FIN 3523 Financial Investment Analysis

FIN 3523 Financial Investment Analysis

Course code: 
FIN 3523
Department: 
Finance
Credits: 
7.5
Course coordinator: 
Knut Sagmo
Course name in Norwegian: 
Financial Investment Analysis
Product category: 
Bachelor
Portfolio: 
Bachelor of Finance - Programme Courses
Semester: 
2019 Autumn
Active status: 
Active
Level of study: 
Bachelor
Teaching language: 
English
Course type: 
One semester
Introduction

This course intends to provide a thorough understanding of the investment environment and process. The investment environment includes the types of marketable securities that exist, where and how they are bought and sold. The process is concerned with decision-making, how much to invest in each security and when to make these investments. The course also focuses on the valuation of the different securities.

Learning outcomes - Knowledge

Upon completion of the course, students shall comprehend key concepts and the analytics of financial investment analysis such as;

  • expected returns and idiosyncratic risk parameter estimation;
  • immunizing a portfolio of fixed-income securities (bonds) against fluctuating interest rates.
  • digital tasks such as extracting market data from external data bases downloaded into Excel spreadsheets.
  • comprehend and understand the concept of diversification;
  • stand the importance of sustainability and ESG-investments in financial markets.
Learning outcomes - Skills

Upon completion of the course, students are required to master tasks such as;

  • calculating estimates of expected return and risk from a series of past returns
  • applying modern portfolio theory for finding optimal investment portfolios
  • calculating yields to maturity on bonds
  • calculating duration in order to estimate the interest rate sensitivity of a fixed-income security and a portfolio of securities
General Competence

Upon completion of the course, the students shall be able to ask critical questions and reflect on crucial assumptions and theories within the field of financial investments.

Course content
  • Bond Valuation and the Term Structure of Interest Rates
  • Bond Portfolio Management
  • Stock Valuation Models
  • Financial Data Analysis
  • Risk and Expected Return
  • Modern Portfolio Theory
  • Equilibrium in Capital Markets
  • Risk Management and Performance Evaluation
Teaching and learning activities

The course will include a combination of lectures and tutorials (in-class) where solutions to exercises will be explained.

Specific Information regarding any aspect of performance assessment will be provided in class. It is the student's responsibility to obtain this information. Please note that while attendance is not compulsory, it is the student’s responsibility to obtain any information provided in class that is not included on the course homepage/itslearning or in the text book. Homepages and/or itslearning are not designed for the purpose of students who choose not to attend class.

Students are recommended to use computer-based tools, e.g. spreadsheets. Such tools, however, are not allowed at the examination.

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

Higher Education Entrance Qualification.

Required prerequisite knowledge

BØK 3423 Finance or equivalent.

Exam categoryWeightInvigilationDurationSupport materialsGroupingComment exam
Exam category:
Submission
Form of assessment:
Written submission
Exam code:
FIN 35232
Grading scale:
ECTS
Grading rules:
Internal and external examiner
Resit:
Examination every semester
30Yes2 Hour(s)
  • BI-approved exam calculator
  • Simple calculator
  • Bilingual dictionary
Individual Midterm examination
Exam category:
Submission
Form of assessment:
Written submission
Exam code:
FIN 35233
Grading scale:
ECTS
Grading rules:
Internal and external examiner
Resit:
Examination every semester
70Yes3 Hour(s)
  • BI-approved exam calculator
  • Simple calculator
  • Bilingual dictionary
  • Interest table
Individual
Exams:
Exam category:Submission
Form of assessment:Written submission
Weight:30
Invigilation:Yes
Grouping (size):Individual
Support materials:
  • BI-approved exam calculator
  • Simple calculator
  • Bilingual dictionary
Duration:2 Hour(s)
Comment:Midterm examination
Exam code: FIN 35232
Grading scale:ECTS
Resit:Examination every semester
Exam category:Submission
Form of assessment:Written submission
Weight:70
Invigilation:Yes
Grouping (size):Individual
Support materials:
  • BI-approved exam calculator
  • Simple calculator
  • Bilingual dictionary
  • Interest table
Duration:3 Hour(s)
Comment:
Exam code: FIN 35233
Grading scale:ECTS
Resit:Examination every semester
Type of Assessment: 
Ordinary examination
Total weight: 
100
Student workload
ActivityDurationComment
Teaching
36 Hour(s)
Other in classroom
6 Hour(s)
Tutorials where exercises will be explained
Prepare for teaching
83 Hour(s)
Submission(s)
30 Hour(s)
Preparation of home assignments
Examination
45 Hour(s)
Exam incl. preparations
Sum workload: 
200

A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 7,5 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of at least 200 hours.