FIN 420: Investments and Portfolio Analysis

Investment and risk, types of security investments, sources of investment information, the broker, the stock market, portfolio management.

Enforced Prerequisite at Enrollment: FIN 301

Prerequisite:

FIN 301

Course Objectives

There are several learning objectives for this course, which are listed below. Students will be able to:

• describe the elements of investing
• use the elements of portfolio theory to maximize expected return
• apply the elements of fixed income analysis and security analysis
• use active investment management strategies

Course Structure

The course will be structured using the following Modules.

• Module 01: The Elements of Investing
• Module 02: Portfolio Theory
• Module 03: Debt Securities
• Module 04: Security Analysis
• Module 05: Derivative Markets
• Module 06: Active Investment Management

Class Communication

I will occasionally communicate with you by sending emails through Canvas. It is your responsibility to regularly check your email and to use a forwarding email in Canvas if need be. It is my goal to respond to your email within 24-48 hours although I often respond more quickly. You can send me private emails or you can ask a question in the Ask the Instructor Forum. Student questions in this forum will be answered within 24-48 hours and all students in the class will be able to see your responses. Every Monday morning, you will find an announcement from me detailing important points for the week ahead. Please get in the habit of checking these announcements and the Course Schedule. I do not participate in the weekly discussion forums to avoid crowding out your ideas, but I will leave comments as I grade your responses. I give feedback on all projects, please check the feedback. If you wish to respond to my feedback, then please send an email for this purpose because I do not receive any notice if you respond to a comment in the grading process. I will also periodically email the entire class with an answer to a student question that may be helpful for everyone. While I do not have formal office hours, I do respond to emails in the evening and on the weekends. I am also available for video chat or a telephone call if that is needed.

Late Policy

Your future employer will require you to submit all work in a timely manner. Future clients will expect the same. So do I… Late submissions will result in significant penalties being applied. It is best to adhere to the due dates. I do accept late submission of assignments. I will grade late submissions as if they were submitted on time, but then I will apply a 25% reduction for each 24-hour period your submission is late. If the assignment is due at midnight on Sunday and you submit at 12:01, you are technically late. Please note that it is possible for you to complete an assignment and still receive a grade of zero. For example, there is an assignment worth 10 points and your work naturally earned a 4/10. You submitted the assignment two days late, which involves a 50% reduction. In this instance, you would have earned zero points for the assignment. Turn in your work on time and please make sure that it is high-quality work that you would be willing to show in an interview someday. Students who cannot submit assignments on time because of either a work-related emergency (unscheduled event) or extreme illness, such as hospitalization (requires a note from a physician), should contact the instructor BEFORE THE DUE DATE or as soon as circumstances allow and ask for consideration.

Length Requirements

Each assignment has its own length requirement. The length requirements are provided as a level of minimum effort that is designed to encourage the depth of thought needed for each assignment. If you do not meet a posted length requirement, then you will receive a percentage reduction commensurate with the length that you do submit. For example, If you submit approximately half of the posted length requirement, then you will automatically be capped at half of the assignment points.

Course Schedule

The course schedule, located in Canvas, outlines the topics we will be covering in this course, along with the associated time frames and assignments. Note that assignments are due based on Eastern Time (ET). This time frame ensures that all students have the same deadlines regardless of where they live.

Assignment Overview

Assignments

Exams: All four exams will be given on Canvas. They will be due on Sunday in the week labeled for the exam (unless otherwise indicated) and you will have a 90-minute window of time in which to take the exam. You can choose when you want your 90-minute window of time anytime during exam week. However, you must begin the exam before 10:30 PM EST on Sunday because all exams will be automatically submitted at midnight EST on the listed due date on the course schedule. The exam should be completed in one sitting, and questions will be delivered one at a time. Alternate windows of time are available only if a documented work conflict exists. It is the student’s responsibility to alert the instructor about the work-related conflict 1 week in advance or no alternate times will be made available. There is no save button on the exams, but navigation is enabled so that you will be able to move between questions as you take the exam. Late submission of any timed assignment will be subject to the posted late policy on this syllabus. The final exam is cumulative, and I do not curve any grades in this course. 

