Finance 390

52:390:101 Introduction to Finance and Investment (3) This course deals with understanding the economics of markets and prices, stock and bond financial markets and financial decision-making, time value of money, risk and discount rates, and the valuation of assets. The course will involve substantial applications of the skills learned in the course.

52:390:301 Principles of Finance (3) Financial statements and ratio analysis; time value of money and discounted cash flow valuation; bond and stock valuation; capital budgeting; and risk and return. Prerequisites: (52:010:101 and 50:640:113 and 50:960:183 and 50:960:183) or (52:010:101 and 50:640:113 and 50:960:283 and 50:960:283) or (52:010:101 and 50:640:115 and 50:960:183 and 50:960:183) or (52:010:101 and 50:640:115 and 50:960:283 and 50:960:283) or (52:010:101 and 52:135:120 and 52:135:214 and 52:135:214) or (52:010:101 and 52:135:120 and 50:960:183 and 50:960:183)

53:390:305 Establishing Financial Independence (3) The course will explore the basics of money management with an explicit goal of achieving financial independence. We will explore the three pillars on which a sound financial foundation is built. First, we will explore budgeting and debt to make sure that your income covers your expenditures resulting in incremental savings. Second, we will explore the best ways to invest these savings through financial markets to achieve your diverse financial goals such as funding your retirement and supporting your chosen lifestyle. Finally, we will study ways to protect your growing wealth through insurance and tax planning. By the end of the class, you should have a clear understanding of what it takes to achieve financial independence. Prerequisites: (50:40:113 or higher) or 52:135:120 or 52:135:205

52:390:306 Business Valuation (3) The ability to estimate the worth of a business is a valuable skill for anyone who plays a role in financial markets, or who needs to estimate the economic value of an enterprise for a variety of business and legal purposes. This course introduces the basic approaches to business valuation. The valuation process includes company analysis, industry and economic analysis, and financial analysis. Prerequisite: [(52:135:216 or 50:960:284) and (52:390:301)]

52:390:310 Corporate Finance (3) Cost of capital; capital structure; payout policy; introduction to international aspects of corporate finance; options and corporate finance. Prerequisites: [(52:135:216 or 50:960:284) and (52:390:301)]

52:390:315 Investments and Portfolio Management (3) Organization and functioning of securities markets; efficient capital markets; modern portfolio management; asset pricing models; security valuation principles and practices; analysis and management of bonds and common stocks; derivative securities; and evaluation of portfolio performance. Prerequisites:  [(52:135:216 or 50:960:284) and (52:390:301)] 

52:390:325 Financial Markets and Institutions (3) Roles of financial markets and institutions; determination and structure of interest rates; functions of the Federal Reserve System, its monetary policy, and implications; debt and equity securities markets; commercial bank operations and bank regulation; nonbank operations. Prerequisite:  [(52:135:216 or 50:960:284) and (52:390:301)]

52:390:330 Short-Term Financial Management (3) Efficient management of the firm's short-term assets and liabilities. Topics include cash management and banking relations, short-term investments, accounts receivable management, accounts payable management, short-term borrowing, and electronic data interchange. Background material on commercial banking and the Federal Reserve System is also covered. Prerequisite: (52:390:301 and 50:960:284) OR (52:390:301 and 52:135:216).

52:390:341 Real Estate Investment (3) This course provides an overview of the financing decision, methods, and techniques utilized in a commercial real estate transaction while promoting sound real estate investment decision-making. Students will learn three approaches to real estate valuation (cost, sales comparison, and income capitalization) with a primary focus on the income capitalization approach. Students will participate in extensive hands-on work solving real-world case studies. The course provides training in Argus Enterprise, the global standard for real property asset management and valuation, and the primary software utilized by real estate companies to track the performance of their assets throughout the lifecycle of an investment. This course will also guide students on determining the appropriate capital structure for a real estate transaction, ranging from fixed vs. floating senior debt structures to joint venture equity waterfalls. Prerequisite: 52:390:301

52:390:345 New Venture Finance (3) The focus of this course is financing new and early-stage business ventures and value extraction (cashing out).  It is aimed toward budding entrepreneurs, venture capitalists (VC's) and VC financiers (the VC's backer).  It addresses business planning (and doing), raising capital, creating, and extracting value.  Topics include the economics of new ventures and value creation, business planning, development of pro forma financial projections and evaluation that VC's want to see, risk analysis, the venture capital process, the VC-raising "road show" valuation, due diligence, extracting value, IPOs's, and risks and returns from venture capital investment vis-à-vis the stock market.  The course will look at venture capital financing from the perspectives of the entrepreneur, the venture capitalist, the VC financier and financial markets. Prerequisite: 52:390:301.

