EXC 3612 Investment Analysis
EXC 3612 Investment Analysis
This course’s objective is to provide a deeper understanding of the financial markets, the securities that are traded on these markets and choices and issues of concern to all investors. We focus on three elements. (a) The investment environment: the different securities traded in the markets, where they are traded and how they are traded. (b) Security valuation: what drives the value of the different securities and how to account for these. (c) Investment process: how should investors select and construct their investment portfolio.
Upon completion of the course, students shall comprehend key concepts investment and portfolio management, including
- Expected returns and idiosyncratic as well as portfolio risks;
- The concept of diversification;
- Determinant of bond value and risk.
- The concepts of duration and convexity as well as interest risk management
- Determinants of option values and option strategies.
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 required rates of return and risk based on various asset pricing models
- Calculating yields to maturity, duration and convexity on bonds
- Value options with the binomial valuation model.
- Construct option strategies ot hedge equity risk.
- 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.
- Bond Valuation
- The Term Structure of Interest Rates
- Stock Valuation models
- Risk and Expected Return
- Modern Portfolio Theory
- Equilibrium in Capital Markets
- Market Efficiency
- Performance rvaluation
- Introduction to derivatives: options and futures (if time permits)
The course will include a combination of lectures and tutorials 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 whilst 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.
Evaluation
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.
Specific information regarding student evaluation beyond the information given in the course description will be provided in class. This information may be relevant for requirements for term papers or other hand-ins, and/or where class participation can be one for several elements of the overall evaluation.
At re-sit all exam components (final exam and continuous assesment elements) must all, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course.
At re-sit requires that the entire evaluation process is conducted again, and that students who do not achieve points in one or more exam components will get a lower grade or fail the course. Previously conducted examination components will not be part of the assessment for a new grade. This means that in case of retake, the students have to complete both the assignment and final exam.
The specialisation requires two years of university education in Business Administration or equivalent.
EXC 2910 Mathematics, EXC 2904 Statistics, EXC 2110 Basic Financial Management, or equivalent.
| Assessments |
|---|
Exam category: Submission Form of assessment: Written submission Weight: 15 Grouping: Group (3 - 4) Duration: 2 Week(s) Comment: Groups of a different size (i.e. either 2 or 5 members) only acceptable with express (explicit) written authorization from the instructor. Exam code: EXC 36121 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: 15 Grouping: Group (3 - 4) Duration: 2 Week(s) Comment: Groups of a different size (i.e. either 2 or 5 members) only acceptable with express (explicit) written authorization from the instructor. Exam code: EXC 36121 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: 70 Grouping: Individual Support materials:
Duration: 3 Hour(s) Exam code: EXC 36121 Grading scale: Point scale leading to ECTS letter grade Resit: All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course |
| Activity | Duration | Comment |
|---|---|---|
Teaching | 36 Hour(s) | |
Feedback activities and counselling | 6 Hour(s) | Review of assignments in plenary |
Prepare for teaching | 48 Hour(s) | |
Submission(s) | 30 Hour(s) | |
Student's own work with learning resources | 80 Hour(s) |
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.