Master of Science in Finance Curriculum | Lundquist College of Business

Core Courses

ACTG 612 Financial Accounting (3 credits) This course develops an understanding of the most fundamental accounting concepts and provides key building blocks necessary for intermediate and advanced financial statement analysis. It is designed to provide a basic but practical application of financial analyses commonly performed by industry professionals.

FIN 615 Quantitative Methods in Finance (3 credits) This course provides an introduction to quantitative methods that are applicable in several areas of finance; presents concepts and methodologies from probability theory, statistical inference, regression analysis, and time series analysis; emphasis is placed on software applications of real data on stock returns, CAPM and Fama-French models, and cross-section firm data.

FIN 671 Corporate Finance and Valuation (3 credits) This course introduces fundamental techniques of financial analysis. Topics include financial statement analysis, cost of capital, capital budgeting techniques, equity and firm valuation, Monte Carlo simulation, real options, applications of financial modeling with Excel, and Monte Carlo techniques with Crystal Ball. The company valuation project is a course requirement.

FIN 683 Concepts of Investments (3 credits) This course covers the foundations of investment management: theory and empirical evidence related to portfolio theory, market efficiency, asset pricing models, factor models, and option pricing theory. Students are expected to combine market research results and electronic information sources to create optimal investment strategies.

FIN 607: Seminar: MSF Professional Development (1-2 credits) Embedded in your academic program is the recognition that self assessment, industry knowledge and engagement, networking, and presentation skills are also critical to your success. This seminar will build your confidence and career management skills over four terms with activities both in and out of the classroom that are designed to enhance your self-marketing tools and to aid your future job search. Quarterly seminar enrollment is a requirement for all MSF students.

FIN 609 Practicum: Applications in Investment Management (3 credits) This course is envisioned as a capstone course. Students work in teams on an applied finance project. This project should be associated with the area of focus of the students’ electives as it will illustrate the students’ knowledge and expertise that students can reference when speaking to potential employers.

Electives

ACTG 625 Financial Reporting (3 credits) In-depth coverage of the measurement and disclosure principles used to prepare generally accepted accounting principle-based financial statements.

ACTG 631 Financial Statement Analysis and Valuation (4 credits) Examines the role of accounting information in financial decisions. Highlights valuation's relationship to accounting earnings and book value.

FIN 509/609: Practicum: Investment Group (1 credit) Students manage more than one million dollars across three long-only portfolios of US equities, each with a different focus. The common thread across the three portfolios is a reliance on fundamental valuations, constructed from analyses of comparable equities as well as discounted cash flows. Under faculty supervision, students present their valuations and buy/sell/hold recommendations to the rest of the group. Majority voting determines the trade action. Each student begins as a junior analyst and is eligible for promotions to senior analyst, sector leader, portfolio manager, and executive management positions. Guest speakers and site visits to financial firms supplement this experiential education opportunity.

FIN 562 Derivative Markets and Financial Securities (4 credits) Valuation of financial derivatives, methodologies for identifying firms' risk exposures, the role of risk management and financial derivatives in corporate strategy, and analysis of financial institutions.

FIN 564 Commercial Banking (4 credits) Operation and pricing policies of a commercial bank, concentrating on management of institutions that take deposits and make loans and investments through the use of computer-simulated banking operations.

FIN 608 Wealth Management (3 credits) Private wealth management is a growing and expanding business. Because many individuals find it difficult to effectively manage their own investments, they turn to professional investment managers for assistance in managing their portfolios to accomplish their objectives. The focus of this course is on client wealth management rather than the management of personal investments. The goal is to provide the knowledge needed in preparing for a possible career in wealth management. Career opportunities include portfolio managers, financial advisors, private bankers, financial planners, stock brokers, fund managers, investment advisors, and various sales positions in financial services.

FIN 609 Practicum: Emerging Market Fund (2 credits) Students manage a long-only portfolio investing in the equities of firms from emerging markets. The portfolio seeks to outperform the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. Buy and sell decisions are based on a student’s fundamental valuations of a specific stock. Under faculty supervision, students pitch their investment recommendations to the rest of the group, and majority voting determines the trade action.

FIN 610 Advance Topics on Portfolio Management (3 credits) Taking the perspective of a portfolio manager seeking to outperform a passive benchmark, and primarily investing in equities, you will consider issues important for active portfolio management, such as styles and strategies of active investing, risk assessment, hedging, performance evaluation, liquidity constraints, limits to arbitrage, and behavioral biases.

FIN 610 Venture Capital and Private Equity (3 credits) This course covers valuation techniques commonly used in venture capital and buyout transactions. Topics include (i) understanding the VC ecosystem, (ii) components of VC term sheets, (iii) leveraged buyout (LBO) analysis.

FIN 663 International Financial Management (3 credits) International monetary system and its implications for exchange rate determination. Determinants of foreign investments, characteristics of international financial institutions, and the relationship between international and domestic markets.

FIN 673 Advanced Topics on Corporate Finance (3 credits) Cases dealing with financial analysis, working-capital management, valuation, and firm investment and financing decisions.

FIN 675 Fixed Income Securities (3 credits) Theoretical, empirical, and institutional aspects of fixed-income securities and their derivatives; application of these tools to managerial decisions in other contexts.

FIN 687 Hedge Fund Trading Strategies (3 credits) This course provides an in-depth coverage of the institutional features of hedge funds and popular trading strategies. Topics include (1) institutional features of the global hedge fund industry, (2) two key instruments used in hedge fund trading: leverage and short selling, (3) trading strategies including long/short positions based on both quantitative selection models and fundamental analysis, event-driven arbitrage, fixed-income arbitrage, and hedge fund activism.