Emory Finance Classes

Finance

Prerequisites: Business 210 and 350 (Business 350 may be taken concurrently). Introduction to finance principles and their application. Finance 320 covers investment projects (capital budgeting and its applications), corporate dividend payments (CAPM, etc.) and retentions, capital structure (appropriate debt versus equity), and risk/return analysis.

Advanced Corporate Finance

Prerequisite: Business 320. Introduces advanced corporate finance  topics in addition to reviewing and extending some topics covered in Finance 320. Course presents significant case study analysis. Through case studies the course maps out strategies for increasing firm value in the context of commonly faced financial management problems.

Corporate Control

Prerequisite: Business 320. Corporate Control explores how alternative management teams compete to control resources under company management. This course will examine the forces which can potentially explain corporate phenomena, which affect corporate resources under the command of a management team, like takeovers, leveraged buyouts, stock buybacks, leveraged acquisitions, divisional sales, etc. Corporate Control also examines internal and external control mechanisms which serve to discipline management and align management goals with shareholder wealth maximization.

Advanced Financial Markets

Prerequisite: Business 320. Advanced Financial Markets applies economic and financial theory from daily changes in market prices. Provides a review of the various instruments that trade in the financial markets including stocks, bonds, commodities, forwards, futures, options, & mortgages. Students will examine the general features and risks of investing in each security. The latter half of the course focuses on understanding how current events are affecting the financial markets and the implication of these changes. The overall goal of this course is real world applications.

Investments

Prerequisite: Business 320. Investments explores and identifies the organization and function of securities markets. Equity markets are focused upon in addition to the management of equity portfolios, though bond, options and futures markets. The course is constructed to be an introduction to professional portfolio management. The concepts of modern portfolio theory, capital asset pricing, efficient markets and security analysis are introduced.

Derivative Asset Analysis

Prerequisites: Business 320 and 350. Derivative Asset Analysis deals with the valuation and use of options and futures contracts. Arbitrage trading strategies are uncovered along with relative pricing requirements. The class provides students with the skills necessary to value derivative assets and to develop strategies based on the students’ analysis.

Principles of Real Estate

Prerequisite: Business 320. Principles of Real Estate covers contemporary principles of valuation, acquisition, financing, and financial management of property. The course places a specific emphasis is on the analytical techniques of mortgage lending, valuation, tax factors, investor objectives, and trends in the industry. Valuation models like cost approach, after-tax discount model, and other techniques are revealed.

Financial Services/Institutional Markets

Prerequisite: Business 320. Financial Services/Institutional Markets places a special emphasis on concepts underlying the intermediation process, including managerial policies and decision making within deposit-taking and nonbank financial institutions. Regulatory climate and changes in which these firms operate is illuminated and public policy issues are analyzed.

International Finance

Prerequisite: Business 320. International Finance delves into the financial decision making in the international setting of investors, exporters, importers, and multinational firms. Specific focus is given to foreign exchange risk management, international money and capital markets, exchange rate determination, international money and capital markets, and exchange rate determination and forecasting. Principles of international macroeconomics and political risk evaluation and management are introduced.

Investment Banking

Prerequisite: Business 320. Investment Banking will examine major investment banking activities. Trends in the investment banking business are analyzed, including consolidation and globalization. Trading and principal investments, which includes fixed income, interest rate derivatives, commodities, currencies, convergence trading, and M&A risk arbitrage are examined. Capital raising from multiple sources (fixed income and equity capital) is examined. Transactional finance and advisory services, which includes valuation and mergers & acquisitions, are explored. Guest lecturers from major players in the investment banking community will discuss their day-to-day operations dealing with a specific activity.

Venture Capital & Private Equity

Prerequisite: Business 320. Venture Capital & Private Equity surveys less-liquid, higher risk, higher return markets, with an emphasis on the financial and economic tools useful for leveraged buyout and venture capital investing. Introductory modules on the organization and strategies of private equity funds are identified. Basic types of private equity transactions are analyzed, applying examples when options and hybrid financing structures are used. A “special topics” section, the IPO market, incubators, and corporate venture capital, is introduced last. The course features a heavy dose of case-based examples, with written assignments by student-formed teams required for about half of the class meetings.

Fixed Income

Prerequisite: Business 320. Fixed income finance explores the quantitative nature of bonds and preferred securities. Studies primary fixed income securities such as bonds and mortgages as well as derivative fixed income securities such as Treasury bond futures and CMOs. No grounding in fixed income experience is necessary.

Urban Development Regulations

Prerequisite: Business 320. Urban Development Regulations deals with essential legal concepts including legislation and cases associated with real estate and the legal and governmental environment within which the use and development of real estate are regulated. The course focuses on various kinds of regulations with emphasis upon decision making by the private sector made to adapt to the regulatory environment.

Real Estate Market Analysis

Real Estate Market Analysis includes an introduction to the examination of the processes used to analyze the supply and demand for real estate properties and investments. Methodologies and valuation techniques for are developed and then applied to the residential, retail, and office sectors. demographic, technological, economic, and social trends that affect these real estate markets are applied to forecasting tools. Techniques of spatial analysis are introduced.

Applied Investment Management

Prerequisite: Business 320 and 423. Applied Investment Management revolves around academic studies, practitioner-oriented readings, case studies, and projects to cover both conventional and new methods used in managing a portfolio of equity securities. Asset allocation, stock screening and selection, market timing, quantitative selection methods, technical analysis, passive management, performance measurement, trading (retail and institutional), mutual funds, and hedge funds are explored.

Real Estate Equity Investment

Prerequisite: Business 320 and 425. Real Estate Equity Investment presents valuation of income-producing real estate in public company and direct property formats. The relationship of project and entity valuation is examined using multiple financial and performance metrics, sources and uses of capital, and management decisions. Direct investment concepts covered include cash flow analysis, net present value, internal rate of return, net present value, and yield capitalization. Public market measures such as Fund From Operations and financial reporting via SEC filings are disclosed. Real Estate Equity Investment differentiates property sectors within the real estate industry along with the tools and resources available to conduct relative valuations. Real world examples and applications are used to highlight these analytical techniques as are outside speakers.

Real Estate Development

Prerequisites: Business 320 and 425. Real Estate Development analyzes the real estate development process. Methods included staged development and introduction to various components and individuals involved in a project. Outside speakers from the real estate industry that specialize in specific aspects of the development process as well as respected real estate leaders from the industry are featured.

Advanced Real Estate Investment Analysis

Advanced Real Estate details advanced application of theory and techniques for analysis of the equity position in real estate ownership utilizing readings and cases. The impact of leverage, creative financing, and federal tax policies are evaluated on the basic productivity of real estate assets based on net cash flows. Specific focus is given to the operation of the capital markets and portfolio theory.