Finance
Without knowledge of the financial implications of business decisions, managers can make serious mistakes. Proper financial analysis helps business leaders make the choices that add value for the firm’s stakeholders, reflects the preferences of consumers, and facilitates economic growth and prosperity as innovative products and services receive the proper level of support from investors.
From an academic standpoint, finance sits at the intersection of many business disciplines. Using economic analysis of accounting statements, financial researchers and managers discern and enact successful corporate strategies. This includes how to make better decisions about everything from marketing activities to hiring decisions to information technology implementation.
At the Luter School of Business, we teach this intersection using case studies and academic competitions, and through our impressive professional network of executives who bring real-world financial experience into the classroom through guest lectures and networking opportunities.
Sample Courses
This is a survey course dealing with the investment characteristics of securities, the fundamentals of portfolio planning, and the operation and regulation of securities markets. This course focuses on analysis and solution of financial problems related to investment in stocks, bonds, mutual funds and derivative securities and includes analysis of market trends, timing of investments and the effects of taxation on investment strategy and policy.
The course focuses on the operating environment of financial institutions in terms of performance criteria, loan and investment policy, regulation, and social and economic implications. The course deals with the current and proposed changes in the functioning and role of banks, capital markets, insurance companies and other institutions providing financial products and services.
The course focuses on building and managing portfolios of stocks, bonds and other financial assets to achieve desired objectives. Topics may include the institutional management of investment portfolios for individual investors (e.g., mutual funds, bank trust departments, hedge funds). Methods of portfolio construction, asset allocation strategies, and portfolio optimization are covered.
Risk management is a fundamental corporate and personal issue. This course identifies risks encountered in both product and capital markets and explores the methods used to mitigate those risks. Risk management may incorporate computer models and other tools. Emphasis is given to the use of derivative securities, e.g., forward, futures, and options in risk management.