Graduate Courses for Finance (BUFN)

Schedule of Classes: Fall | Winter | Spring | Summer
(Only current and next semester available)

BUFN 700 Investment Management (3 credits)
Corequisite: Concurrently enrolled in BUSI640. Credit only granted for: BMGT743 or BUFN700. Formerly: BMGT743.
Methods of security selection and portfolio management in the debt and equity markets. Investment alternatives, securities markets, bond and common stock valuation, options, portfolio theory, and behavior of stock prices.

BUFN 702 Applied Equity Analysis and Portfolio Management (3 credits)
Prerequisite: BUSI640. Credit only granted for: BMGT702 or BUFN702. Formerly: BMGT702.
Applications of finance concepts to definitions of investment objectives, equity analysis, portfolio analysis and management, and investment performance evaluation. Cases and studies of actual securities. Emphasis on fundamental analysis and stock recommendations.

BUFN 714 Advanced Financial Management (3 credits)
Credit only granted for: BMGT741 or BUFN714. Formerly: BMGT741.
Advanced corporate finance course that builds on the core course. Study of investment and financing decisions faced by firms at various stages in their life cycles. Topics include advanced capital budgeting and capital structure, real options and option-like features in securities, financial contracting, governance, financial distress, and capital-raising transactions ranging from IPOs for young firms to complex hedging strategies for large firms. Pedagogy uses mix of lectures and case studies.

BUFN 716 Financial Restructuring and Strategy (3 credits)
Prerequisite: BUSI640. Credit only granted for: BMGT742 or BUFN716. Formerly: BMGT742.
Integration and extension of financial theory and principles to analyze financial, asset and ownership restructuring decisions. A valuation framework is used to study strategic decisions such as mergers and acquisitions, share repurchases, exchange offers, leveraged recapitalization, joint ventures, employee stock option plans, divestitures and spin-offs.

BUFN 722 Banking and Financial Institutions (3 credits)
Prerequisite: BUSI640. Credit only granted for: BMGT745 or BUFN722. Formerly: BMGT745.
The role of financial management in banking and financial institutions. The economic role and regulation of banking and financial institutions, analysis of risks and returns on financial assets and liabilities, and the structure of assets, liabilities and capital.

BUFN 724 International Financial Management (3 credits)
Prerequisite: BUSI640. Credit only granted for: BMGT746 or BUFN724. Formerly: BMGT746.
The role of financial management in the multinational firm. The financing and managing of foreign investments, assets, currencies, imports and exports. National and international financial institutions and markets.

BUFN 726 Futures and Options Contract (3 credits)
Prerequisite: BUSI640. Credit only granted for: BMGT744 or BUFN726. Formerly: BMGT744.
The institutional features and economic rationale underlying markets in futures and options. Valuation of futures and options. Hedging, speculation, structure of futures prices, interest rate futures, efficiency in futures markets, and stock and commodity options.

BUFN 731 Fixed Income Securities (3 credits)
Prerequisite: BUFN700. Restriction: Must be in one of the following programs (Business and Management (Master's); Business and Management (Master's)).
Focuses on understanding financial instruments that have market values which are sensitive to interest rate movements. Develop tools to analyze interest rate sensitivity and value fixed income securities. Topics include a variety of fixed income assets and related securities, including: zero coupon government bonds; coupon bearing government bonds; exchange-traded bond options; bonds with embedded options; floating rate notes; caps, collars and floors; floating rate notes with embedded options; forward contracts; interest rate swaps; bond futures and options on bond futures.

BUFN 735 Computational Finance (3 credits)
Prerequisite: BUSI630 and BUSI640.
Introduces and applies various computational techniques useful in management of equities and fixed income portfolios, valuation of financial derivatives, such as stock options, valuation of fixed income securities and their derivatives. Techniques include portfolio Monte Carlo Simulation, binomial and Black-Scholes option pricing models, value at risk and stochastic processes.

BUFN 738 Investment Fund Management (3 credits)
Prerequisite: BUSI640. Restriction: Must be in one of the following programs (Business and Management (Master's); Business and Management (Master's)). Repeatable to 9 credits.
Provides second-year Master in Business Administration students with the opportunity to apply the skills learned in finance classes to actual investment decisions through management of an investment fund.

BUFN 740 Capital Markets (2 credits)
Prerequisite: BUSI640. Restriction: Must be in one of the following programs (Business and Management (Master's); Business and Management (Master's)).
Designed to deepen the foundations necessary to finance focused students, especially those intending to specialize in the quantitative areas of finance including investments, fixed income, and financial engineering.

