Results for FINANCE

This seminar is designed to provide some experience with research methods and topics in finance, and to assist undergraduates with career interests in financial research, whether academic or not, with preparation for those careers. The seminar meetings are weekly and discussion based, covering a range of issues and methods in financial economics. Students are expected to prepare a 30-minute research presentation once during the quarter.

This course, intended for graduate students and advanced undergraduates, covers the foundations of finance with applications in corporate finance and investment management. It discusses many of the major financial decisions made by managers and investors, emphasizing the process of valuation. Topics include criteria for making investment decisions, risk and return, market efficiency, capital structure, and the valuation of derivative securities (e.g., options). The course also provides coverage of the major financial instruments issued by corporations. Prerequisite: ability to use spreadsheets, knowledge of basic probability and statistics concepts, including random variables, expected value, variance, covariance, and simple estimation and regression. For registration questions about this course, please contact the Graduate School of Business at academic_operations@gsb.stanford.edu.

This course covers the foundations of corporate finance including the management of liquidity, capital structure, financial forecasting, dividend policy, financial distress, cost of capital and capital budgetinig. It discusses the major financial decisions made by corporate managers and the impact of those decisions on investors and the value of the firm. Topics include criteria for understand the valuation of financial assets and liabilities, relationships between risk and return, market efficiency, and the role of derivative securities including options. The course also provides coverage of the role of financial markets in the operations of the firm.

This seminar focuses on private equity investing, including investments with control, buyouts, and minority investments at various stages in a company's life. Private equity investing activity has grown significantly over the past decade. This seminar explores selected topics in private equity investing for those MBA students who take the corequisite course FINANCE 321, Investment Management and Entrepreneurial Finance. Private equity includes both established and early stage companies. The course extends and deepens the entrepreneurial finance area for those with an interest in private equity, venture capital and principal investing, taking a global view. Utilization will be made of original case studies and lecture-discussions, building on the framework of FINANCE 321. The Seminar meets with outstanding investors. nnAll those registered in F321.1 will also be registered in F319. See yellow Term Sheet put in MBA Boxes in early May. nnAll those registered in F321.2 will also be registered in F329. See yellow Term Sheet.

Equity investment in companies, common stocks, early/growth stage ventures, deals, partnerships, hedge funds, or other entrepreneurial opportunities will be immediately or eventually important for most MBAs--either on the investing side or on the fund-raising financing side. This investment course discusses many practical and conceptual factors influencing the analysis and value of companies and deals, including publicly listed and private equity investments, and on success of investment approaches. The focus of this course is on quoted and private equity investments and on entrepreneurial finance. The format of the class is primarily case discussions and lecture discussions led by the professor and investors/principals who were involved in the case. This course enables MBA students to learn a broad investing skill-set and to study outstanding investors. See yellow Term Sheet put in MBA Boxes in early May.

"Global Principal Investing/Hedge Funds" is a seminar on selected topics in masterful investing in publicly traded and private equity/venture capital investments, with focus on the principal's point of view. We study hedge funds and mutual funds and meet with outstanding investors. The scope and context is global including emerging markets. The Seminar is taught by a founding director of one of the largest international investment funds. nn nnAll those registered in F321.1 will also be registered in F319. See yellow Term Sheet put in MBA Boxes in early May. nn nnAll those registered in F321.2 will also be registered in F329. See yellow Term Sheet.

The financial economics of how retirement is financed, particularly in the US. Topics: basic finance concepts necessary for understanding individual retirement savings. Properties of financial instruments such as bonds and stocks. Optimization of individual retirement account or 401(k) portfolios. Defined benefit pensions. Measuring defined benefit pension liabilities. Impact of defined benefit pension liabilities on corporate, state, and local budgeting. The economics of national retirement policy including Social Security and government treatment of private retirement savings.

This course will combine practical and up-to-date investment theory with modeling applications. Understanding beautiful theory, without the ability to apply it, is essentially useless. Conversely, creating state-of-the-art spreadsheets that apply incorrect theory is a waste of time. Here, we try to explicitly combine theory and application.nnnThe course will be divided into 6 modules, or topics. The first day of each module will be a lecture on an investment topic. Also provided is a team modeling project on the topic. The second day of each module will be a lab. The lab day will begin with modeling concepts (tips) designed to help you use Excel to implement the module's investment topic. After the tips are provided, the remainder of the lab day is devoted to teams working on their modeling project and allowing for Q&A. On the third day of each module will be presentations and wrap-up.

