FINANCE CURRICULUM
BUFN 750 Valuation in Corporate Prerequisite: An advanced topics course in Corporate Finance
(758B Finance BUSI 640 dealing with valuation. Main topics will be, building pro
Summer forma statements, cost of capital, using ratios and
’09) Credits: 2 May not receive comparables to value projects and firms, discounted
credit for both cash flow valuations, WACC and APV methods of
BUFN750 (758B) valuation and Real Option Valuations
and BUFN714
BUFN 752 Financial Restructuring Prerequisite: Focuses on identifying ways to increase firm value
(758R BUSI 640 through corporate restructuring. Specific topics
Summer Credits: 2 include: mergers and tender offers, spin-offs, carve-
’09) May not receive outs, divestitures, takeover defense strategies,
credit for both leveraged buy-outs, and international acquisitions. We
BUFN752 will cover the theory, practice and empirical evidence
(758R) and related to each of these topics. Emphasis will be
BUFN716 placed on valuation analysis and strategic
considerations.
BUFN 753 Corporate Governance and Prerequisite: Deals with corporate governance and its impact on
Performance BUSI 640 shareholder value. Divergence of interests between
corporate insiders and providers of funds leads to
Credits: 2 May not receive agency problems which can impair corporate
credit for both performance and shareholder value. Various
BUFN753 and instruments of corporate governance internal as well
BUFN758G as external mechanisms - that can help align
managerial incentives with those of outside investors,
and hence help restore shareholder value will be
studied.
BUFN 754 Corporate Risk Management Prerequisite: Surveys the theory and practice of financial risk
BUSI 640 identification, measurement, and mitigation at financial
Credits: 2 and non-financial firms. Topics will include hedging
May not receive with options and futures, interest rate risk
credit for both management, Value-at-Risk (VaR), Cashflow-at-Risk
BUFN754 and (CaR), Earnings-at-risk (EaR), credit risk, equity risk,
BUFN758C commodities risk, exchange rate risk, and lessons
from risk management disasters.
BUFN 758Q Quantitative Investment Prerequisite: Provides an advanced treatment of asset allocation
Strategies BUSI 640 strategies and performance evaluation. Quantitative
techniques are applied to examine equity and fixed-
Credits: 2 income portfolio management strategies. The course
provides a deeper understanding of the measurement
of risk and its relationship to return, as well as of multi-
factor models. Implementation issues, including
statistical estimation, backtesting and portfolio
construction, are covered, as are strategic versus
tactical asset allocation, and performance evaluation.
BUFN 760 Applied Equity Analysis Prerequisite: Students will learn to analyze equity securities using
(758A BUSI 640 the basic EIC Economy/Industry/Company) framework
Summer Credits: 2 used in the financial industry, paying special attention
’09) May not receive to financial statement analysis. Students also will learn
credit for both the primary valuation techniques used to estimate
BUFN760 (758A) market values for equity securities.
and BUFN702
BUFN 761 Derivative Securities Prerequisite: Standard types of derivatives contracts are presented,
(758D BUSI 640 and illustrated as to how they are used in practice.
Summer Credits: 2 The theory of pricing these contracts is then presented
’09) May not receive in detail. The use of static and dynamic replication
credit for strategies, and the concept of no-arbitrage strategies
BUFN761 is
(758D) and illustrated in numerous ways. Standard valuation
BUFN726 techniques are covered, and standard formulas are
presented. The theory is then applied to develop
specific pricing and hedging strategies for various
types of derivatives on different underlying assets.
The management of the exposure of various risks is
covered in detail as well.
BUFN 762 Fixed Income Analysis Prerequisite: Describes important financial instruments which have
(758E BUSI 640 market values that are sensitive to interest rate
Summer Credits: 2 movements. Develops tools to analyze interest rate
’09) May not receive sensitivity and value fixed income securities. Defines
credit BUFN762 and explains the vocabulary of the bond management
(758E) and business.
BUFN731
BUFN 763 Portfolio Management Prerequisite: Provides training that is important in understanding
(758J BUSI 640 the investment process - the buy side of the financial
Summer Credits: 2 world. Specifically, the objective is to provide
’09) May not receive graduate-level instruction in the following topics, both
credit BUFN763 in theory and in using financial markets data to test
(758J) and the basic theory and practice of portfolio choice and
BUFN700 equilibrium pricing models and their implications for
efficient portfolios.
BUFN 765 Fixed Income Derivatives Prerequisite: Surveys fixed income assets and related securities
BUSI 640 such as Exchange-traded bond options; bonds with
Credits: 2 embedded options; floating rate notes; caps, collars,
May not receive and floors; floating rate notes with embedded options.
credit BUFN765 Also surveys advanced tools for interest-rate and
and BUFN731 fixed-income portfolio management, including the use
of derivative securities, and the application of binomial
trees for analysis of options, and a sound
understanding of stochastic yield curves.
BUFN 766 Financial Engineering Prerequisite: Develop Excel and Visual Basic (VBA) models to
BUSI 640 solve problems related to portfolio management,
Credits: 2 BUFN761 OR options valuation, fixed income securities, interest rate
BUFN726 processes, and risk management. This course thus
bridges theory with the design of algorithms and
May not receive models that can be directly applied in practice.
credit BUFN766
and BUFN735
BUFN 770 International Investments Prerequisite: Addresses international stock markets, portfolio
(758L BUSI 640 theory, international interest rates, exchange rates
Summer Credits: 2 and exchange rate derivatives (options, forwards, and
’09) May not receive futures), exchange rate swaps and exchange rate
credit BUFN770 exposure (operating, translation, and transaction),
(758L) and foreign investment strategy.
BUFN724
BUFN 771 International Corporate and Prerequisite: Focuses on the role of financial management in the
Project Finance BUSI 640 multinational firm, and the financing and management
BUFN770 of international projects. Topics include international
Credits: 2 capital budgeting, global cost of capital, project
May not receive financing, and the measurement and management of
credit BUFN771 exchange rate exposure by corporations.
and BUFN724
BUFN 772 Bank Management Prerequisite: Analyze and discuss readings in bank
BUSI 640 management,with primary focus on the measurement
Credits: 2 and management of risk, including credit, market, and
May not receive interest rate risk. Look at the management of liquid
credit BUFN772 reserves. Examine the special nature of financial
and BUFN722 institutions, incorporating their functions, policies,
services, and regulation. Study the evolving nature of
the financial services inductry, by reading the financial
press and by having outside practitioner speakers.
Focus is on U.S. banks.
BUFN 773 Institutional Asset Prerequisite: Examines how money is managed by organizations
Management BUSI 640 such as university endowments, pension funds,
mutual funds, hedge funds, and private equity funds.
Credits: 2 May not receive Involves a mixture of finance and economics and
credit BUFN773 emphasizes the incentives professional money
and BUFN758I managers face within the context of the organizational
structure in which they operate. Particular attention is
paid to compensation structures and monitoring
mechanisms.
BUSI 647 Entrepreneurial Finance and Prerequisite: An advanced topics course in Corporate Finance. The
Private Equity BUSI 640 major emphasis is how financiers help firms plan for
growth and finance firms using different types of
Credits: 2 May not receive securities at different points in the industry's and firm's
credit BUSI647 life. Securities will include private financings and
and BUFN758P placements, Venture Capital (VC), Initial Public
Offerings (IPOs), Private Equity and Leveraged
Buyouts.
**Please note this is a comprehensive list of all Finance elective offerings. Not every
elective will be offered every semester**