BUFN 750 Valuation in Corporate Finance (2 credits)
Prerequisite: BUSI640. Restriction: Must be in one of the following programs (Business and Management (Master's); Business and Management (Master's)). Credit only granted for: BUFN714 or BUFN750. Formerly: BUFN714.
An advanced topics course in Corporate Finance dealing with valuation. Main topics will be, building pro forma statements, cost of capital, using ratios and comparables to value projects and firms, dicounted cash flow valuations, WACC and APV methods of valuation and Real Option Valuations.

BUFN 751 Financial Strategy For Corporations (2 credits)
Prerequisite: BUSI640. Restriction: Must be in one of the following programs (Business and Management (Master's); Business and Management (Master's)).
An advanced course in corporate finance, focusing on the issues that firms face when they plan to raise external capital from financial markets. The focus is on the financing problems faced by mid-market to large firms and on capital raised from public markets. The forms of external finance vary from simple debt or equity to more complex securities that bundle with an element of risk management.

BUFN 752 Financial Restructuring (2 credits)
Prerequisite: BUSI640. Restriction: Must be in one of the following programs (Business and Management (Master's); Business and Management (Master's)). Credit only granted for: BUFN716 or BUFN752. Formerly: BUFN716.
Focuses on identifying ways to increase firm value through corporate restructuring. Specific topics include: mergers and tender offers, spin-offs, carve-outs, divestitures, takeover defense strategies, leveraged buy-outs, and international acquisitions. Additionally, the theory, practice and empirical evidence related to each of these topics will be covered. Emphasis will be placed on valuation analysis and strategic considerations.

BUFN 753 Corporate Governance and Performance (2 credits)
Prerequisite: BUSI640. Restriction: Must be in one of the following programs (Business and Management (Master's); Business and Management (Master's)).
Deals with corporate governance and its impact on shareholder value. Divergence of interests between corporate insiders and providers of funds leads to agency problems which can impair corporate performance and shareholder value. Various instruments of corporate governance - internal as well as external mechanisms - that can help align managerial incentives with those of outside investors, and hence help restore shareholder value will be studied.

BUFN 754 Corporate Risk Management (2 credits)
Prerequisite: BUSI640. Restriction: Must be in one of the following programs (Business and Management (Master's); Business and Management (Master's)).
Surveys the theory and practice of financial risk identification, measurement, and mitigation at financial and non-financial firms. Topics will include hedging with options and futures, interest rate risk management, Value-at-Risk (VaR), Cashflow-at-Risk (CaR), Earnings-at-Risk (EaR), credit risk, equity risk, commodities risk, exchange rate risk, and lessons from risk management disasters.

BUFN 755 Entrepreneurial Finance and Private Equity (2 credits)
Prerequisite: BUSI640. Restriction: Must be in one of the following programs (Business and Management (Master's); Business and Management (Master's)). Credit only granted for: BUSI647 or BUFN755. Formerly: BUSI647.
An advanced topics course in Corporate Finance. The major emphasis is how financiers help growing firms - and in particular young start-ups - using different types of securities at different points in the industry's and firm's life. Financing arrangements and securities studied will include private equity funds and private financings placements, Venture Capital (VC) and preferred equity, Investment Banks through Initial Public Offerings (IPOs), Private equity finds, debt and leveraged buyouts. Students will learn additional techniques that will help them understand how financiers value firms and how to understand, plan and value different financing strategies.

BUFN 758 Special Topics in Finance (1-4 credits)
Prerequisite: Permission of BMGT-Robert H. Smith School of Business. Repeatable to 9 credits if content differs. Formerly: BMGT798.
Selected advanced topics in the various fields of graduate study in finance.

BUFN 759 Independent Study in Finance (1-6 credits)
Repeatable to 6 credits if content differs. Formerly: BMGT708.
Independent study for Masters students in finance.

BUFN 760 Applied Equity Analysis (2 credits)
Prerequisite: BUSI640. Restriction: Must be in one of the following programs (Business and Management (Master's); Business and Management (Master's)). Credit only granted for: BUFN702 or BUFN760. Formerly: BUFN702.
Students will learn to analyze equity securities using the basic EIC (Economy/Industry/Company) framework used in the financial industry, paying special attention to financial statement analysis. Students also will learn the primary valuation techniques used to estimate market values for equity securities.

BUFN 761 Derivative Securities (2 credits)
Prerequisite: BUFN740. Restriction: Must be in one of the following programs (Business and Management (Master's); Business and Management (Master's)). Credit only granted for: BUFN726 or BUFN761. Formerly: BUFN726.
Standard types of derivatives contracts are presented, and illustrated as to how they are used in practice. The theory of pricing these contracts is then presented in detail. The use of static and dynamic replication strategies, and the concept of no-arbitrage strategies is illustrated in numerous ways. Standard valuation techniques are covered, and standard formulas are presented. The theory is then applied to develop specific pricing and hedging strategies for various types of derivatives on different underlying assets. The management of the exposure of various risks is covered in detail as well.