Special Projects: There are five (5) special projects, which are designed to enhance your understanding of a specific topic in an interesting way. I do not assign busy work because I do not want to grade busy work. There is a purpose for every assignment in this class. You will greatly increase your learning if you treat these assignments as something that you might show to an interviewer someday (several former students have). These projects are located in Module 1:  Lesson 4, Module 2: Lesson 3, Module 2: Lesson 5, Module 4: Lesson  1, and Module 5: Lesson 1. They must be completed and turned in before the end of the week in which they are assigned. You will likely spend 5+ hours on each of these assignments… sometimes more depending on your starting point.

Advanced Special Projects: There are two (2) advanced special projects, which are designed to enhance your understanding of a specific topic in an interesting way. These projects are the two most likely to be discussed by an interviewer. Everyone wants you to show that you can do something… now is your chance.  These projects are located in Module 4: Lesson  3 and Module 6: Lesson 3. They must be completed and turned in before the end of the week in which they are assigned. You will likely spend 12+ hours on each of these assignments… sometimes more depending on your starting point.

Quizzes:  These quizzes are based on the material covered in each associated lesson. You will be given 1 attempt to take the quiz and must complete it in one sitting. There are 20 lesson-based quizzes in total. These quizzes are timed and you are given 30 minutes. For quizzes from Modules 3, 4, and 5, you will have 45 minutes because these lessons have more math problems. There is no save button, but assessment navigation is enabled so that you should be able to select a question and return to it if need be. Late submission of any timed assignment will be subject to the late policy posted below on this syllabus.

Stock-Trak Project #1: You will be given access to an investment challenge using Stock Trak. In the first challenge, you will be limited to mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. The idea is for you to learn by making mistakes in a virtual world of investing. Your grade will not be based upon performance but on your process. There are bonus points available if your portfolio beats the S&P 500 Index. I will check your holdings throughout the semester and if there were individual stocks being traded in the mutual fund and ETF challenge then the bonus points will not apply whether you beat the market or not. This step is to ensure a fair comparison for all students in this challenge.

Stock-Trak Project #2: In our second Stock Trak investment challenge, you will be trading only common stocks and options (you may use options, but it is not a requirement). Again, the idea is for you to learn by making mistakes in a virtual world of investing. Your grade will not be based upon performance but on your process. There are bonus points available if your portfolio beats the S&P 500 Index.

Discussion forums: The discussion forums are conducted in Canvas. There are thirteen (13) week-based discussion forums listed on the course schedule. The grading rubric for these forums is available in the Orientation module and on each forum itself. You will be graded based on your effort, but also on the quality of your effort. Those who display evidence of thought leadership, critical thinking, and support their points with outside sources will earn the designation (and points) of “Executive” per the posted rubric. I believe that every student in this class can rise to executive-level communication if you put your mind to it. In these discussions, you need to post on three different days. Since they are all due on Sunday nights at midnight, this means that you must start by midnight on Friday in order to be eligible for full points. There are no late points for the discussion forums. They are locked in time since you are talking with and learning from your peers (who are also learning from your perspectives). You must stay on topic and not stray from the subject being discussed. You may pose a related question that will further the discussion. I may participate in these forums by making comments when it appears appropriate.

Grades

Letter grades will be based on the following scale: A = 92.5-100% A- = 90-92.4% B+ = 87.5-89.9% B = 82.5-87.4% B- = 80-82.4 C+ = 77.5-79.9 C = 70-77.4 D = 60-69.9 F = < 59.9 Note: A grade of “C” or higher is required to pass the course. Final Course grades are based on the points earned in this class. Please do not ask for special treatment. All students are measured by the exact same measuring stick (points earned). There are no special assignments available to make up for bad grades on prior work. Grades in this course are not curved. If you have questions about course content, then you need to email the assigned instructor as the questions arise. The course instructor is very open to help you. Please reach out if you need help. All assignments are graded within one week of the assignment due date. You may turn in assignments early, but they will not be graded before the due date.  To reiterate, grades in this class are EARNED not given. In most weeks, there will be opportunities to earn points with quizzes and discussion forums.  Two separate assignments in Stock-Trak will also enable you to gain points beyond those earned through the Module-based exams and the comprehensive final. I do not curve any grades in this course. Please refer to the University Grading Policy for Undergraduate Courses  (Links to an external site.)for additional information about University grading policies. If you are prevented from completing this course for reasons beyond your control, you have the option of requesting a deferred grade from your instructor. For more information, please see “Deferred Grades” on the Student Policies (Links to an external site.) website.