FIE400E Investments

• Topics

  Analysis in connection with the three main types of financial instruments:

  • Stocks
  • Interest rate instruments (bonds/bills)
  • Derivatives (options, futures and forwards)

  Further development of "standard portfolio theory":

  • Portfolio analysis
  • Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) and new variants
  • The efficiency characteristics of financial markets
  • Investment analysis and portfolio management
  • New management principles

  Discussion of

  • Pricing and valuation
  • Management and strategies
  • Institutional conditions

• Learning outcome

  Knowledge

  • Students will be able to understand the principles of pricing and valuation of financial instruments such as stocks, derivatives and fixed income securities;
  • Students will be able to know portfolio theory and its relation to the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) and variants of the model;
  • Students will be able to understand the principles of asset allocation and strategies, as well as performance evaluation of portfolios.

  Skills

  • Students will be able to apply the theory and models on practical problems of relevance for investors through in-depth knowledge of the financial markets and rigorous analytical thinking;
  • Students will be able to solve financial problems using Microsoft Excel.

  General competence

  • Students will be able to address investment decisions in a systematic manner focusing on financial theory and empirical evidence;
  • Students will be able to communicate the knowledge to investment professionals and carry out extensive independent work on investment analysis;
  • Students will be able to provide insights to a wider audience about the differences among the basic types of securities and how they fit in the total portfolio picture;
  • Students will be able to form an opinion about current issues and debates covered by media and finance journals.

• Teaching

  Lectures, quizzes and problem sets.

• Recommended prerequisites

  It is recommended that students have taken courses like BED3 / BED030 Investment.

• Credit reduction due to overlap

  FIE400E course can not be combined with FIE400N, which is the Norwegian version of the same course.

• Compulsory Activity

  Approved problem sets, groups of up to 5 students.

  Compulsory activities (work requirements) from FIE400N is valid for FIE400E.

• Assessment

  4 hour school exam.

  The exam must be answered in English.

• Grading Scale

  A - F

• Literature

  • Bodie, Z., A. Kane & A.J. Marcus: Investments. International Student Edition, 12th Edition, McGraw-Hill, 2021.