BUFN 762 Fixed Income Analysis (2 credits)
Prerequisite: BUFN740. Restriction: Must be in one of the following programs (Business and Management (Master's); Business and Management (Master's)). Credit only granted for: BUFN731 or BUFN762. Formerly: BUFN731.
Describes important financial instruments which have market values that are sensitive to interest rate movements. Develops tools to analyze interest rate sensitivity and value fixed income securities. Defines and explains the vocabulary of the bond management business.

BUFN 763 Portfolio Management (2 credits)
Prerequisite: BUFN740. Restriction: Must be in one of the following programs (Business and Management (Master's); Business and Management (Master's)). Credit only granted for: BUFN700 or BUFN763. Formerly: BUFN700.
Provides training that is important in understanding the investment process - the buy side of the financial world. Specifically, the objective is to provide graduate-level instruction in the following topics, both in theory and in using financial markets data to test the basic theory and practice of portfolio choice and equilibrium pricing models and their implications for efficient portfolios.

BUFN 764 Quantitative Investment Strategy (2 credits)
Prerequisite: BUFN763. Restriction: Must be in a major in BMGT-Robert H. Smith School of Business.
Provides an introduction to quantitative techniques of selecting equities, as used commonly among long-short equity hedge funds and other quantitative equity asset management companies. Statistical factor models are developed to locate stocks with higher expected returns, based on the observable characteristics of the stocks. Implementation issues, including statistical estimation, backtesting and portfolio construction, are covered, as is performance evaluation.

BUFN 765 Fixed Income Derivatives (2 credits)
Prerequisite: BUFN762. Restriction: Must be in one of the following programs (Business and Management (Master's); Business and Management (Master's)). Credit only granted for: BUFN731 or BUFN765. Formerly: BUFN731.
Surveys fixed income assets and related securities such as Exchange-traded bond options; bonds with embedded options; floating rate notes; caps, collars, and floors; floating rate notes with embedded options. Also surveys advanced tools for interest-rate and fixed-income portfolio management, including the use of derivative securities, and the application of binomial trees for analysis of options, and a sound understanding of stochastic yield curves.

BUFN 766 Financial Engineering (2 credits)
Prerequisite: BUFN740. Restriction: Must be in one of the following programs (Business and Management (Master's); Business and Management (Master's)). Credit only granted for: BUFN735 or BUFN766. Formerly: BUFN735.
Develop Excel and Visual Basic (VBA) models to solve problems related to portfolio management, options valuation, fixed income securities, interest rate processes, and risk management. This course thus bridges theory with the design of algorithms and models that can be directly applied in practice.

BUFN 770 International Investment (2 credits)
Prerequisite: BUSI640. Restriction: Must be in one of the following programs (Business and Management (Master's); Business and Management (Master's)). Credit only granted for: BUFN724 or (BUFN770 and BUFN771). Formerly: BUFN724.
Addresses international stock markets, portfolio theory, international interest rates, exchange rates and exchange rate derivatives (options, forwards, and futures), exchange rate swaps and exchange rate exposure (operating, translation, and transaction), foreign investment strategey.

BUFN 771 International Corporate and Project Finance (2 credits)
Prerequisite: BUFN770. Restriction: Must be in one of the following programs (Business and Management (Master's); Business and Management (Master's)). Credit only granted for: BUFN724 or (BUFN770 and BUFN771). Formerly: BUFN724.
Continuation of BUFN770. Issues addressed will include captial budgeting, project financing, exhange rate exposure (operating, translation, and transaction), foreign investment strategy, and risk management.

BUFN 772 Bank Management (2 credits)
Prerequisite: BUSI640. Restriction: Must be in one of the following programs (Business and Management (Master's); Business and Management (Master's)). Credit only granted for: BUFN722 or BUFN772. Formerly: BUFN722.
Analyze and discuss readings in bank management,with primary focus on the measurement and management of risk, including credit, market, and interest rate risk. Look at the management of liquid reserves. Examine the special nature of financial institutions, incorporating their functions, policies, services, and regulation. Study the evolving nature of the financial services inductry, by reading the financial press and by having outside practitioner speakers. Focus is on U.S. banks.

BUFN 773 Institutional Asset Management (2 credits)
Prerequisite: BUSI640. Restriction: Must be in one of the following programs (Business and Management (Master's); Business and Management (Master's)).
Examines how money is managed by organizations such as university endowments, pension funds, mutual funds, hedge funds, and private equity funds. Involves a mixture of finance and economics and emphasizes the incentives professional money managers face within the context of the organizational structure in which they operate. Particular attention is paid to compensation structures and monitoring mechanisms.