FIE400E Investments

• Topics

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

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

  Skills

  • Students should 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 should be able to solve financial problems using Microsoft Excel.

  General competence

  • Students should be able to address investment decisions in a systematic manner focusing on financial theory and empirical evidence;
  • Students should be able to communicate the knowledge to investment professionals and carries out extensive independent work on investment analysis;
  • Students should 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 should be able to form an opinion about current issues and debates covered by media and finance journals.

• Teaching

  Lectures and problem sets. Active student participation is strongly encouraged.

• Recommended prerequisites

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

• Credit reduction due to overlap

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

• Requirements for course approval

  Approved problem sets. You are encouraged to collaborate on the problem sets. Teams up to 5 elements should solve the problem sets and hand-in a solution per team.

• Assessment

  Final exam, comprising a 4 hour written school exam. The exam will be given in English and can be written in English or Norwegian.

• Grading Scale

  Grading scale A - F.

• Computer tools

  Knowledge of Excel.

• Literature

  Bodie, Zvi, Alex Kane & Alan J. Marcus, Investments and Portfolio Management, Irwin/McGraw-Hill, Global Edition

  Lecture Notes