Finance (FINN)

Courses

FINN 10003. Your Money and Credit. 3 Hours.

Introduction to personal finance. Topics include building wealth, do's and don'ts of credit, car and home ownership. Lectures on theory and concepts; 'learning from the masters' video on best practices; financial simulations and case exercises. (Typically offered: Fall, Spring and Summer)

FINN 20403. Principles of Finance. 3 Hours.

Introduction to the financial system and financial management. Addresses the role and functions of financial intermediaries and markets for fixed income and equity securities; understand how interest rates are determined and assets valued; learn how firms effectively manage financial resources and create value through investment and financing decisions. Prerequisite: Walton College Students: BUSI 10303, ACCT 20103 and (ECON 21003 or ECON 22003) each with a grade of C or better; Non-Business Majors: (INEG 23104 or STAT 30133 or MATH 21003), and ACCT 20103, and (ECON 21403 or ECON 21003 or ECON 22003) each with a grade of C or better. (Typically offered: Fall, Spring and Summer)

FINN 204H3. Honors Principles of Finance. 3 Hours.

Introduction to the financial system and financial management. Addresses the role and functions of financial intermediaries and markets for fixed income and equity securities; understand how interest rates are determined and assets valued; learn how firms effectively manage financial resources and create value through investment and financing decisions. Prerequisite: BUSI 10303, ACCT 20103 and (ECON 21003 or ECON 22003), all with a grade of C or better and honors standing. (Typically offered: Fall and Spring)
This course is equivalent to FINN 20403.

FINN 30003. Personal Financial Management. 3 Hours.

Topics covered include budgeting, financial planning, managing credit, taxes, insurance, investments, and retirement planning. (Typically offered: Fall, Spring and Summer)

FINN 30103. Financial Analysis. 3 Hours.

Focuses on how information contained in financial statements can be used in financial decision-making; in particular, to assess financial performance, evaluate credit and default risk, forecast future funds needs, weigh the risk-reward of debt vs. equity financing, and develop estimates of intrinsic value using relative valuation metrics and discounted cash flow methods. Prerequisite: FINN 20403. (Typically offered: Fall, Spring and Summer)

FINN 30503. Financial Markets and Institutions. 3 Hours.

Role and operations of financial markets and institutions in the economy. Supply of, demand for, funds, interest rates and flow of funds analysis. Financial policies, practices of bank and nonbank financial institutions. Prerequisite: (ECON 21003 and ECON 22003) or ECON 21403. (Typically offered: Fall, Spring and Summer)

FINN 30603. Investments. 3 Hours.

Introduction to basic investment concepts including: risk-return and mean-variance efficient frontiers, diversification and the pricing of risk, security valuation. Corequisite: FINN 30103. Prerequisite: FINN 20403. (Typically offered: Fall, Spring and Summer)

FINN 31003. Financial Modeling. 3 Hours.

Develop strong computer skills in financial analysis by integrating conceptual material with spreadsheet-based numerical solution and simulation techniques. Prerequisite: FINN 20403. (Typically offered: Fall, Spring and Summer)

FINN 31303. Commercial Banking. 3 Hours.

Commercial bank administration, management; loans; bond portfolios; credit analysis; public relations; analysis and interpretations of Federal Reserve regulations and publications. Prerequisite: FINN 20403. (Typically offered: Fall and Spring)

FINN 31603. Fixed Income Securities I. 3 Hours.

The markets and institutional settings of fixed income securities; valuation and risk analysis of money market and capital market instruments; strategies and management of bond portfolios; taxable and tax-exempt securities; U.S. and non-U.S. fixed income securities; term structure of interest rate; and interest rate derivatives as hedging tools. Corequisite: FINN 31003 and FINN 30603. Prerequisite: Departmental consent. (Typically offered: Fall)

FINN 31703. Fixed Income Securities II. 3 Hours.

