FIN 4360: Investments

3 Credit Hours

Prerequisite: FIN 3100 and 60 credit hours with a minimum GPA of 2.00 and (Admission to the Coles College Undergraduate Professional Program or student in a Coles College Partner Program that includes this course).
This course provides students with working knowledge of equity securities and portfolio management with an emphasis on the fundamental trade-off between risk and return. The course covers securities markets, efficient diversification, asset pricing models, and investment strategies of individual and institutional investors. It also introduces students to bonds and financial derivative products.

Course Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

Introduce different asset classes and financial instruments.
Understand the measure of return and risk associated with alternative investments.
Examine the factors contributing to the rate of return.
Study the asset allocation and the portfolio management process.
Discuss the purpose and functioning of securities markets.
Understand the trading mechanisms in the capital market.
Study the theoretical and empirical foundations of portfolio management.
Examine diversification and the risk-return efficient frontier of risky assets.
Review the capital market line, the security market line and the CAPM.
Study the different asset pricing models.
Relate the multifactor models with the arbitrage pricing theory.
Review of security valuation.
Compare technical analysis with fundamental analysis and the efficient market theory.
Study the characteristics of market indexes.
Introduce the derivative market and its security instruments.
Study the constraints in portfolio performance evaluation.