Course Descriptions

Time value of money, principles of corporate financial management and investments.

Individual decision behavior within a financial market context. Evaluation of psychological explanations for market movements and anomalies. Emphasis on the application of psychological principles to decision-making behavior.

Techniques of securities evaluation, portfolio optimization, and the relationship between risk and return on financial securities.

Security analysis and portfolio performance evaluation techniques. Development of tools to systematically analyze stocks and form justifiable opinions about those stocks. Characteristics of the asset management industry, developing portfolio strategies, and evaluation of the portfolio manager's performance against stated objectives.

The course is designed specifically for students interested in pursuing careers in the financial planning profession and seeking to obtain the CFP® designation. The course and curriculum are approved by the CFP® Board of Standards and meets two of the educational components required to become a Certified Financial Planner™.

Structure and objectives of private equity with a focus on venture capital and entrepreneurial finance. Analysis of investment opportunities, structuring, financing and growing portfolio companies and small businesses.

Elements of the personal financial planning process: budgeting, credit and cash flow management, personal income taxes and insurance, investing, retirement planning, financial security and independence.

Formerly FINA 4397. Though human life possesses many irreplaceable and immeasurable values, Life Insurance focuses on the economic value of a human life derived from its earning capacity. This course provides a basic view of these values and a foundation for the study of more specialized aspects of life insurance. Included is an examination of the various types of life insurance programs as well as the underwriting considerations involved in setting rates and other related financial parameters.

Capital budgeting, capital structure, and dividend policy of the firm.

This course provides a unique opportunity to learn about microfinance and wealth creation, as an important development effort in the war against poverty. The course is designed to explore and analyze the key issues and current challenges faced with microfinance and wealth creation. In the process we will address such questions as: What is microfinance? What are the various business models used by microfinance institutions (MFI’s) for wealth creation? What are common factors among successful MFI’s? What is the social and economic impact of MFI’s? What are the limitations of microfinance as a path for alleviating poverty? What is social venture capitalism? How to achieve a TRIPLE Bottom Line?

TBA

Survey of commercial banking principles and analysis of banking issues.

Analysis of the balance sheet, income statement, and cash flows of business entities. Applications to specific industries through case studies.

Formerly FINA 4397.

Provides a thorough analysis of the theory of options and its applications in practice. Emphasis is on risk management by investors and firms of all sizes.

Provides a thorough analysis of the theory of forwards, futures and swaps, and their applications in practice. Emphasis is on the use of these derivatives in risk management by investors and firms of all sizes.

General principles in financial planning, including retirement planning, estate planning, professional conduct and fiduciary responsibility and principles of communication. Note: For students pursuing the Personal Financial Planning Track and Certified Financial Planner Certification.

This capstone course integrates the knowledge acquired in previous financial planning classes through analysis of comprehensive case studies. Students will utilize the skills and knowledge of financial planning that are represented in the full range of topics as outlined by the CFP Board of Standards. Students will review and utilize the quantitative, analytical, and technical skills needed to address complex personal financial planning situations covered by the CFP® exam. Note: For students pursuing the Personal Financial Planning Track and Certified Financial Planner Certification.

Commercial risk analysis evaluation, abatement, transfer, insurance, and self-financing.

International issues in risk management.

This course examines three key business operations within the risk management and insurance industry: Insurance Company Operations, Agency/Broker Operations and Corporate Risk Management Department Operations.

Survey of commercial liability principles and analysis of current issues.

Survey of commercial property principles and analysis of current issues.

Survey of energy insurance and risk management techniques.

International financial markets and financial decision making in the global economy.

Comprehensive introduction to the trading of energy contracts. Examination of risk-management objectives and organization of energy trading. Valuation of the principal energy contracts. Organization and trading of petroleum, natural gas, and power markets.

The nature of energy assets, operations and products produced, and the economics of each component of the EVC.

The energy industry's upstream (E&P) segment, discussing geological processes that form and trap hydrocarbons, describing the techniques used to find, produce, and process energy discoveries. Ownership, operational decision making, finding and lifting costs, risk assessment and mitigation, reserve accounting, financing, and unconventional hydrocarbons.