Continuation of FINN 31603. The markets and institutional settings of fixed income securities; valuation, and risk analysis of money market and capital market instruments; strategies and management of bond portfolios; taxable and tax-exempt securities; U.S. and non-U.S. fixed income securities; term structure of interest rate; and interest rate derivatives as hedging tools. Prerequisite: FINN 31603. (Typically offered: Spring)

FINN 3300V. Finance Study Abroad. 1-3 Hour.

Providing a balance of theory and practical application, this course provides students with study abroad experiences in finance addressing strategic and operational processes within the global context by understanding international financial systems, culture, geography, history, and politics of other countries. Prerequisite: Departmental consent, completion of 30 hours, ENGL 10103, (MATH 20503 or MATH 24004), ECON 21003, ECON 22003, ISYS 11203, BUSI 11101 and ACCT 20103. (Typically offered: Summer)

FINN 330HV. Honors Finance Study Abroad. 1-3 Hour.

FINN 36003. Corporate Finance. 3 Hours.

Develop analytical competencies in financial planning, cost of capital estimation, application of discounted cash flow approach to valuation and capital allocation, lease analysis, evaluation of merger and organizational restructuring strategies. Prerequisite: FINN 20403 and FINN 30103. (Typically offered: Fall, Spring and Summer)

FINN 36203. Risk Management. 3 Hours.

A survey of the extent and types of risk in business; ways of dealing with business risk; use of security and commodity exchanges; survey of insurance for risk bearing purposes. (Typically offered: Fall and Spring)

FINN 37003. International Finance. 3 Hours.

Introduction to international financial markets, exchange rates and exchange rate determination, balance of trade measures, and vehicles for foreign trade financing. (Typically offered: Fall, Spring and Summer)

FINN 39303. Real Estate Principles. 3 Hours.

Comprehensive, covering economics of real estate, real estate value, real estate finance, rights in real property and their transfer, public programs, policies relating to real property. (Typically offered: Fall and Spring)

FINN 400H3. Honors Finance Colloquium. 3 Hours.

Explores important concepts, significant events and/or new developments in the field of Finance. Prerequisite: Senior standing. (Typically offered: Fall)

FINN 40103. Seminar in Personal Financial Planning. 3 Hours.

Explores financial planning function, including contact, data acquisition, plan development and implementation; covers all areas of personal financial planning including investments, insurance, taxes, and estate planning; addresses planning techniques and financial planning ethical issues; emphasis on case studies. Pre- or Corequisite: FINN 47303. Prerequisite: FINN 30003, FINN 30603, FINN 36203, and ACCT 38403. (Typically offered: Spring)

FINN 4100V. Special Topics in Finance. 1-6 Hour.

Explore current events, new developments and special topics in Finance not covered in other courses. Prerequisite: FINN 20403. (Typically offered: Irregular) May be repeated for up to 6 hours of degree credit.

FINN 41203. Valuing New Ventures. 3 Hours.

Valuation methods of entrepreneurial, early-stage, and R&D finance, including term sheets, valuing full and partial stakes, preferred and participating convertible preferred stock, options, later-round investments, complex structures, R&D finance, monte carl simulation, real options, binomial trees, and game theory. Prerequisite: Junior Standing. (Typically offered: Fall, Spring and Summer)

FINN 41303. Advanced Investments. 3 Hours.

Sound training in the principles of security analysis and portfolio management and certain advanced techniques of financial management. Modern portfolio theory and its application to portfolio management practices will be emphasized. Prerequisite: FINN 30603. (Typically offered: Fall and Spring)

FINN 41403. Portfolio Management I. 3 Hours.

This course applies modern investment theory to the practical management of the Rebsament Trust. Students prepare a statement of investment objectives, recommend an asset allocation strategy based on a quantitative analysis of asset class returns, and select securities using fundamental analysis. Classes are organized as management meetings and visits to investment firms are an important part of the class. Application, interview and instructor approval are required. Corequisite: FINN 30603 and ACCT 37203. Prerequisite: Departmental consent. (Typically offered: Fall)

FINN 41503. Portfolio Management II. 3 Hours.

