Meeting Times, Location, & Course Delivery Details
Monday and Friday of each week will typically consist of lecture by the Professor, classroom exercises by students, questions and answers by both Professor and students.
Wednesay of each will be dedicated to work on the Stock Portfolio Game, Students will work both in a group as well as individuals. For the Group game, minutes of the Group meeting must be taken and submitted to the Professor.
Contact Information
The textbooks the Professor is largely drawing from and topics covered are listed for your convenience. You do not have to purchase these texts.
Textbook: Fundamental Investments, 6th or newer edition; Jordan, Miler, & Dolvin; McGraw Hill
Another TEXT: INVESTMENTS an Introduction, 13 editions or newer: Herbert B. Mayo, Cenage Publisher
You are also encouraged to read The Wall Street Journal, Barrons, U.S. News and World Report, Business Week, Fortune, The Economist, The Financial Times of London, The New York Times or other reputable news source for Financial Markets
Course Description and Prerequisites: An introduction to investments in stocks, bonds, commodities, options, warrants, mutual funds, and current financial vehicles; investment portfolio management and the balance of risk/reward factors for different financial situations. Prereq’s none
More about the Course including objectives and skills: The student will become familiar with and able to use and apply simple financial calculations such as present and future value formulas for a sum and for a series of payments. They will be able to evaluate and analysis an assortment of portfolio balance strategies. They will also be able to assess rates of return on various investments weighing simple profit maximization criteria both short term and long term against social responsibility and ethical standards and be able to state how and why they weigh these.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this course, you should be:
- Familiar with the functioning of the markets for stocks and bonds
- Able to execute basic trading strategies
- Familiar with the basic skills necessary to actively manage a moderate size stock investment portfolio
- Familiar with the concepts of risk and return as they relate to investing in securities and the stock market
- Familiar with the basics of modern portfolio theory
Tentative Schedule
Subject to change during the semester. Adequate notice of changes will be given during class time.
There will be four parts of this course. The exact timing of the parts will depend upon student interest in each and the pace of instruction, which in turn will determine the exact timing and dates spent on each part. But each part will involve a test immediately following. Each part will be covered in class for a minimum of two to three weeks.
Part One Mathematics of Finance, Present and Future Values, Determination of APR and rates of return
Part Two Portfolio Balance, Risk vs Reward, Optimal Strategies, Valuation Theories
Part Three ESG Investing, Social Responsibility, ESG and Social Responsibility vs Profit Maximization (moral and legal imperatives of each
Short Term (take the money and run) vs Long Term Profit Maximization
Part Four Group Portfolio Projects, meet weekly with your group, at class time on Wednesdays and execute at least two trades from your group portfolio, philosophy of investments (ethical or simply profits), identify strategies for investments, how are they doing in terms of rate of return – any reallocation of specific, if so why, if not why not? Any reassessments of either philosophy or strategy. Following the group meeting each group will transmit by email a brief report to the professor.
Both the Individual and Group Portfolio Projects involve playing an on-line Stock Game. Each individual will be given 500k with which to execute buys and sells of stocks. The aim of the game is not merely to achieve a good rate of return, do as well as the market as a whole or do better, but also to learn from pivotal mistakes, and to shape and reshape a coherent philosophy of engaging with the stock market. At the time of the Final Exam, each individual will provide a written report of the philosophy which guided their buys and sells and what they have learned as a result of their missteps and their successes. In addition, each individual will Each report their rates of return for their individual buys and the rate of return for their overall portfolio. Each group of 3 or 4 players 1 Million to start their portfolio. Decisions of each group will be by consensus.
There will be four parts of this course. The exact timing of the parts will depend upon student interest in each and the pace of instruction, which in turn will determine the exact timing and dates spent on each part. But each part will involve a test immediately following. Each part will be covered in class for a minimum of two weeks.
Part One Mathematics of Finance, Present and Future Values, Determination of APR and rates of return
Part Two Portfolio Balance, Risk vs Reward, Optimal Strategies, Valuation Theories
Part Three ESG Investing, Social Responsibility, ESG and Social Responsibility vs Profit Maximization (moral and legal imperatives of each
Short Term (take the money and run) vs Long Term Profit Maximization
Part Four Group Portfolio Projects, meet weekly with your group, at class time on Wednesdays and execute at least two trades from your group portfolio, philosophy of investments (ethical or simply profits), identify strategies for investments, how are they doing in terms of rate of return – any reallocation of specific, if so why, if not why not? Any reassessments of either philosophy or strategy. Following the group meeting each group will transmit by email a brief report to the professor.
Both the Individual and Group Portfolio Projects involve playing an on-line Stock Game. Each individual will be given 500k with which to execute buys and sells of stocks. The aim of the game is not merely to achieve a good rate of return, do as well as the market as a whole or do better, but also to learn from pivotal mistakes, and to shape and reshape a coherent philosophy of engaging with the stock market. At the time of the Final Exam, each individual will provide a written report of the philosophy which guided their buys and sells and what they have learned as a result of their missteps and their successes. In addition, each individual will Each report their rates of return for their individual buys and the rate of return for their overall portfolio. Each group of 3 or 4 players 1 Million to start their portfolio. Decisions of each group will be by consensus.
