IAN MCDONALD and RYAN BROWN
E-mail:
Class location: Warren 207
Monday: 5:45pm – 9:00pm
Office Hours: By appointment
TA: TBD
REQUIRED COURSE MATERIAL
“The Most Important Thing Illuminated: Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor”, Howard Marks (Columbia
Business School Publishing)
RECOMMENDED READING
The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEO’s (Thorndike)
Measuring the Moat: Assessing the Magnitude & Sustainability of Value Creation (Mauboussin)
A Lesson on Elementary, Worldly Wisdom (Munger’s 1994 USC lecture on importance of ROIC)
Capital Account – A Fund Manager Reports on a Turbulent Decade, 1993-2002
REQUIRED PREREQUISITES AND CONNECTION TO THE CORE
Prerequisite: Capital Markets
The learning in this course will utilize, build on and extend concepts covered in the following core courses:
Core Course
Corporate Finance
Connection with Core
1.
Cost of Capital
2.
Valuation
3.
Financing Options
4.
Time value of money
5.
Opportunity cost (of capital)
6.
The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM)
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Financial Accounting
Global Economic
Environment
7.
Firm Valuation Model
1.
The “accounting equation”
2.
Revenue and expense recognition
3.
Resources and obligations – measurement and disclosure
1.
Risk Management
2.
What is Gross Domestic Product and how is it measured?
3.
What causes inflation?
4.
What causes changes in exchange rates?
5.
What are the causes of business cycles?
6.
What are the effects of monetary policy?
7.
What are the effects of fiscal policy?
8.
What is the role of financial markets in the economy?
Managerial Economics
Strategy Formulation
1.
Barriers to entry
2.
Moats
3.
Maximization and thinking on the margin
4.
Analyzing complex decision-making under uncertainty
5.
Decision-based cost analysis
6.
Pricing with market power
7.
Market segmentation and other advanced pricing strategies
8.
Understanding market competition and equilibrium thinking (in the short-run)
9.
Market equilibrium thinking (in the long-run) and barriers to entry
10.
Strategic interaction among firms and Nash equilibrium
1.
Trade-offs, value-added, efficiencies
2.
Creation of value vs. value capture
3.
Competing firms
4.
Co-optition and Complementors
5.
Strategic interaction analysis
6.
Diversification and scope
7.
Ethics & IBS
8.
Behavioral and evidence-based strategy
9.
Management
Students will be expected to have mastered these concepts and be able to apply them in the course.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The objective of this course is to introduce both the theory and application of Security Analysis. Students should expect to obtain a broad knowledge of security markets, competitive strategy, behavioral finance, financial statement analysis and valuation methods. In addition, various value investment strategies will be reviewed that will provide a foundation for students to apply the skills they have learned upon graduation from Columbia Business School.
Qualitative and quantitative analytic capabilities will be developed as well as presentation skills.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
The course is designed to provide the student a practical overview of evaluating a company and valuing its securities with the goal of becoming a more proficient and balanced investment practitioner, whether as a principal or an agent.
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ASSIGNMENTS
2 or 3 homework assignments, each a 30 minute time commitment
Basic Company Report
- Teams of 3
- Companies and/or Industry assigned
1.
One Page Hypothesis
2.
Present investment recommendation to class
3.
Written report due last class
Max 5 pages excluding charts/exhibits
METHOD OF EVALUATION
Class Attendance & Participation
Homework Assignments
Basic Company Report & Presentation
CLASSROOM NORMS AND EXPECTATIONS
Class Participation:
Preparation, Discussion, Organization
Guest Speakers:
This course will involve several buy-side guest lectures; class participation will be crucial to the success of the course.
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