Undergraduate Course: Investment and Securities Markets (BUST10032)
Course Outline
| School | Business School |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The course begins with an overview of securities markets. It then covers the Modern Portfolio Theory and the Single-Index Model. The Capital Asset Pricing Model is discussed next. The second half of the course focuses on the areas of market efficiency, behavioural finance, and international investing. |
| Course description |
The course aims to develop an understanding of the theory and practice of investment and securities markets. It provides the concepts and tools which will help graduates cope in the increasingly sophisticated investment markets. Discussion of academic research is combined with an emphasis on practical application.
SYLLABUS
- overview of securities markets;
- introduction to risk and return;
- optimal risky portfolios;
- index models;
- the Capital Asset Pricing Model;
- the Efficient Market Hypothesis;
- behavioural finance and technical analysis;
- empirical evidence on security returns;
- international diversification.
STUDENT LEARNING EXPERIENCE
The lectures provide an overview of each topic together with brief discussion of one or two journal articles relating to that topic. However, student learning comes primarily from reading the chapters of books and journal articles recommended. Many of the recommended journal articles involve quantitative methods but students do not need advanced mathematical or statistical knowledge to understand them. The assessed coursework requires students to identify, assess, evaluate, understand and integrate material from academic literature and summarise it in a coherent and logical form.
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have at least 3 Business Studies courses (including at least one Finance course) at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses.
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| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2017/18, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
174 )
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| Additional Information (Learning and Teaching) |
The contact hours comprise 10 lecture sessions (5*2 = 10 hours)
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
70 %,
Coursework
30 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Assessment will be by:-
- Coursework (30% group project): The coursework accounts for 30% of the final grade. 25% of the final grade will be obtained by submitting a 1,500 word report. 5% of the final grade (16.67% of the coursework component) will be awarded through a peer evaluation process (WebPA). Students will be randomly allocated into groups.
- Final Examination (70%): 35% multiple-choice questions; 35% calculation and essay questions.
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| Feedback |
Coursework marks will be available on Learn, and students can also look at their feedback in the Business School Undergraduate Office (Room 1.11, 29 Buccleuch Place) and take away a copy of the feedback form.
Examination marks will be posted on Learn (together with generic feedback and examination statistics) as soon as possible after the Boards of Examiners¿ meeting (normally end of January/beginning of February). You will have the opportunity to look at your examination scripts in early February in the Business School Undergraduate Office (Room 1.11, Business School, 29 Buccleuch Place). |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
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| Main Exam Diet S1 (December) | | 2:00 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Understand and critically discuss the concepts and tools employed in institutional investment and securities markets.
- Understand and critically discuss the current issues and debates relating to topics covered in the course.
- Understand and critically discuss academic research methods relating to investment and securities markets.
- Discuss critically the contribution of financial market theory to the institutional investment process.
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Reading List
The main text for the course is
Bodie, Z., Kane, A. and Marcus, A.J. 'Investments', 10th Edition 2014, McGraw-Hill
The text recommended for further reading is
Elton, J.E., Gruber, M.J., Brown, S.J., and Goetzmann, W.N. 'Modern Portfolio Theory and Investment Analysis', 9th Edition 2014, Wiley
- Overview of securities markets: BKM Chapters 1-4, EGBG Chapters 1-3
- Introduction to risk and return: BKM Chapters 5-6, EGBG Chapter 4
- Optimal risky portfolio: BKM Chapter 7, EGBG Chapters 5-6
- Index models: BKM Chapter 8, EGBG Chapters 7-8
- The Capital Asset Pricing Model: BKM Chapter 9, EGBG Chapter 13
- The Efficient Market Hypothesis: BKM Chapter 11, EGBG Chapter 18
- Behavioral finance and technical analysis: BKM Chapter 12, EGBG Chapter 18
- Empirical evidence on security returns: BKM Chapter 13, EGBG Chapter 15
- International diversification: BKM Chapter 25, EGBG Chapter 10 |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
On completion of the course students should be able to:
- demonstrate that they can follow complex lines of argument
- demonstrate that they can write answers to essay-type questions |
| Keywords | ISM |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Mr Ben Sila
Tel:
Email: |
Course secretary | Ms Caroline Hall
Tel: (0131 6)50 8336
Email: |
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