This course is a continuation of FINN 41403. Topics covered include technical analysis, dynamic asset allocation and derivative strategies. Visits to major investments firms and organized exchanges in New York City or other locations are generally planned. Selection is by invitation. Prerequisite: FINN 41403 and by invitation only. (Typically offered: Spring)

FINN 41603. Advanced Financial Modeling. 3 Hours.

The course applies Business Intelligence (BI) and Artificial Intelligent (AI) tools to business data for financial analysis and modeling. The course introduces programming, data handling and modeling. Prerequisite: FINN 20403. (Typically offered: Fall, Spring and Summer)

FINN 41703. Energy Finance. 3 Hours.

This course is as a comprehensive introduction to the field of Energy Finance, i.e., the application of Finance principles to energy, energy-service, and related industries. Topics covered include: (1) physical fossil fuel markets; (2) physical electricity markets; (3) financially traded energy products; and (4) credit, counterparty, and country risk. Pre- or Corequisite: ACCT 37203. Prerequisite: FINN 30103 and FINN 20403. (Typically offered: Fall and Spring)

FINN 42303. Advanced Corporate Finance. 3 Hours.

Addresses complex and multifaceted issues and problems in financial decision-making. Prerequisite: FINN 36003. (Typically offered: Irregular)

FINN 42403. New Venture Finance. 3 Hours.

Explores early-stage funding sources and the startup ecosystem, due diligence when seeking funding, and the issues that arise about governance and control when seeking funding, including a deep dive into term sheets and capitalization tables. Prerequisite: Junior Standing. (Typically offered: Fall, Spring and Summer)

FINN 43103. Advanced Commercial Banking. 3 Hours.

Problems and cases emphasizing application of analytical tools and techniques in commercial bank risk measurement and management. Evaluation of small business credit risk; analysis of liquidity, capital, and interest rate risk; stress testing; hedging risk with derivatives. Prerequisite: FINN 31303. (Typically offered: Spring)

FINN 43203. Financial Data Analytics I. 3 Hours.

This course provides students with a broad understanding of: the general principles and techniques of advanced programming languages; familiarity with its applications to financial data warehousing and extraction; competency and proficiency in its use in processing, analyzing, and visualization of data; and the development, implementation, and evaluation of algorithmic strategies. Prerequisite: FINN 41603. (Typically offered: Fall, Spring and Summer)

FINN 43303. Financial Data Analytics II. 3 Hours.

This course provides an in-depth study of financial data analysis and emphasizes popular financial models and trading strategies. We will particularly emphasize the use of quantitative methods and data-driven approaches in backtesting and analyzing the risk/return tradeoff of financial models and trading strategies. Prerequisite: FINN 43203. (Typically offered: Fall, Spring and Summer)

FINN 44103. Real Estate Appraisal. 3 Hours.

Valuation theories applied to real estate. Characteristics which affect value are studied and valuation methodologies are learned and performed by the students. Focus is on residential real estate but all types of real estate are addressed. Students prepare in actual residential appraisal report. Prerequisite: FINN 39303. (Typically offered: Fall)

FINN 44303. Real Estate Finance and Investment. 3 Hours.

Consideration of professional aspects of the real estate field. Emphasis is placed upon finance techniques and investment analysis. The focus is on commercial real estate. Brokerage, property management, appraisal, property development and current problems are also addressed. Students prepare a feasibly study on a commercial development project. Corequisite: FINN 31003. Prerequisite: FINN 39303. (Typically offered: Spring)

FINN 4500V. Independent Study. 1-3 Hour.

Permits students on an individual basis to explore selected topics in finance, with the consent of instructor. (Typically offered: Irregular)

FINN 47303. Life and Health Insurance I. 3 Hours.

Basic principles, functions, uses of life and health insurance; types of policy contracts; calculation of premiums, reserves; organizations, management, supervision, of companies. (Typically offered: Fall)

FINN 48303. Property and Casualty Insurance I. 3 Hours.

