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Requirements
Requirements
Students should know enough about Excel to set up a simple spreadsheet; the course covers advanced Excel techniques, involving random number generation and simulation, Linear Programming and Solver, matrix manipulation, data tables, etc. The student must have read the assigned material and completed the assigned work before each class. Each student must be able to discuss the chapter material. The lecture shall concentrate on the analytical material and place less emphasis on descriptive material. FNAN 505 is a specialized course in portfolio management that relies heavily upon quantitative analysis and therefore demands substantial effort from the student. Class attendance is necessary but not sufficient for learning portfolio management. Students will not be able to pass the exams if they are to cram on the night of the exam, only. Students should read the chapter before the chapter is discussed in the class. Thus they are expected to contribute to the lecture by asking and responding to good questions and making meaningful comments.
Students are required to do: (1) Homework problems for each chapter by visiting Connect (connect.mcgraw-hill.com), (2) Wall Street Journal Discussion questions,if assigned (3) Readings (primarily Finance Journal Articles), (4) Stock-trak Portfolio Game (www.stocktrak.com), and (5) Morningstar Mutual Fund Project.
In order to do well in this class, it is strongly recommended that students do the homework assigned. The problems in homework are designed to provide numerical drill to complement the conceptual class discussions and may not be representative of exam questions. You may be asked to submit handwritten answers (no word processors or photocopies) to some of these problems, when they are due. Late submissions will not be accepted. I will provide a list of problems for each chapter that highlight the important concepts. It is strongly recommended that they be done to solidify your understanding of the material. Occasionally, we may either work through problems in class together or I may assign problems to be done individually and then discussed during class. Building spreadsheet models helps to achieve one of the main goals of this course to learn the logical relationships among financial variables. Moreover, the ability to work comfortably with spreadsheet models is an essential skill in pursuing a career in finance, and it is a skill that can only be acquired through practice.
RECOMMENDED: A subscription to the Wall Street Journal. A special student rate is available by signing up in class. When you subscribe to the WSJ, you also get a subscription to the Online versions of the WSJ, and Barron's at no additional cost.
Readings assigned for each class are book chapters, and journal articles. Preparation for class discussion is extremely important since class participation will count towards your grade. Moreover, it will be hard to follow class discussions if you have not read the assigned material. Assigned material will come mostly from practitioner-oriented journals (Journal of Portfolio Management, Financial Analyst Journal). It would be wise to subscribe to these journals if you plan a career in investment management (and even if not, just to keep up to date on what to do with your investments). Occasionally I will assign readings from academic journals (Journal of Finance, Review of Financial Studies): expect these readings to be a bit harder to go through.
Mutual_Fund_Project: _more_details_after the first test.
Learning portfolio management demands extensive individual effort outside of class. Two examinations will be administered. Both exams will contain both conceptual questions (note: questions are also chosen from supplementary readings) and numerical problems, and some portion of each exam will be in a "multiple choice" format. The nature of course material is such that if you do not get a firm grasp of the first block of material, then you are highly unlikely to understand the subsequent blocks. Please make a note of dates of both exams, since you are expected to take them when they are scheduled. Makeup exams will be given in rare circumstances, only in the event that you (1) inform me that you have a problem prior to the exam, and (2) provide me with a written justification (e.g., a note from the doctor) for not taking the exam at the scheduled time. Missing an exam without meeting the above requirements will result in a grade zero for that exam. (The dept. will retain all exams.) In order to assure uniform information regarding tests: (a) I will not discuss a test outside of the classroom, and (b) I will not answer questions about the material on a test after the last class before a test. On the last class day before the exams, I reserve time for review. You are strongly encouraged to have your questions ready for that review time. For the exams, you may bring one 3" x 5" index card for formulae and notes.
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