Consideration of economic concepts and analysis of the structure and behavior of global refining and petrochemical industries. Exploration of current issues facing the industry, global and local supply constraints, industry profitability and investment, impact of changes in relative hydrocarbon values, regulatory impacts, unconventional crudes, alternative transportation fuels, and the role of the industry in economic development.

The entry level position in the energy industry is normally as an analyst. This can vary from market analysis to structured products to risk, etc. The purpose of this course is to give the student hands on exposure to energy analysis.

Structural overview of the energy industry supply chain with a focus on natural gas trading and marketing.

Survey of real estate finance principles and analysis of current issues.

Overview of basic principles of real estate industry and profession covering the major topics of laws covering real estate; financial instruments of credit and sources of capital; regulation of title, ownership, easements, development, and public purposes; agency and professional certifications, and other related topics.

Overview of the development process from an entrepreneurial point-of-view. Course topics include market analysis, site selection, project budgeting/financial analysis, land acquisition, marketing and leasing, joint ventures, financing, design and construction management, and dispositions.

Introduction to the fundamentals of market research in real estate and determination of project feasibility. Topics include land economics, market demand forecasts, assessment of competitive conditions, determination of market risk and project absorption projections for residential, commercial and mixed use projects.

Enhancement of concepts and techniques learned in the classroom through work experience directly related to the finance profession. Written report required.

The “Corporate and Project Planning” class is geared towards educating students on how corporations build their annual plans, as well as building and following projects..  The course is composed of two parts: part #1 addresses individual projects planning, how to set the work schedule, the costs, the revenues that this project generates, the economics and finally the approval process. Part #2 is focused on the Corporate Planning piece of the business: what an annual business plan is all about, who uses it, why and how it is built. It will go over the details of how a business plan is built at the Business Unit and/or Asset Team level. It will show how the annual plan serves as the basis for the CashFlow and Earnings statements, as well as the Balance Sheet. It will go over the next step, i.e. how the business units’ plans are concatenated into the company annual plan.  Industry leaders will present their experience as guest speakers.

Participants in the course will learn how Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) is used across all departments in companies to management risk including but not limited to operations, treasury, human resources, and technology risks. We will cover ERM frameworks and processes, risk oversight and reporting, governance, and compliance. Students will explore real world examples and will learn techniques needed to identify, analyze and respond to a variety of risks, both internal and external to companies. Participants will work in small groups on ERM projects and make class presentations. Students will gain knowledge and skills that will help prepare them for work in any company and enable them to stand out from their colleagues with an enhanced ability to analyze and treat risks.

TBA.

Overview of the major divisions of residential real estate, multi-family, single family, community development and homebuilding in which students gain knowledge and skills in all professional aspects of the residential business, financial analysis, market analysis, financing, development, sale or leasing and operations. This is an “enterprise based course,” meaning-how a multifaceted residential real estate company is organized and operates at corporate level.

One of the most critical components in the success of a company is to be able to define the best Strategy, and work the right Projects that follow it. The key objective of this course is to introduce a process that has shown to help in this direction, and show it through a series of actual Case Studies, be they Financial, Medical, Economic or Litigation/Legal. This process, that the industry has named “Decision Analysis” is a very powerful tool to help make better decisions. It is a combination of both qualitative and quantitative approaches, such as the Tornado Diagram, the Decision Tree or the Monte-Carlo solutions. Several guest lecturers, renowned DA experts in the consulting or medical fields, will show the students how DA is used in real life. It is expected that, at the end of this course, students will be able to use DA to help them make better decisions, either in business or in their personal life.

This course provides students with a variety of tactics and techniques used to analyze and manage business risks. By using real world scenarios in a small group setting which includes role playing and individual work; students will learn how to apply risk management techniques to gather information needed, how to formulate questions, how to organize and map relevant facts, and how to write effective recommendations. At the end of the course, students will be able to analyze and offer recommendations for the best course of action in managing business risks. The knowledge they gain can be applied to operational risk, IT risk, financial risk, HR risk, and other risks in various departments in companies and non-profit and public entities.

This course is the study of valuing energy companies, projects and assets. The primary objective of the course is to provide a advanced review of the Energy sector, with an emphasis on valuing and comparing industries within the sector. To do this, I have purposely designed the course to address the sector broadly and comprehensively, with the oil and gas space generally serving as an anchor by which other areas are compared. We will explore aspects of energy valuations from a variety of perspectives.