Course Outline of Record

Item	Value
Curriculum Committee Approval Date	11/16/2021
Top Code	050400 - Banking and Finance
Units	3 Total Units
Hours	54 Total Hours (Lecture Hours 54)
Total Outside of Class Hours	0
Course Credit Status	Credit: Degree Applicable (D)
Material Fee	No
Basic Skills	Not Basic Skills (N)
Repeatable	No
Grading Policy	Standard Letter (S)

Course Description

This course covers principles of investments, risk/reward analysis, characteristics of stocks and bonds, overview of investment alternatives, and roles of mutual and money market funds. Course content includes strategies for constructing investment portfolios. Transfer Credit: CSU.

Course Level Student Learning Outcome(s)

1. Course Outcomes
2. Describe the roles of various participants in the financial markets.
3. Identify the benefits of a diversified investment portfolio.
4. Analyze the relationship between interest rates and bond prices.
5. Define basic investment terms and major investment markets.

Course Objectives

• 1. Explain fundamentals of investing.
• 2. Apply portfolio management principles.
• 3. Describe the workings of how financial markets operate.
• 4. Calculate the value of stocks and bonds using commonly-referenced models.
• 5. Identify important characteristics of mutual funds.

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Lecture Content

Overview of risk and return Calculating the return on an investment Historical returns on various types of investments Relationship between risk and return Investment process Types of securities brokers and brokerage accounts Trading on margin Short sales Overview of security types Interest-bearing assets Equities Futures and options Investing in mutual funds and investment companies Types of mutual funds How mutual funds operate Where to find critical information about mutual funds Stock market Public equity vs private equity Primary vs secondary offerings Workings of stock exchanges Common stock valuation Dividend discount model Two-stage dividend growth model Price ratio analysis Stock price behavior Different forms of market efficiency Performance of professional money managers Introduction to behavioral finance Investor overconfidence Misperceptions of randomness Technical analysis Bond prices and yields Relationship between bond prices and interest rates Interest rate risks and Malkiels Theorems Calculating bond prices and yields Portfolio diversification Benefits of diversifying among investment classes Introduction to efficient frontier concept

Method(s) of Instruction

• Lecture (02)
• DE Live Online Lecture (02S)
• DE Online Lecture (02X)

Reading Assignments

Textbook Web articles

Writing Assignments

The student will demonstrate proficiency in the areas listed in the course content by solving problems and exercises in each chapter.

Out-of-class Assignments

Weekly summaries of key financial market events from financial websites (e.g. Wall Street Journal).

Demonstration of Critical Thinking

The student will analyze the impacts that macroeconomic and company-specific factors have on the value of stocks and bonds. The student will evaluate how investor risk tolerance impacts allocation of assets within an investment portfolio.

Required Writing, Problem Solving, Skills Demonstration

The student will demonstrate proficiency in the areas listed in the course content and scope section by problem solving exercises in each chapter.

Eligible Disciplines

Business: Masters degree in business, business management, business administration, accountancy, finance, marketing, or business education OR bachelors degree in any of the above AND masters degree in economics, personnel management, public administration, or Juris Doctorate (J.D.) or Legum Baccalaureus (LL.B.) degree OR bachelors degree in economics with a business emphasis AND masters degree in personnel management, public administration, or J.D. or LL.B. degree OR the equivalent. Masters degree required.

Textbooks Resources

1. Required Jordan. Fundamentals of Investments, 8th ed. McGraw Hill, 2018