M.S. in Finance

GRADUATESTUDY

Overview

The world markets form the focus of a large financial services industry that includes commercial and investment banks, investment management companies, hedge funds, private equity, and regulatory agencies. The primary objective of the MS Finance Program is to provide students with the skills and knowledge that are required to be a successful participant in this vibrant industry. The program is based upon a solid foundation in financial mathematics, statistics, and modeling. Core courses cover basic principles of valuation, portfolio management, and financial statement analysis. The program then offers a wide range of elective concentrations that are specifically related to careers in the financial services industry.

COURSE CONTENTS

Fall Semester

Spring Semester

Summer Classes

COURSE DESCRIPTION

FIN 700: Managerial Finance:

Comprehensive study of the finance function in the business enterprise, including financial analysis-planning-forecasting, capital budgeting, leasing, working capital management, capital structure, dividend policy, and multinational finance. Designed for graduate students who have not had an undergraduate course in financial management in the last five years.

FIN 701: Professional Financial Planning:

A case-oriented study of comprehensive financial planning for client families. This course integrates prior knowledge of financial planning principles and practice, investments, insurance, law, tax planning, retirement planning, and estate planning. Advanced topics in these subjects are also presented. The financial planning process, standards of professional practice, and planner ethics are emphasized.

FIN 711: Advanced Corporate Finance:

The objective of this course is to study the major decision-making areas of managerial finance and some selected topics in financial theory. The course reviews the theory and empirical evidence related to the investment and financing policies of the firm and attempts to develop decision-making ability in these areas. This course serves as a complement and supplement to Corporate Finance. Some areas of financial management not covered in Corporate Finance are covered in Advanced Corporate Finance. These may include leasing, mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganizations, financial planning and working capital management, and some other selected topics.

FIN 714: Advanced Financial Management:

An advanced study of the theory and practice of corporate financial management, including financial analysis and forecasting, working capital, capital budgeting, cost of capital, capital structure, mergers and acquisitions, and valuation. The course utilizes cases to emphasize both theory and technology in supporting sound financial decision-making.

FIN 715: Financial Valuation and Corporate Financial Decisions:

Shareholder wealth maximization as the goal of the firm within a social responsibility context, financial Math, valuation of securities, the global financial market place as the test of value, estimation of cost of capital, global capital investment decisions, capital structure policy, working capital management.

FIN 716: Case Studies in Financial Decision Making:

This course focuses on case studies to develop an integrated set of financial decisions. Topic areas include fixed asset, working capital, capital structure, dividend and merger/acquisition decisions. The objective of the course is to examine different firm settings and establish a framework within which to apply financial tools.

FIN 718: Real Estate Investment:

Analysis and Financing: This course provides a broad introduction to real estate with a focus on financing issues. Basic project evaluation, financing strategies, and capital markets issues related to real estate are covered. No prior knowledge of the industry is required, but students are expected to rapidly acquire a working knowledge of real estate markets.

FIN 723: International Financial Markets:

This course focuses on international financial markets and exchange rates. Topics include pricing in the foreign currency and Eurocurrency markets, use of forward exchange for hedging, short-term returns and market efficiency in the international money markets, foreign currency options, international capital asset pricing, pricing of foreign currency bonds, currency swaps, Eurocurrency syndicated loans, foreign currency financing and exposure management.

FIN 724: International Banking:

This course focuses on international financial institutions and international banking activities. We will examine how current and historical events are reshaping the industry. We will focus on the basic analytics of managing a bank's exposure to liquidity, credit, market and country risk. In addition, we will consider how to evaluate and compare the risk exposures and performance of individual banks.

FIN 725: Fixed Income Securities:

Fixed Income Securities is a rigorous study of fixed income securities, including default-free bonds, floating rate notes, and corporate bonds. Closely related financial instruments such as forwards and futures on fixed income securities, bond options, and interest rate swaps are also examined. In addition to analyzing specific types of fixed income securities, there will be an examination of the tools used in bond portfolio management.

FIN 726: Funding Investments:

This course examines the available corporate securities that firms can use to finance investment. The course will focus on: (1) the design of these securities (Why do bonds have embedded options? What is the role of preferred stock?); (2) the issuing process for these securities (What do investment banks do? Is the underwriting process important for the cost of capital?); (3) the pricing of these securities (How are credit risk in bonds and loans priced?) The securities covered include corporate and junk bonds, bank loans, common and preferred equity, commercial paper, securitization, as well as some recent innovations. Other topics include: the role of embedded options in corporate bonds; the role of bank and loan covenants; the function of bond rating agencies; exchange offers and prepackaged bankruptcies.

