This course will provide a strong conceptual foundation for finance. Finance theory will be used to solve practical problems faced by financial managers. You will find it beneficial to have some basic knowledge of accounting, algebra, and statistics prior to enrolling in this course.

The objective of this course is to develop key concepts in investment theory from the perspective of a portfolio manager, and to apply such concepts using real financial data.

Topics to be covered include portfolio optimisation and asset pricing theories, as well as their applications to problems in modern financial practice. This course also explores the application of various financial instruments in investment management and introduces the basic techniques of portfolio performance evaluation.

The objective of this course is to provide an in-depth analysis of financial derivative products: futures, swaps, and options. The analysis includes their valuation, trading strategies, and risk management. It should provide lasting conceptual framework in which to view the derivative markets and to examine new ideas, concepts, and instruments as they evolve in the future.

This course covers a great deal of advanced material. Students are expected to be comfortable with probability and statistics, the stock market, and a spreadsheet package such as Excel. Some use of stochastic calculus and differential equation will also be required.

The overall objective is to gain an insight into the operations and concepts of investment management beyond the nuts and bolts. We will seek to understand how money managers function in the investment of funds from the inception of money inflow to the final performance of returns. Our main focus will be on the following topics.

1. Understanding the Investment Process and Investment Objectives of Investors
2. Formulating Asset Allocation based on Macroeconomics and Business Cycles
3. Analysing Investment Styles & Methodologies of Equities, Bonds, & Hedge Funds
4. Determining investment strategies
5. Mapping Risk management procedures
6. Evaluating Investment & Portfolio Performance

This course is an extension of the introductory Investment Analysis module. Our primary focus will be on real world investment concepts and practices used in the industry and will leverage on theory and concepts that have been taught in prior Finance courses. There is no substitute for experience in investing and we will discuss issues that are commonplace in the investment industry and current issues. In particular we will emphasise equity type investing, bond type investing and hedge fund type strategies. While there is no one identical or universal style of management across all investment firms, we will engage in mainstream similarities and fundamentals that are applied in most asset managers today, whether they are stocks, bonds, hedge funds, or institutional or retail managers.

This course covers major private equity investment types including venture capital, growth capital, buyouts and corporate venturing. The Course format will include lectures, interactive discussions, case studies and hands-on simulation. Topics will cover the entire private equity investment cycle from fund raising, structuring to deal screening, valuation, investment negotiations to post-investment value add and exits.

An underlying theme of this part of the course is to evaluate to what extent venture capital and private equity markets can create value and wealth, generate social return and promote economic growth.

A sound knowledge of venture capital and private equity is essential for investors such as angels, venture capitalists, private equity specialists, private equity investors, investment managers and institutional investors with an interest to commit funds to the private equity universe as well as corporate managers involved in mergers, acquisitions and even divestments. The relation between venture capital and private equity markets and economic growth is also important for regulators. A firm grasp of the workings behind private equity and venture capital will also better prepare budding entrepreneurs in their fundraising efforts as they negotiate from the other side of the table.

Primarily, this course aims to prepare and equip students with the necessary fundamentals to join a Private Equity firm at the Associate level. The group projects and exercises will allow students to experience the entire private equity process from the perspective of the investing firm (from opportunity analysis to due diligence to structuring the deal to monitoring/value-add to exit).

This course surveys the financial methods used in mergers and acquisitions, buyouts and corporate restructuring. We will examine the process of evaluating opportunities in the corporate-control market; analyse how deal structure affects both value creation and value division; investigate M&A motivations and tactics; consider M&A valuation of stand-alone firms, merged firm synergies, transaction contingent clauses and the expected impact on share value and earnings accretion/dilution; the role of syndicated loans in buy outs; and assess the valuation and structuring of leveraged buyouts. Major M&A constituents, such as private equity and hedge fund groups are also considered.

This Advanced Seminar in Portfolio Management module will serve as a comprehensive real world examination of the quantitative, fundamental, behavioural, and model-based approaches utilised for performing security valuation & portfolio management in the financial industry. Major topics covered include Relative Valuation, Multi-factor Models, Liquidity and Value Enhancement Strategies. Lectures will involve frequent interaction with practitioners from the industry, hands-on lab projects, and real-life examples. Students are also expected to research, write, and publish equity investment reports (preferably on Asian companies with limited research analyst coverage) and/or portfolio investment strategies. These individual equity reports and a presentation in the form of a team-based stock pitch could subsequently be presented by the students to a panel of senior members from the Singapore investment management industry so as to showcase & ascertain students’ equity research and stock-picking skills. There may also be an opportunity to put your skills to the test and manage real money (i.e., a live Student Managed Fund) during the course of the semester. Students will be divided into sector teams and their fundamental analysis & recommendations (appropriately formatted) will be incorporated into the Student Managed Fund portfolio optimisation process. This course is suitable for students interested in a career as a financial analyst (both on the buy-side and sell-side), or as a portfolio manager.

