INVESTMENTS

FIN -4223

Spring 2014

MW 4:00-5:15
Instructor: Matt Hull E-mail: stephen.hull@okstate.edu Phone: 744-8664 Office Hours: by appointment Office Location: 410A Business Building
Course Description and Goals This course explores various approaches to analyzing and valuing investments opportunities, e.g., common stocks, bonds, and options, and examines modern concepts of portfolio theory. The goal of the course will be to present both theoretical issues and material of practical value. It will focus on the concepts of risk and return, asset allocation, diversification, security valuation, and market efficiency. Students should be able to understand and effectively utilize the terminology commonly used in the finance industry to describe and discuss market forces, securities, participants, and positions. Students will also understand trading structures in the markets and how securities are traded. Specifically, students should be able to: Course Objective Apply various models to value stocks and bonds. Analyze the stylized facts of stocks, bonds and options. Use financial data from available databases. Use Excel to analyze the relationship between risk and return. Examine benefits of diversification and use optimization techniques to design efficiently diversified portfolios. Conduct a thorough security analysis Use asset pricing models as a tool to uncover anomalies in the observed behavior of financial securities, and assess the performance of various investment strategies and professional money managers. Identify and discuss ethical dilemmas regarding insider trading and market efficiency. Gain experience in securities trading and portfolio management through a class-wide competition Have a basic understanding of derivative securities and their use.

Program Learning Goal Business Knowledge and Competency

Technological Competence Critical Thinking Written Communication

Business Knowledge and Competency Critical Thinking

Ethical Decision Making Business Knowledge and Competency Business Knowledge and Competency Critical Thinking Business Knowledge and Competency

Since this is a high-level course, which covers difficult material, I expect students to work hard. Many of the topics are quite quantitative and require ample self-exercise. I expect the course to be a lot of fun, but also a lot of work!

REQUIRED READINGS: 1. Jordan Miller. Fundamentals of Investments, Sixth Edition. McGraw-Hill/Irwin. 2. McGraw Hill : Connect http://connect.mcgraw-hill.com/class/m_hull_spring_2014
3. Cramer, James J., Jim Cramers Real Money: Sane Investing in an Insane World . Simon & Schuster, 2005

Other Materials: Regular reading of the following publications is suggested 1. Barrons, Business Week, Forbes, Fortune, Investors Business Daily , Kiplingers
2. 3. Money, Smart Money, Value Line, Wall St. Journal. You will need a financial calculator. a. I recommend Texas Instruments BAII Plus or BAII Plus Professional

ATTENDANCE AND OFFICE HOURS:

Regular attendance is highly recommended. Please feel free to contact me either by phone, e-mail, or in person if you have any questions regarding the course. If ever you need to talk to me outside of class and in person I encourage you to email me and make an appointment. OSU University Syllabus Attachment: Additional important academic information and university policy can be found on the syllabus attachment that can be downloaded from the OSU website at: http://academicaffairs.okstate.edu/images/Patty/FacultyandStaffResources/Syllabus/spring%20 2014%20syllabus%20final%20with%20copyright%20statement.pdf

Exams could consist of multiple choice questions, problem solving questions and essay questions. They will cover both the material presented in class and assigned reading. It is my policy that no student may leave an examination until the test has been handed in. Projects: You will have two projects one that is to be completed by yourself and the second will be completed in collaboration with other students. Written Assignments- Topics for written analysis will be assigned in class. This will call for research, reading of assigned articles and critical thought.
NO Late papers or projects, late work will not be graded. Late is defined after the time I call for them in class or after the electronic classroom drop box closes. Turning in work early is an acceptable alternative to late work.

Grading Policy: o Exam 1 o Exam 2. o Security Analysis o Cramer Book Assignment o Final exam: Cumulative
Letter grades will be determined as: A = 90% or above 900 points and above B = 80% - 89% 800 899 points C = 70% - 79% 700 799 points D = 60% - 69% 600 699 points F = below 60% 599 points and below

150 pts. 150 pts. 300 pts. 100 pts. 300 pts. 1000 pts.

Academic Dishonesty: Academic Dishonesty or Misconduct will not be tolerated. Examples include plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration on assignments and projects, cheating on examinations, unauthorized advance access to exams, fraudulent alteration of academic materials, and failure by a student to prevent misuse of his/her work by others. The University Policy, Procedures and Sanctions for Academic Dishonesty or Misconduct will be followed. It is your responsibility to refer to the OSU Student Rights and Responsibilities Governing Student Behavior (www.okstate.edu/ucs/srr.html), Catalogue, and Policy and Procedure Letters E-MAIL PROTOCOL Due to the tremendous amount of junk mail that appears in my university e-mail account, you will need to follow this protocol if you want a timely response to your e-mail. When creating the e-mail be sure to include in the Subject Line FIN4223" (I will filter my incoming mail for this phrase and will only respond to those that have FIN4223 in the subject line, no spaces). Also please include a salutation (i.e. Dear Mr. Hull), and close with your name (if your question may require detailed explanation, also include your phone number). DISABILITIES: If any member of this class feels that she/he has a disability and needs special accommodations, I will work with you and the Office of Disabled Student Services, 326 Student Union, to provide reasonable accommodations to ensure that you have a fair opportunity to perform in this class. Please advise me of disabilities during the first week of class as well as the Office of Disabled Student Services in order to provide the required written verification from that office.
Additional Policies: 1) Grades will not be given out over the phone or by email. 2) If you have a problem with CONNECT you have to bring me a case #. 3) Priority will be given to students who are in the office. Walk Ins will be asked to wait or call back at a later time if there is a student present. 4) If you ask to review questions in order to renegotiate your grade on homework, assignment or an exam. I reserve the right to re-grade the entire exam ,paper, or assignment. 5) Office hours are specifically for the purpose of addressing questions and problems related to class and are reserved for students. Times other than posted for office hours are by appointment, but are available. If you do not have an appointment for hours outside of posted office hours, you may be asked to wait or come back at a later time. 6) You are responsible for all material presented in class. If you miss any material because of absence or tardiness, you should ask another student for notes. The instructors notes will not be available.

7) Cell phones, pagers and other electronic devices must be turned off during the class. Repeated
interruption from these items will run the risk of dismissing the student from the class or the items being confiscated. If you are late arriving to class, please make every effort to minimize

disruption to other students.