52:390:350 Multinational Finance (3) Financial management for the multinational firm. Topics include understanding exchange rates, balance of payments accounting, the international monetary system, foreign exchange markets, measuring and managing foreign exchange exposure, international capital budgeting, and financing international projects. Prerequisite: [(52:135:216 or 50:960:284) and (52:390:301)] 

52:390:379 Financial Modeling (3) Model-building and analysis of financial data using techniques and computer software such as Microsoft Excel. This course makes the connection between textbook finance and solving real-world business problems. The course provides a patterned map for solving common financial models with spreadsheets. Topics include corporate finance problems, standard portfolio problems, fixed income models, and option pricing. Prerequisite: [(52:135:216 or 50:960:284) and (52:390:301)] 

52:390:410 M&A Finance (3) Introduces students to the primary valuation methodologies currently used on Wall Street to value mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Real-world data from Bloomberg are integrated into the lessons. Qualitative dimensions, such as deal structure, form of financing, and acquisition strategies, are incorporated into the M&A analysis. Prerequisite: 52:390:310.

52:390:415 Statistical Financial Modeling (3) Model-building and analysis of financial data using statistical techniques and computer software such as SAS or SPSS. Topics include financial ratios and bond ratings, prediction of financial distress and acquisitions, evaluation of business loans, estimation of portfolio inputs, evaluation of portfolio performance, and sales and earnings forecasting. Prerequisite: 52:390:315.

52:390:425 Fixed-Income Securities (3) Bond price, yield, and total-return determination; interest rate risk; duration and convexity; the institutional characteristics of fixed-income markets; the term structure of interest rates; forwards, futures, options, and swaps of fixed-income securities; hedging with derivative securities; and mortgage pass-through securities. Prerequisite: 52:390:301.

52:390:435 Derivative Securities (3) Functioning of futures and options markets; futures price structure; hedging; risk and return; futures contracts on stock indices, interest rates, and currency; options price structure and arbitrage, valuation, and trading strategies; options contracts on stock indices, interest rate, and currency; swaps. Prerequisite: 52:390:315.

52:390:464 Equity Investments (3) The purpose of this course is to investigate, evaluate, and apply various equity analysis and valuation methods as well as equity portfolio management and performance measurement techniques. Methods range from adjusting book, discounted cash flow, and market multiplier approaches. SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analytical approaches are also used. Differential equity portfolio formation approaches will focus on style analyses and sector rotation strategies, as well as various portfolio performance measurement and evaluation methods. Prerequisite: 52:390:315.

52:390:470 Equity Trading (3) Introduces students to various equity portfolio implementation techniques. Through the extensive use of TraderEx simulation software, students implement equity trades within order-driven, dealer-driven, hybrid, dark pool, continuous, and call auction market environments. The objective is to provide opportunities for students to learn ways to minimize implementation shortfall through judicious trading techniques. Prerequisite: 52:390:301.

52:390:487 Independent Study in Finance (BA, 1-3) Individual study under the supervision of finance faculty, usually on a specified project or paper, designed to enrich the educational experience. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.

52:390:491,492 Special Topics in Finance (3,3) Designed to integrate course materials; introduce new philosophies, theories, and techniques in finance; and apply them to selected problems. Extensive reading and research reports required. Topics vary from year to year. Prerequisites: As determined by instructor.

52:390:495 Honors Thesis in Finance (3) An individual research project. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.

52:390:497 Finance Internship (3) The Rutgers School of Business-Camden internship program offers qualified students an opportunity to gain professional employment experience that complements their academic background in business. The internship program is designed to supplement the academic program by giving students a real-world employment experience prior to graduation. Prerequisite: Permission of internship director/instructor.