Forms and functions of fire, marine, inland marine, automobile title, miscellaneous types insurance and bonds for business, personal use. (Typically offered: Spring)

FINN 5100V. Special Topics in Finance. 1-6 Hour.

Explore current events, concepts and new developments relevant to practitioners of Finance not available in other courses. Topics vary depending on the instructor. Prerequisite: Graduate standing. (Typically offered: Fall and Spring) May be repeated for up to 6 hours of degree credit.

FINN 51103. Corporate Financial Management. 3 Hours.

Financial analysis, planning and control; decision making and modeling for financial managers; and financial policies for management. (Typically offered: Spring)

FINN 51203. Valuing New Ventures. 3 Hours.

This course is for students who wish to begin careers in valuing new ventures with VCs and Angel funds, for investors interested in new ventures as an asset class, for members of startup teams who focus on acquiring and managing capital, and for R&D and innovation teams within existing large firms. The course will also add valuable techniques to those performing private equity valuations of growing firms or firms facing large strategic options, even if those firms are not technically startups. (Typically offered: Fall and Spring)

FINN 51303. Advanced Investments. 3 Hours.

Sound training in the principles of security analysis and portfolio management and certain advanced techniques of financial management. Modern portfolio theory and its application to portfolio management practices will be emphasized. Graduate degree credit will not be given for both FINN 41303 and FINN 51303. Prerequisite: FINN 30603. (Typically offered: Fall and Spring)

FINN 51403. Impact Investing. 3 Hours.

Students will gain skills for investing for social impact such as the ability to source, screen, and structure investment deals. Students will engage with industry leaders and explore areas of socially responsible investing, strategic or venture philanthropy, social enterprise and social entrepreneurship, and the history of social finance and microfinance. (Typically offered: Spring)

FINN 51703. Energy Finance and Risk Management. 3 Hours.

This course provides an advanced introduction to energy finance, defined as the application of finance principles to energy, energy service, and related industries, concerning all aspects of the energy value chain. Topics include: (1) physical fossil fuel markets; (2) physical electricity markets; (3) financially traded energy products; and (4) credit, counterpart, country, and enterprise risk. It also introduces students to business valuation and investment banking applications in the energy industry vertical. Prerequisite: FINN 51103 or FINN 52203. (Typically offered: Fall)

FINN 52103. New Venture Finance. 3 Hours.

The course is a deep dive into the legal contracting and governance issues around early stage financing. This course provides students with exposure to the startup finance ecosystem. Students will learn about the forms of early stage funding and the players offering those funding sources, how to prepare for due diligence when seeking funding, and the issues that arise about governance and control when seeking funding. (Typically offered: Irregular)

FINN 52203. Financial Markets & Valuation. 3 Hours.

Analysis of financial information by capital markets in the determination of security values with specific applications to retail and logistics companies. This course views these and other companies from the point of view of the capital markets. (Typically offered: Spring) May be repeated for degree credit.

FINN 52303. Advanced Corporate Finance. 3 Hours.

Addresses complex and multifaceted issues and problems in financial decision-making. Graduate degree credit will not be given for both FINN 42303 and FINN 52303. Prerequisite: FINN 36003. (Typically offered: Irregular)

FINN 52403. Digital Innovation in Financial Markets. 3 Hours.

The evolving role and operations of financial markets and institutions in an increasingly digital-oriented economy. The impact of technological innovations such as blockchain, nonbank financial technology firms, and machine learning on markets as it relates to investors, firms raising capital, and financial entrepreneurs. (Typically offered: Irregular)

FINN 53003. Advanced Corporate Financial Management. 3 Hours.

Focus on financial policy issues using real situational cases. Topics include cost of capital, capital budgeting and long-term planning, value-based management, real options, as well as project financing and valuation. Prerequisite: FINN 52203. (Typically offered: Irregular)

FINN 53103. Advanced Commercial Banking. 3 Hours.

