The course will focus on the application of financial theory to the issues and problems of investment management. Topics will include portfolio optimization and asset allocation, the basics of bond pricing and debt portfolio management, the theory of asset pricing models and their implications for investment as well as techniques for evaluating investment management performance. The course will build upon the analytical skills developed in Financial Management. Students learn to use optimization software and also to create their own spreadsheet optimization programs in Excel, Lotus or Quattro. The course is limited to 40 students, and second-year finance concentrators are given preference.
Spreadsheet proficiency is essential.
Derivatives and Bankruptcy in Orange County Academic Press, 1995. You may either do six cases and take the final, or nine cases and skip the final. Case grades will be based upon formal as well as analytical quality. The six group cases are due by date of the in-class discussion. The remaining three may be turned in anytime before the date of the final, if you choose this course of action.