance (3 credits)
Prerequisite(s): FI 625
Course provides an overview of project finance employing the latest techniques for structuring transactions, including risk mitigation by financial intermediaries. Students will be introduced to substantial research data and informational resources. Decision making and prioritization of tasks, policy formulation, the selection of world class partners and on-the-ground operational skills necessary to ensure timely completion of construction, budget adherence and efficient start-up are stressed. Large investment projects across a variety of geographic regions, industrial sectors, and stages of project execution are examined. The important differences in risk between domestic and export sector projects will be contrasted, including management of foreign exchange issues and the role of host governments. Case studies and an international development valuation project will add depth to the text material. Comfort with Excel spreadsheets and the analytical tools is recommended.
