Finance 3710 BMW: Investment Analysis

Baruch College - CUNY

Spring 2018
Mon & Wed: 9:05-10:20am
Classroom: B-Vert-11-155

Christos Giannikos
Professor of Finance
Bert W. Wasserman Department of Economics and Finance
Office: B-Vert-10-286
Tel#(646) 312-3492
Fax#(646) 312-3451
e-mail: Christos.Giannikos@baruch.cuny.edu
Office Hours: Mon 1:20-2:20 pm and by appointment

OVERVIEW
The course seeks to familiarize students with the concepts of modern finance that are relevant for
successful investment management. Broad topics include combining individual securities into portfolios,
portfolio management, valuation of bonds and stocks, efficient set, capital asset pricing model and
portfolio performance measurement.

COURSE MATERIALS
1. The required textbook is “Essentials of Investments”, by Bodie, Kane, and Marcus, 10th Edition,
McGraw-Hill- Irwin, with Connect. Connect can be purchased together with the textbook or separately at
the website. You can also purchase Connect together with an e-textbook at the website.
2. Recommended reading is The Wall Street Journal, Economist, Business Week, Bloomberg
BusinessWeek
3. For a basic review of discounting and present values and introduction to several topics on investments
“Fundamentals of Corporate Finance” by Ross, Westerfield and Jordan is an excellent source but there
are many others.
4. Lecture notes/slides will be available on BB
5. Homework will be assigned and graded through Connect. You will need to register with Connect for
that.
6. Recommended popular (and entertaining) books on finance: A Random Walk Down Wall Street by B.
Malkiel, The Big Short by M. Lewis, When Genius Failed by R. Lowenstein, Quants by S. Patterson
7. Wasserman Trading Floor / Subotnick Center. Students are encouraged to visit the trading floor and
center and learn Reuters and Bloomberg software. The Center offers free workshops on these and other
interesting topics. For further details please visit the center’s website:
http://zicklin.baruch.cuny.edu/sfsc/
8. Sample Exams & Review Sessions. It is my habit to post sample exams (on Connect as well) before
each exam (midterms and final). I give students time to work on those exams themselves and also
extensively discuss some of the problems in these exams during the review sessions (see schedule of
classes below).

PREREQUISITE
Fin 3000 is a prerequisite for this class and students are expected to have a firm command of the material
of that introductory class.

GRADING
Course requirements include: class participation, homework assignments, two exams and a final exam.
The final grade is based on the formula:
Participation (5%) + Homework (10%) + 2 Exams (40%) + Final (45%)
1. Participation. Class attendance is mandatory and I will monitor it. Entering the classroom late (more
than 15 min) or similarly leaving early is counted as absence. According to Baruch College Policy, if you
miss more than FOUR lectures you will receive a D or F for the course at the Professor’s discretion. But
aside from rules and regulations the reality is that the material in this class builds on your previous
understanding as we will proceed through the course and, in my experience, missing classes often puts a
student in a disadvantageous position as the material is conceptually challenging and technically
demanding.
2. Homework. There will be six homework assignments each weighted equally. Homework is due before
the start of the class on the due date as per the schedule of classes given below. The system allows three
attempts and does not accept any late assignments. You need to work independently for the Connect
homework.
3. Exams. There will be two in class written (midterm) exams during the term and one in class written
final, all cumulative. The two written in-class midterm exams are mandatory and the best among them
will count for 40% of your final grade. Final exam will count for 45% of your final grade. Answers for the
homework questions will be provided and some of them will be extensively discussed in class especially
during review sessions immediately before the exams.
In case that, for whatever reason, you miss one of the midterm exams, the 40% contribution to your final
grade from 2 Exams above will come from the other (midterm) exam taken. There will be no make-ups
except for medical emergency as supported by a written note from a doctor with contact information for
verification purposes.
The University rules do not tolerate cheating. My policy is to give a grade of zero to any assignment that
has been plagiarized or an exam in which a student has cheated. In such a case a grade of either an F or D
will be given at my discretion. Additionally, I will be required by College policy to submit a report of
suspected dishonesty to the Office of the Dean of Students regarding such an incident. This report
becomes part of the involved student’s permanent file. For further information please refer to the website
below:
http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/academic/academic_honesty.html

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF EXAMS & MATERIAL

EXAM 1 : Mon Mar 12th ( 1,2,3 & 4)

EXAM 2 : Mon Apr 23rd (5, 6,7 & 8)
FINAL EXAM (all above plus 9, 10,13, 15 & 16) is tentatively scheduled for Wed May 23 rd 10:30am-
12:30pm per Baruch College Spring 2018 Tentative Final Exam Schedule (please check online for
updates/changes).