This course focuses on advanced risk management strategies commonly implemented at regional and large commercial banks. Topics include financial statement analysis of banks and holding companies, credit analysis of global cash flow, Basel III capital requirements and stress testing, interest rate risk measurement and management, and interest rate hedging with derivatives. (Typically offered: Fall and Spring)

FINN 53203. Financial Data Analytics I. 3 Hours.

This course introduces programming for financial data analysis, data representation and visualization using a modern programming language. The objective is to provide students a broad understanding of (1) the general principles and techniques of programming, (2) familiar with financial data and manipulation, (3) financial data processing, analyzing and visualization and (4) the computational applications of in financial data. The course concludes with a project in which students apply their knowledge to implement and evaluate an algorithmic trading strategy. (Typically offered: Fall and Spring)

FINN 53303. Investment Theory and Management. 3 Hours.

Integration of theory, practice of investments with solution of individual and institutional portfolio management problems; risk management; Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts' Problems. Prerequisite: FINN 52203. (Typically offered: Fall and Spring)

FINN 5410V. Shollmier Investment Project. 1-3 Hour.

Provide students with the opportunity to design and apply complex investment strategies used in institutional portfolio management on the Shollmier MBA Fund that can involve fixed income and equity securities as well as derivatives. Students will use top down asset allocation models, bottom up security selection, and hedge fund strategies. Prerequisite: FINN 52203 and FINN 53303. (Typically offered: Fall and Spring) May be repeated for up to 9 hours of degree credit.

FINN 54303. Real Estate Finance and Investment. 3 Hours.

Consideration of professional aspects of the real estate field. Emphasis is placed upon finance techniques and investment analysis. The focus is on commercial real estate. Brokerage, property management, appraisal, property development and current problems are also addressed. Students prepare a feasibly study on a commercial development project. Graduate degree credit will not be given for both FINN 44303 and FINN 54303. Prerequisite: FINN 39303. (Typically offered: Spring)

FINN 54503. Advanced Financial Modeling. 3 Hours.

The course applies Business Intelligence (BI), Cloud, Artificial Intelligent (AI) tools to business data for financial analysis and modeling. Data handling and modeling make use of the latest BI platforms such as Microsoft Power BI and Tableau. (Typically offered: Fall and Spring)

FINN 5500V. Independent Study. 1-3 Hour.

Permits students on an individual basis to explore selected topics in finance, with the consent of instructor. Graduate degree credit will not be given for both FINN 4500V and FINN 5500V. (Typically offered: Irregular)

FINN 60403. Finance Theory. 3 Hours.

Provides a conceptual understanding of key theoretical developments in the field of financial economics, including firm decisions under risk within a world of uncertainty. (Typically offered: Irregular)

FINN 61303. Seminar in Investment Theory. 3 Hours.

Study advanced literature in field investments, with special reference to theory of random walks, stock valuation models, portfolio management. (Typically offered: Spring)

FINN 62303. Seminar in Financial Management. 3 Hours.

Financial management of firm with emphasis on financial theory or firm, quantitative methods used in financial analysis, planning. (Typically offered: Irregular)

FINN 63303. Empirical Research in Finance. 3 Hours.

A study of recent empirically based research in finance. (Typically offered: Irregular)

FINN 67303. Seminar in Financial Markets and Institutions. 3 Hours.

Recent developments in the literature of financial markets and institutions. Participants will be involved in the extensive study of existing theories and empirical tests of the theories. (Typically offered: Irregular)

FINN 6830V. Contemporary Issues in Doctoral Colloquium. 1-3 Hour.

To explore and evaluate contemporary research issues in finance. Course content to reflect the most recent developments in theory and empirical research methodologies. Prerequisite: Doctoral student status and instructor consent. (Typically offered: Fall, Spring and Summer) May be repeated for up to 18 hours of degree credit.

FINN 7000V. Doctoral Dissertation. 1-18 Hour.

Doctoral Dissertation. Prerequisite: Candidacy. (Typically offered: Fall and Spring) May be repeated for degree credit.