FM300GC Half Unit
Corporate Finance, Investments and Financial Markets (Spring Semester)
This information is for the 2020/21 session.
Teacher responsible
Dr Georgy Chabakauri CON.2.08 and Dr Juanita Gonzalez Uribe
Availability
This course is available to General Course ‘Spring Semester’ students.
Pre-requisites
Principles of Finance (FM212) or Principles of Finance (FM213)
Course content
This course is intended for General Course students and will be a broad-based follow-up to the corporate finance part of FM212/FM213 Principles of Finance. The goal is to broaden, and selectively deepen, students' understanding of corporate finance, building on their existing knowledge of financial economics. The course will cover a broad range of topics, with both a theoretical and an empirical emphasis.
The course examines theory and evidence concerning major corporate financial policy decisions. It builds on FM212/FM213 (Principles of Finance) and emphasises practical implementation, with some of the same topics covered in more depth, and some additional topics not covered before. This is achieved with a combination of lectures, problem sets, and case studies such that students can apply the concepts using real-life situations.
The goal of corporations is to take on the best possible projects (e.g. a plant expansion) and finance them in the best way possible (e.g. through profits, debt, or equity). The time and uncertainty of investment payoffs make these problems nontrivial and essential for long-term success. The course will focus on answering the following questions:
(a) Valuation: How can we value and choose projects? What is the value of a company? What should be the expected return for a project, division, and the whole firm?
(b) Capital Structure: How should corporations obtain financing? For what projects?
Teaching
20 hours of lectures and 10 hours of classes in the LT. 2 hours of lectures and 1 hour of classes in the ST.
Formative coursework
Students are expected to produce written work for classes and to make positive contributions to class discussions.
Indicative reading
Detailed course programmes and reading lists are distributed at the start of the course. Illustrative texts include: Bodie, Kane & Marcus, Investments (Irwin) and Grinblatt & Titman, Financial Markets and Corporate Strategy (Irwin, McGraw-Hill).
Assessment
Exam (100%, duration: 1 hour and 30 minutes) in the summer exam period.
Important information in response to COVID-19
Please note that during 2020/21 academic year some variation to teaching and learning activities may be required to respond to changes in public health advice and/or to account for the situation of students in attendance on campus and those studying online during the early part of the academic year. For assessment, this may involve changes to mode of delivery and/or the format or weighting of assessments. Changes will only be made if required and students will be notified about any changes to teaching or assessment plans at the earliest opportunity.
Key facts
Department: Finance
Total students 2019/20: Unavailable
Average class size 2019/20: Unavailable
Capped 2019/20: No
Value: Half Unit
Personal development skills
- Problem solving
- Application of numeracy skills
- Commercial awareness
- Specialist skills