FIN 727: Behavioral Finance:

There is an abundance of evidence suggesting that the standard economic paradigm – rational agents in an efficient market – does not adequately describe behavior in financial markets. In this course, we will survey the evidence and use psychology to guide alternative theories of financial markets. Along the way, we will address the standard argument that smart, profit-seeking agents can correct any distortions caused by irrational investors. Further, we will examine more closely the preferences and trading decisions of individual investors. We will argue that their systematic biases can aggregate into observed market inefficiencies. The second half of the course extends the analysis to corporate decision making. We present the two themes of behavioral corporate finance: rational managers exploiting financial market inefficiencies and managerial decision-making biases. We then explore the evidence for both views in the context of capital structure, investment, dividend, and merger decisions.

FIN 728: Venture Capital and the Finance of Innovation:

This course covers the finance of technological innovation, with a focus on the valuation tools useful in the venture capital industry. These tools include the “venture capital method”, comparative analysis, discounted cash flow analysis, Monte Carlo simulation, contingent-claims analysis, decision trees, and real options. The primary audience for this course is finance majors interested in careers in venture capital or in R&D-intensive companies in health care or information technology.

FIN 729: Corporate Valuation:

The focus of this course is on the valuation of companies. Topics discussed include discounted cash flow techniques and valuation using alternative valuation techniques such as price multiples. Emphasis is on developing the required information for valuation from financial statements and other information sources.

FIN 732: Macroeconomics and the Global Economic Environment:

This course is required of all students except those who, having prior training in macroeconomics, money and banking, and stabilization policy at an intermediate or advanced level, can obtain a waiver either by credentials or by passing an examination. The purpose of Macroeconomics and the Global Economics Environment is to train the student to think systematically about the current state of the economy and macroeconomic policy, and to be able to evaluate the economic environment within which business and financial decisions are made. The course emphasizes the use of economic theory to understand the workings of financial markets and the operation and impact of government policies. Specifically, the course studies the determinants of the level of national income, employment, investment, interest rates, the supply of money, inflation, exchange rates, and the formulation and operation of stabilization policies.

FIN 733: Financial Derivatives:

The purpose of this course is to provide the student with the necessary skills to value and to employ options, futures, and related financial contracts. In order to provide a useful treatment of these topics in an environment that is changing rather rapidly, it is necessary to stress the fundamentals and to explore the topics at a technical level. The topics that will be covered include the valuation of futures contracts on stock indices, on commodities and Treasury instruments; the valuation of options; empirical evidence; strategies with respect to these assets; dynamic asset allocation strategies, of which portfolio insurance is an example; swaps; and the use (and misuse) of derivatives in the context of corporate applications. One-third of the course will be devoted to futures, a third to options, and a third to their applications. Many of the applications will be sprinkled along with the coverage of futures and options.

FIN 735: Real Estate Investment: Analysis and Financing:

This course provides a broad introduction to real estate with a focus on financing issues. Basic project evaluation, financing strategies, and capital markets issues related to real estate are covered. No prior knowledge of the industry is required, but students are expected to rapidly acquire a working knowledge of real estate markets.

FIN 736: Fixed Income Securities:

FIN 737: Venture Capital and the Finance of Innovation:

This course covers the finance of technological innovation, with a focus on the valuation tools useful in the venture capital industry. These tools include the "venture capital method," comparables analysis, discounted cash flow analysis, Monte Carlo simulation, contingent-claims analysis, decision trees, and real options. The primary audience for this course is finance majors interested in careers in venture capital or in R&D-intensive companies in health care or information technology.

FIN 738: The Finance of Buyouts and Acquisitions:

The focus of this course is on buying (or acquiring controlling stakes in) firms. The main topics to be covered are mergers and friendly acquisitions, hostile takeovers and buyouts. Using case studies, the course surveys the drivers of success in the transactions. While issues regarding motive and strategy will be discussed, financial theory would be the main lens used to view these control acquiring transactions. The objective is twofold: (1) Develop a concept and translate that idea into a proposal through deal design; and (2) analyze to form opinions about proposed deals. The course should be of interest to students interested in pursuing careers as private equity investors, advisors in investment banking and corporate managers that deal with these issues. This course will be demanding and assumes familiarity with valuation analysis.

FIN 799: Dissertation