A Very Tentative Schedule
Tentative Schedule
Subject to change during the semester. Chapter numbers are from Jordan et al
WEEK | DATE | TOPIC/CHAPTER/ASSIGNMENTS |
1 | 8/24 8/28 | Introductions, review of syllabus, Theory of the Random walk, A Fractal Walk down wall street |
| History, basic terminology, understanding stocks | |
2 | 8/31 9/4 | Chapter 1 history of risk and return |
3 | 9/9 – 9/11 | Chapter 9 interest rates |
4 | 9/ 14 9/18 | Chapter 10 bond prices and yields |
5 | 9/21 9/25 | Yield Curves |
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6 | 9/28 10/2 | Problems and Solutions in Mathematical Finance |
6 | 10/5 | Test One Mathematical Finance |
7 | 10/7 10/9 | Chapter 8 Behavioral Finance, The Rational or Irrational Investor and Market |
| 8 | 10/12 | The Ethics of Charging Interest |
| 10/16 | The Ethics of Charging Interest and Alternative Systems |
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| 10/19 | Fall Break, No Class | |
8 | 10/21,23 | Chapter 11 Diversification and Risky Asset Allocation |
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9 | 10/26 10/30 | Chapter 12 Return Risk and the Security Market Line |
10 | 11/2 11/6 | Chapter 13 Performance Evaluation and Risk Management |
10 | 11/9 11/11 | Chapter 17 Alternative Investments |
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10 | 11/13 | Test 2 on Part Two Portfolio Balance and Optimization |
11 & 12 | 11/16 11/20 | ESG investing, Social Responsibility, Ethics, Long Term vs Short Term Profit Maximization, Reading material to be provided |
13 | 11/30 | Test 3 on ESG Investing, Ethics, Social Responsiblity, Long term vs Short Term Profit Maximization |
13 & 14 | 12/2 -12/9 | Finish Work on Group projects |
15 | 12/11 | Final Exam, there is no formal Final Exam, The Final Exam period 1-3 PM will be used for electronic submission of Final Reports on Individual and Group Portfolio Projects |
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| Nov 25 – 27th | NO CLASS – THANKSGIVING BREAK |
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| Dec 11 | Final EXAM Bailey 309 The Final will consist of electronic submission of Final Reports for Group and Individual Portfloio Projects 3:15-5:15 |
There will be three tests plus the group portfolio project. This will be what your course grade will be determined by. Each test plus the group portfolio project will constitute 1/4 of your course grade
The grading scale will be as follows:
93%-100% A 90-92% A minus
86% - 89% B+
80% - 85% B
76% - 79% C+
70% - 75% C
66% - 69% D+
60% - 65% D
below 60% F
Instructor Course Policies
This Professor does not explicitly take off points for absences be they excused or un-excused. In other words, there is no penalty for absences. However, this professor reserves the right to award students extra points on the basis of professional judgement. Students who have excess absences (more than 4 within a semester be they excused or un-excused) will become ineligible for these extra points at the discretion of the professor. Professional Judgement includes classroom attendance, punctuality, engagement in the course, displaying of interest, participation, giving the professor your undivided attention, et al.
Attendance involves more than merely bringing ones body to class. It consists of paying acute attention in class, class participation, engagement, asking and answering questions from and to the Professor. It also consists of refrainig from unecessary distrations such as but not limited to, cell phone use, side conversations both verbal and non-verbal. The Professor needs your undivided attention during class time in order to properly conduct class and for the student to truly be present for the class.
Software and Artificial Intelligence can not be used during tests or on assignment or reports and would constitute cheating. Simple hand calculators will be permitted when deemed appropriate.
In the process of playing the stock game, both individuals and group, the use of software, Artificial Intelligence, outside advice, must be revealed but is permitted. So although Artificial Intelligence may be used in constructing a strategy, it must be reported as being used, but in the reporting and analysis of the strategy used to play the stock game artificial intelligence may not be used.
Institutional and Program-Level Policies
All exams will follow the Final Exam Schedule. Students scheduled to take three or more final examinations on one day may request to arrange their examination schedule, so no more than two exams occur on one day.
Requests for early or late exams are considered only under extreme circumstances. Prior to the exam period, the student must file a written request on the Early/Late Exam Form available in the Student One Stop Center, Academic Records, and on the WC portal. The form must be signed by the Instructor and the Academic Dean, approving the alternate exam time. This process must be completed prior to the scheduled exam period.
Undergraduate: FA26 Final Exam Schedule
Out-of-class Work Expectation A minimum of 2 hours of out-of-class student work is expected for each hour of in-class time for traditional face-to-face courses. For online and hybrid courses, the combination of face-to-face time and out-of-class work should be equal to 3 hours per credit hour per week. |
Instructional Course Delivery Definition of Courses |
Academic Integrity Policy The use of generative AI is prohibited except where expressly allowed in assignment instructions. Academic Integrity Policy |
Class Attendance Policy Institutional Class Attendance Policy |