Master of Finance Curriculum

This course provides an introduction to programming with a focus on business and analytics applications. The curriculum supports the development of skills in data extraction and manipulation as well as automating data analysis tasks. Students will become adept in the use of important libraries and will be able to use trusted open-source resources to support continued development of programming skills. Students will learn Python w/ visualization and analytics libraries. No prior programming experience expected. (3 Credits)

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the area of corporate finance and investments. Students will learn about the basic concerns and responsibilities of financial managers, and gain an appreciation of the methods of analysis employed by them. Students will learn both theory and practice of corporate finance and investments. (3 Credits)

The focus of this course is on the financial theory and empirical evidence that are relevant to management of investment portfolios. The topics covered include the relation between risk and return, diversification, asset allocation, portfolio optimization, factor models, market efficiency, and other related topics. The course will focus on the tools, applications, and concepts that go into investments. It relies heavily on quantitative methods and provides students with the ability to build valuation models to suit various investment strategies. Students will also gain an understanding of how investment theory relates to investment and management practices in the real world. (3 Credits)

This course is designed to provide students with the key building blocks necessary for a career in fixed income investment management, with applications to real estate and banking. Students will learn how to select, evaluate and manage fixed income investments. This course makes extensive use of case studies to afford students the opportunity to apply the theory and lessons learned in the text and class, to real world situations.

This course combines three perspectives essential to financial decision-making: inferential thinking, computational thinking, and real-world relevance. Financial decisions are increasingly data-driven, and require more than inferential thinking. Computational thinking and real-world problems are also needed for finance professionals to function effectively. Students will utilize all three perspectives to make better financial decisions. (3 Credits)

In this class, our objective is to understand the distinctive characteristics of derivative markets, and how these securities can be used effectively in portfolio strategies and risk management. We will cover a number of derivative securities, including options and futures, volatility derivatives, and credit default swaps. We will cover both the theoretical pricing of these securities, as well as their use in trading and risk management. While we will discuss the theory in the classroom, students will be required to continually engage with derivative markets outside the classroom by implementing trading strategies. These trading strategies will allow students a hands-on learning and understanding of the challenges posed by derivative markets. Students will work in teams, and each student is expected to be committed to managing derivative positions in real time through the semester. (3 Credits)

Explore and experience vicariously through various case studies the difficulties of investing in real assets where models predicated on homogeneity within the asset class or assumptions of some market efficiency, fail.  Unlike traditional courses in real estate investing, issues arising in, e.g., private-public partnerships, international clienteles, and sustainability are examined. (3 Credits)

This course serves as a capstone course for the MF in Alternative Investments program.  In previous courses, you have learned all about hedge funds, private equity, real assets, and other alternative investments.  In this course, we will put all the pieces together.  That is, how are asset allocation models built with knowledge of the specific characteristics of alternative investments?  Once the asset allocation weights are determined, the manager selection process begins.  This includes both investment due diligence and operational due diligence to ensure that the right set of risks are included in the portfolio and that operational risks are minimized. (3 Credits)

This course will cover major topics on hedge funds, including the industry overview, legal and fee structures, fund characteristics, hedge fund investment strategies, performance analysis, unique risk measures for hedge funds, asset allocation, funds of hedge funds, and the relation between traditional and alternative asset classes. There will be three real world cases related to hedge fund investment strategies and major blowups. The objective of this course is to provide students with cutting-edge knowledge on hedge funds and relevant investment skills. (3 Credits)

This course is designed to provide an overview of the private equity and venture capital industry. It examines how this industry works and who its primary stakeholders are. The course will focus on the organized private equity market, which involves professionally managed equity investments in unregistered securities of private and public companies. This course will benefit students interested in working within some aspect of the private equity industry-whether directly, as a practitioner or supplier of capital, as an entrepreneur or corporate manager who is financed by private equity; as a banker or advisor involved in private equity transactions; or as a regulator whose purview might include private equity. (3 Credits)

This course provides students with the fundamental concepts, principals, and tools needed for making financial decisions regarding real estate assets. Financial decisions along the entire life cycle of an income producing property will be covered. Investment decisions will be evaluated from both a before tax and after-tax perspective. Students will analyze how to structure and finance a deal through a combination of equity and debt. A review of income leases and types will be conducted, along with an analysis of property repositioning and financial risk management. Industry standard tools, such as Argus software, will be used for analyzing decisions made in real world property case studies.

This course will provide an overview of the practice of Commercial Real Estate from a financial investment perspective, including strategic planning, transaction management, valuation, capital markets, sustainability, construction project management, development, building systems, property management, legal issues, and developing a disruptive leadership mindset. Real estate asset types to which these topics will be applied include multi-family, office, industrial, logistics, retail, eCommerce, and data centers. Course methods will include real-world case studies with a capstone Case Competition.