GRA 6534 Investments

GRA 6534 Investments

Course code: 
GRA 6534
Department: 
Finance
Credits: 
6
Course coordinator: 
Ilan Cooper
Course name in Norwegian: 
Investments
Product category: 
Master
Portfolio: 
MSc in Finance
Semester: 
2018 Spring
Active status: 
Active
Level of study: 
Master
Teaching language: 
English
Course type: 
One semester
Introduction

In this course you will be introduced to major issues currently of concern to all investors. It will give you the skills to conduct a sophisticated assessment of current issues debates covererd by both the popular media as well as more specialized finance journals.

Learning outcomes - Knowledge

Provide students with a fundamental understanding of the investment process.
Review the different financial assets available to the portfolio manager, the markets in which they trade, their risk return characteristics and how they are priced. Discusses the basic techniques of portfolio management, risk control and performance evaluation. Briefly introduces the international dimension of the investment process.

Learning outcomes - Skills
  • Identify key strategic investments issues in the contemporary market environment.
  • Make short-term and long-term investments decisions under conditions of uncertainty.
  • Apply analytical skills to undertake investments decisions.
Learning Outcome - Reflection
  • Critical reflection and thinking, developing deep insights regarding the financial markets dynamics.
  • Appreciation for the complexity of investments decisions and business in general.
  • Presentation of ideas and solutions in a clear and concise manner.
Course content

The course will be organized as follows:

  • • Asset classes: markets, pricing and historical record
    • Equity markets and historical record
    • Fixed Income Securities: pricing, markets and historical record
    • Alternative investments: real estate, commodities, venture, etc
  • • Fixed Income
    • Bond pricing
    • The term structure of interest rate
    • Bond portfolio management
  • • Equity valuation
    • The price to earnings ratio
    • Macroeconomic and industry analysis
  • • The portfolio management process
    • Mean-Variance theory and the CAPM
    • Efficient markets and portfolio management
    • Active portfolio management strategies
    • Optimal portfolio rebalancing
  • • Measuring portfolio performance
  • • Hedge funds, mutual funds and exchange traded funds
  • • Investment policy and the framework of the CFA institute
Learning process and requirements to students

The instruction consists primarily of presentations and discussions of the readings assigned to the topics listed above. Students are expected to have read the material before each class meeting

Please note that while attendance is not compulsory in all courses, it is the student’s own responsibility to obtain any information provided in class that is not included on the course homepage/It's learning or text book.

This is a course with continuous assessment (several exam components) and one final exam code. Each exam component is graded by using points on a scale from 0-100. The components will be weighted together according to the information in the course description in order to calculate the final letter grade for the examination code (course). Students who fail to participate in one/some/all exam elements will get a lower grade or may fail the course. You will find detailed information about the point system and the cut off points with reference to the letter grades when the course start.

At resit, all exam components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course.

Software tools
No specified computer-based tools are required.
Qualifications

All courses in the Masters programme will assume that students have fulfilled the admission requirements for the programme. In addition, courses in second, third and/or fourth semester can have specific prerequisites and will assume that students have followed normal study progression. For double degree and exchange students, please note that equivalent courses are accepted.

Assessments
Assessments
Exam category: 
Activity
Form of assessment: 
Class participation
Weight: 
5
Grouping: 
Individual
Exam code: 
GRA65343
Grading scale: 
Point scale leading to ECTS letter grade
Resit: 
All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course
Exam category: 
Submission
Form of assessment: 
Written submission
Weight: 
20
Grouping: 
Group
Duration: 
1 Month(s)
Comment: 
Two computer assignments where the weight of each is 10%,
Exam code: 
GRA65343
Grading scale: 
Point scale leading to ECTS letter grade
Resit: 
All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course
Exam category: 
Submission
Form of assessment: 
Written submission
Invigilation
Weight: 
75
Grouping: 
Individual
Support materials: 
  • BI-approved exam calculator
  • Simple calculator
  • Bilingual dictionary
Duration: 
3 Hour(s)
Comment: 
Written examination with supervision
Exam code: 
GRA65343
Grading scale: 
Point scale leading to ECTS letter grade
Resit: 
All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course
Exam organisation: 
Continuous assessment
Grading scale: 
ECTS
Total weight: 
100
Sum workload: 
0

A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 6 ECTS credits corresponds to a workload of at least 160 hours.