21 - 30 of 52 results for: FINANCE

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 is designed to help students understand the connections between money (the Federal Reserve), financial markets, and the macroeconomy. How are interest rates determined, and how does the Federal Reserve conduct monetary policy? What economic factors drive the yield curves in different bond markets? We will pay particular attention to the banking system, with an eye toward understanding the function and importance of banks. Topics will include the role of the Federal Reserve as a lender of last resort during the recent, and prior, financial crises, unconventional monetary policy tools such as quantitative easing and forward guidance. We discuss the role of the government in regulating the financial sector, paying particular attention to capital requirements for banks. We will often begin class with a discussion of current macro-financial market events in the context of our course coverage. The course is appropriate for anyone trying to gain a macroeconomic perspective on capital markets, from investors to bankers, or those simply interested in the linkages between interest rates, banks and the economy. Given the topics we cover, the course will also be interesting to those who want a better understanding of the 2007-2009 financial crisis and the ongoing Federal Reserve experiment in unconventional monetary policy.

The course will take the perspective of a mid-level manager or decision-maker who is responsible for collecting, analyzing, and utilizing financial information in the context of a major transaction. We will integrate theories presented throughout courses in the core, particularly accounting and finance, and take a hands-on approach to understand how the theory is implemented in practice. The focus of the course will be on developing critical financial modeling skills, understanding best practices, and recognizing common pitfalls. Students will work on a series of cases and build models that can be used for earnings and pro-forma financial statement forecasts, valuation, the assessment of financing needs, merger analysis, and LBO evaluation. Students will also gain experience presenting financial models and critically assessing them. By the conclusion of the course, students will develop the skills to construct complex financial models and the logical frameworks to utilize them for various organizational applications. [Note: This course is geared toward students relatively new to financial modeling; those with extensive financial modeling backgrounds may be better served by an alternative course.]

Students will engage in the development of corporate financial modeling cases and solutions. Students will also develop materials to aid others in building financial models, and serve as case leaders during lab workshops. Extensive background in financial modeling and experience with Excel is required.

This course provides an introduction to behavioral finance, a discipline which integrates insights from psychology into the study of financial decisions and markets. There will be a focus on understanding the psychological underpinnings of financial decision-making as well as the institutional frictions that may allow these psychological mechanisms to influence economic outcomes. Applications include the pricing of assets relative to fundamental value, trading strategies, managerial behavior, and household savings and investment decisions. Conceptual issues will be emphasized through a mix of case discussions and lectures, and quantitative exercises will serve to develop analytical tools for making financial choices.

This is a course about the financial decision-making process largely from the point of view of the CEO of an entrepreneurial venture, ranging from very early to very late stages. The course takes a two-pronged approach: First, we develop tools and concepts of corporate finance related to modeling, valuation, control, and investment decisions within an entrepreneurial context. Second, we use cases with firms at different stages of their life cycles from initial angel or venture capital investments through exit decisions, in order to see the issues that arise when these principles are applied in practice. In some cases we show the viewpoint of the entrepreneur and in others the perspective of the investor. After all, as an entrepreneur, one cannot negotiate effectively without understanding an investor's motivations. Conversely, an investor cannot evaluate a potential investment opportunity without appreciating the entrepreneur's perspective and incentives. Finally, we explore new developments in entrepreneurial finance such as crowdfunding and early liquidity provisions.

This course is a survey of China's financial system, including its banking industry, monetary policy structure, and financial markets (bonds, derivatives, equities, foreign exchange, and related markets). The goal is an integrated view of how capital, risk, and liquidity are intermediated within China and cross-border, by comparison with more developed financial systems. Recent history and current trends (including liberalization of markets) will be emphasized. Coverage will be through lectures, reading of both primary source documents and secondary (journalistic and analyst) commentary, as well as a range of speakers who are subject matter experts. Students will participate actively in class discussion, make a 5-minute topical presentation, and submit a short (10-page) paper.nn

In 2001, Jim O'Neil of Goldman Sachs wrote a research note which underscored the importance of so-called Emerging Markets to a well-balanced investment portfolio. Still today, most investors have little or no investment exposure beyond North America, Europe, Japan and more recently India, China and Brazil. All of this is just beginning to change. The not yet fully formed investment category called frontier market private equity is emerging and within the next decade is likely to be an asset class of its own. Private equity investments are being made in southeast Asia, in MENA(Middle East/ North Africa), in sub-Saharan countries beyond South Africa and in Latin America. Even fund of funds are appearing across these markets. At the same time, investors face a world of diminished returns expectations in developed economies just as aging demographics and the need for continued growth, innovation and infrastructure renewal places increasing demands for payout. Suffice it to say, investors will be looking beyond traditional asset classes and geographies for sources of return. This new course is designed to expose you to the still emerging, not yet fully formed world of frontier market private equity. To set the context we will start by reviewing the fundamentals of economic growth and development globally. In addition we will discuss the fundamental concepts involved in constructing and evaluating the performance of a large scale investment portfolio. We will then review cases on the elements of the private equity cycle/process and specifically address the special demands of frontier markets in general. We will also focus on issues that are specific to various markets (e.g. Nigeria, Vietnam, etc.). Students taking the course will be given the opportunity to make important contributions to the knowledge base of this still very young field by working in small teams to research topics of personal and general interest, the results of which will be reported to the rest of the class.

This course covers all the stages of funding for early stage high-growth companies, from seed funding to venture capital rounds to a successful exit. We will concentrate on how entrepreneurs and investors make and should make important decisions. Examples of issues that we will cover are: How can entrepreneurs raise funding successfully? What are typical mistakes entrepreneurs make in raising capital and negotiating with investors? How to choose your investor? How to pitch to an investor? How do angels and VCs generate and process their deal flow and select companies? 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 very applied and mostly case-based. We will discuss a lot of nitty-gritty details that is a must for founders and investors. As a part of the course, students will work on their business ideas, pitch to classmates and a group of top VCs in the Valley. This VCs will work with student groups as VC advisors and we will simulate the VC partner meetings. We will have a lot of speakers and case protagonists, founders, angels, and VCs. No prior knowledge of the VC industry is needed.