The object of this course is to study the money management industry from the perspective of the user --- an investor who wants to invest money. This course will study the main components of the money management industry: mutual funds, hedge funds, private equity funds and venture capital funds. It will also examine important users of the industry such as non profits, endowments and defined benefit pension funds. The emphasis of the course will not be on how fund managers make money, but rather on how the industry is organized, how managerial skill is assessed, how compensation is determined, and how economic rents are divided between managers and investors. The course will explore how competitive market forces interact with managerial skill and other market frictions to give rise to the observed organization of the industry.

This course covers all the stages of investment in early stage high-growth companies, from the seed funding of a novel idea to venture capital rounds to a successful exit, be it an M&A or an IPO. We will concentrate on how investors and entrepreneurs make and should make important decisions at different stages. Some questions that we will discuss are: How do angels and VCs generate and process their deal flow and select companies? What are typical mistakes of entrepreneurs in raising capital and negotiating with financiers? How do VC funds operate and make decisions? How are VCs involved in business decisions such as recruiting talent and replacing CEOs? What are the important provisions of financial contracts between VCs and founders? How to value early-stage companies? The course is mostly case-based and as a part of the course we will also simulate angel group and VC partners meetings. The course is for those who want to become entrepreneurs and thus likely consumers of angel and VC financing and those who want to pursue a career in the financial services industry. No prior knowledge of the VC industry is needed.

The Wealth Management and Private Investing course will address issues that relate to the management of personal assets as opposed to institutional investing. It will cover the historical origins and growth of private wealth, investment planning, risk management, inter-generational transfers of wealth, philanthropy and tax planning. Classes will focus on case studies and various readings. Two instructors will lead the class and several classes will be augmented by visits from professionals in the wealth management and private banking industries. Active class participation and a group project are required.

The purpose of this course is to familiarize students with the different types of trading strategies employed by various money management institutions. These financial trading strategies are used to manage the risk and return profiles of specific portfolios. Throughout the sessions, students will be challenged to understand and explore the application and implementation of these different strategies.nnnThis course specifically focuses on the execution, mechanics, and measurement of financial trading strategies. It does not, for example, teach students "how to make money playing the market." The decision making and analytical process of investing (finding alpha strategies) is a distinct process that is somewhat removed from implementation and measurement (how to execute and evaluate your alpha strategies).nnnThe focus of the course concepts will include, but not be limited to:nnn* Market Microstructure and Market Liquidity- VWAP, sourcing liquidity, and algorithmic strategiesnn* Portfolio Hedging and Risk Management- portfolio insurance and delta hedgingnn* Hedge Fund Strategies- inter-listed arbitrage, risk-arbitrage, trading volatilitynnnTrading simulations employed on the Rotman Interactive Trader and Rotman Portfolio Manager (using real market data and computer generated data) will be used extensively in this course as a way to learn and test different strategies. All classes will be held in the new "Real-time Analytics and Investment Lab" (the GSB's own Hi-speed R.A.I.L), located on the third floor of the Bass Building (B312).nnnStudents are expected to attend all sessions. Students will be graded based on their in-class trading results and two assignments. nnnKevin Mak is the co-inventor of the Rotman Interactive Trader and Rotman Portfolio Manager applications. Previously, he has taught in various courses relating to financial securities, risk management, and trading at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management. Kevin also develops and delivers trading simulations and trading models for various financial institutions.

This course is an introductory PhD level course in financial economics. We begin with individual choice under uncertainty, then move on to equilibrium models, the stochastic discount factor methodology, and no-arbitrage pricing. We will also address some empirical puzzles relating to asset markets, and explore the models that have been developed to try to explain them.

This course is an introduction to multiperiod models in finance, mainly pertaining to optimal portfolio choice and asset pricing. The course begins with discrete-time models for portfolio choice and security prices, and then moves to a continuous-time setting. The topics then covered include advanced derivative pricing models, models of the term structure of interest rates, the valuation of corporate securities, portfolio choice in continuous-time settings, and general-equilibrium and over-the-counter asset pricing models. Students should have had some previous exposure to general equilibrium theory and some basic courses in investments. Strong backgrounds in calculus, linear algebra, and probability theory are recommended. Problem assignments are frequent and, for most students, demanding. Prerequisite: F620 or permission of instructor.

This course is offered for students requiring specialized training in an area not covered by existing courses. To register, a student must obtain permission from the faculty member who is willing to supervise the reading.

This course is elected as soon as a student is ready to begin research for the dissertation, usually shortly after admission to candidacy. To register, a student must obtain permission from the faculty member who is willing to supervise the research.