FIN 4504: Equity and Capital Markets Fall 2015

This course provides an in-depth discussion of fundamental principles related to equity securities and derivatives for both institutional and individual investors. At the conclusion of this course, you should understand: a) How security markets function and the types of securities available to investors b) Factors that influence a stock’s rate of return c) Key concepts of portfolio theory and how to develop investment strategies Although we consider the viewpoint of corporate investment professionals and institutional equity money managers at times, the primary focus in this course centers on personal financial decisions related to picking stocks and/or equity mutual funds, especially given the general trend towards defined contribution pension plans in the United States. As we move through the material in this course, it is a good idea to ask: “How would what we are talking about in class impact my real-world investment portfolio?” Course Prerequisites You are officially required to have taken and passed FIN 3403. A substantial portion of this course will be quantitative in nature and therefore requires you to use Microsoft Excel (or equivalent) and to be familiar with basic statistical concepts such as mean, variance, standard deviation, and correlation