In this course, we will place our emphasis on the international financial system, international investments, and international financial management, particularly in Asia. This course is especially helpful for a student pursuing a career in international banking, global asset management, or international corporate finance. Our course begins with a thorough analysis of international business risks and the structure of the international monetary system. We will then cover the following topics: the foreign exchange market; exchange-rate determination; international investments; currency and rate risk management; international capital budgeting; international political risk and corporate governance in Asia; and international banking and liquid asset management.

This is an introductory course on China’s Capital Markets that examines China’s Listed Equity, Private Equity, Bond and Derivative markets from a development perspective and its convergence towards international standards. The course will use a combination of cases, professional and academic articles to provide an understanding of the concepts, issues and investors involved in China’s Capital Markets. An underlying theme of this course is how China’s Capital Markets have developed and improved, despite the grievances and misgivings widely espoused by the investment community.

This course is essential for those persons and or entities that seek to gain an insight of China’s Capital Markets and with an interest to commit funds to China, and corporate managers who may have an interest to raise capital through China’s Capital Markets. The significance of China’s Capital Markets should not be underestimated given its rapid development, the internationalisation of the Renminbi and its increasing relevance in global finance.

This course analyses corporate governance focusing on family firms. Family firms form backbone of Asia and world economies. Family businesses are commonly thought to be small, unprofessional; and in most cases seldom survive three generations. There are, however, a number of success stories, for example, Hermes, Toyota, Merck, and Ford Motors. These firms are large, publicly traded, and controlled by the founding family for several generations. How do these families manage to grow their business internationally and perpetual their wealth for multiple generations?

One of the major challenges facing by family firms is the founding family. Many family members own ownership stakes and hold top positions at the firm and therefore the family can have immense influence on corporate financial decisions. This course analyses this problem and discusses the solutions such as setting up good governance within the family and the firm to minimise such agency problems; structuring the ownership so as not to lose control while benefiting from external finance; and succession planning.

The knowledge from this course is particularly useful to students who plan to join their family business. This course also guides students who plan to work in family office and private banking providing practical advice to high net worth families on wealth management, business, and succession planning. Managing the business is essential as most family business owners have their wealth invested in their business.

For students who plan to pursue their career in banks, private equity funds, M&A, and pension funds, this course provides knowledge to deal with family businesses, who are likely to be your clients or strategic partners. You might also work in a family firm and having the founding family as your boss. A good understanding of how family businesses operate is essential for doing business.

This course focuses on strategy and actionable measurement in non-governmental organisations, market-based social enterprises, philanthropy, and impact investing. “Actionable” means that measurement is used by managers, investors, and other stakeholders to improve outcomes.

Specifically, the course will include: strategic planning, theories of change, logic models, monitoring, and evaluation; grant making, impact investing, performance contracting, and social impact bonds; and measuring the social impact of philanthropists, non-governmental organisations and market-based social enterprises. These issues will be addressed mainly through problems and business school case studies.

This course aims to provide students with an overview of the commodity markets. We will introduce commodities as an asset class and present key concepts for commodity trading and investing businesses. We will focus on physical trading and investing in real assets as opposed to trading commodities in the financial markets/on screens. You will find it useful to have some basic knowledge of accounting, algebra, statistics, finance and risk management prior to enrolling in this course.

This course is on equity valuation. As there are many methods to value equities, this course will discuss which methodology works best under what conditions and why? Some of the methods are well established and others are relatively new. The course will evaluate a portfolio of approaches to come up with a consistent approach to valuation. Besides valuing equities the course will also cover what we can infer from prevailing prices?

It is a practical course where the emphasis is on application to real life situations. The focus is on “learning by doing”. The course will use numerous contemporary case studies and many different techniques to value equities. Most classes will have a case situation, which is live or near-live. These would allow students to appreciate current market practices and prepare them for a career in investment management, investment banking and corporate finance.