Results for FINANCE

This course covers the foundations of corporate finance including the management of capital structure, financial forecasting, dividend policy, financial distress, cost of capital and capital budgeting. 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 understanding 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.

See FINANCE 321 course description.

The Investments courses comprise an intensive overview of active fundamental investing in both the public and private equity markets. They are relevant for students interested in venture capital, growth equity, private equity, hedge funds, mutual funds, family offices and principal investors. Each of the 40+ sessions will feature an outstanding investor guest lecturer. Previous guests include Andreas Halvorsen (Viking Global), Jim Coulter (TPG), Hadley Mullen (TSG Consumer Partners), Ryan Cotton (Bain Capital), Bill Oberndorf (SPO Partners) and Tim Bliss (Investment Group of Santa Barbara), and this year's lineup will be substantially identical. Established and taught for 50 years by the legendary Professor Jack McDonald, the Investments courses will be taught by John Hurley and Stuart Klein in Autumn 2018.The Investments courses will have two sections of 50 students each: Section 1 will be enrolled in F319 and F321.1; Section 2 will be enrolled in F329 and F321.2. While the course names and course numbers for the two sections are different, in Autumn 2018 the course materials, guest speakers, instructors, assignments and grading criteria in both sections will be substantially identical. Students are required to take F319/329 and F321 concurrently for 6 total units during the Autumn Quarter. F321 is a 3-unit graded course that meets each day 3:30-5:50pm during Weeks 1 and 8 of the quarter. It addresses real-world applications of business analysis and valuation tools and teaches the skills necessary to evaluate investment opportunities. John Hurley, an alumnus of the course and founder of Cavalry Asset Management, has taught F321 with Professor McDonald since 2003. F319/F329 is a 3-unit course that meets Tu/Th 1:30-2:50 PM throughout the quarter. Students delve into specific topics in private equity, venture capital, hedge funds, mutual funds and principal investing. Stuart Klein, an alumnus of the course, co-founder of SuperMac Technology and an angel investor through his family office, has taught F319/329 with Professor McDonald since 1993. Students can elect to take F319/329 graded or pass/fail.The Investments courses will make use of original case studies and teaching notes authored by the late Professor Jack McDonald and a team of course alumni from prior MBA classes. Case discussions and lecture discussions will be led by the teaching team and investors/principals who were involved. The Investments courses enable MBA students to learn a broad investing skillset and study the careers of outstanding investors.

See FINANCE 321 course description.

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, alternative asset management, and related markets). The goal is an integrated view of how capital, risk, and liquidity are intermediated within China and cross-border. Current trends (including liberalization of markets and financial stability) will be emphasized. Coverage will be through lectures, reading of research, including primary source documents and secondary (journalistic and analyst) commentary. There will be a range of subject-matter-expert speakers. Using our special High Immersion Classrooms at Stanford and at the Stanford Center at PKU, this course is able to draw live speakers in Beijing and to meet with some students at Beijing University or Tsinghua University. Students will participate actively in class discussion, make a 5-minute research presentation, and submit a 10-page term paper.

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. Case protagonists, founders, angels, and VCs will be among guest speakers. No prior knowledge of the VC industry is needed.

The Private Wealth Management and Personal Investing course will address issues that relate to the management of personal assets as opposed to institutional investing. Many investment courses at the GSB emphasize large institutional portfolios but this course is about portfolio decisions for individuals. It will cover the origins and growth of private wealth management as an industry, investment planning, risk management, inter-generational transfers of wealth, choice of wealth advisors and philanthropy. Special emphasis is on understanding how wealth managers may be evaluated, including potential conflicts of interest, and performance measurement. Classes will focus on case studies and various readings. Two instructors will lead the class, one from the GSB and one from the private wealth management industry. Most classes will be augmented by visits from professionals in the wealth management and private banking business. Active class participation and a group project are required.

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 finally 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 and MGTECON600 (or equivalent), or permission of instructor.

In this course we will study the theory and empirics of venture capital (VC) and, more broadly, finance of innovation. We will start by reviewing the way the VC and related markets function and then will dive into such topics as VC contracting, valuation, and impact on innovation. We will review most important research studies published in the field over the past 20+ years and pay particular attention to recent research.

This PhD course will cover research topics at the boundary between macroeconomics and finance. Topics will include the study of macroeconomic models with financial frictions, the term structure of interest rates, conventional and unconventional monetary policy, sovereign debt crises, search frictions and segmentation in housing markets, (over)leveraging by households, heterogeneous expectations, excess volatility, financial bubbles and crises. Student presentations and course paper requirement. Designed for second year PhD students in economics or finance.

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.

Doctoral Practicum in Teaching

Doctoral Practicum in Research