Winthrop University
College of Business Administration
Investments
FINC 512-001
Office Hours: Tuesday 3:00-5:30
Wednesday 1:00-2:30
and by appointment
Dr. James Schultz
Summer 2015
Thurmond 526
E-mail: schultzj@winthrop.edu
Office Phone: 803-323-2162
Cell Phone: 586-549-0547
Website: http://faculty.winthrop.edu/schultzj/
Contacting Me: When you have a question/problem, please email me. If, however, your
issue requires a very fast response, then you are encouraged to text me on my cell phone.
Just be sure to make it clear who you are, as obviously I won’t recognize the number. In
addition, I try to respond to all of my emails in 24-36 hours. If for some reason this time
window has expired and you haven’t received a response, I strongly encourage you to be
persistent and resend your email/text to me. I am here for you, and want to make sure all
of your questions are answered.
Required Textbook: Essentials of Investments, Bodie, Kane, and Marcus, 9th edition,
McGraw-Hill Irwin, ISBN: 9780078034695
Credit Hours: 3
Pre-Requisites: A minimum grade of C- in FINC 311
Course Description
A graduate level course that allows students an opportunity to learn both the theory and
practice behind investment analysis.
Course Content:
This class is basically broken into two parts: practical applications and theoretical
models. The first section of the class focuses more on the practical applications, while
the second section of the class focuses more on the theoretical models. The purpose of
this division is to show students the practical nature of investments early on, so that they
may utilize these ideas in their trading projects.
Chapter 1:
Chapter 3:
Extra:
Chapter 13:
Extra:
Chapter 15:
Chapter 16:
Chapter 17:
Chapter 2:
Overview (Reading)
Securities Markets
Technical Analysis techniques
Equity Valuation & Fundamental Analysis
Currency Markets
Options Markets
Option Valuation
Futures
Asset Classes and Financial Instruments (Reading)
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………………Midterm (will be completed online as a take-home)….
Chapter 10:
Chapter 11:
Chapter 4:
Chapter 5:
Chapter 6:
Chapter 8:
Chapter 18:
Bond Prices and Yields
Managing Bond Portfolios
Mutual Fund Analysis (Reading)
Risk and Return
Efficient Diversification
Efficient Markets Hypothesis
Portfolio Performance Evaluation (if time permits)
........................Final Exam (will be completed online as a take-home)….
Exams:
The two exams will be both be administered in an “online” format. The instructor will
email out the exam, and then the students will have approximately 48 hours to complete
the exam and return back to the instructor electronically. The final exam will contain a
cumulative portion. Graduate students will take a different exam from
undergraduate students.
Homework:
Problems will be suggested throughout the class as practice for the quizzes and exams.
These may or may not be collected, but will serve as useful practice for the exams in
either case.
Quizzes:
There will be a quiz given each night of class, except the first night. This means there
will be 6 quizzes in total. Should a student know in advance that he/she will miss a given
class on a given day, then that quiz can be made up in the manner deemed most
appropriate by the instructor.
Projects:
There will be one major project that will run the length of the entire semester. Details of
this project will be administered during the first night of class. There will also be several
smaller projects throughout the semester. Assuming that we use the trading room
software, students may need to attend several software training sessions that will be
outside of regular class time.
Professionalism:
At a bare minimum you are expected to be on time to class and be attentive during
classroom discussions. Please refrain from texting during class as this can be
extremely distracting to the students around you. Persistent texters might be asked
to leave class. Furthermore, the instructor reserves the right to reduce a student’s
grade as far as he sees fit in any instance where a student’s actions are deemed
extremely unprofessional. Be considerate of others, be engaged but do not dominate the
class with excessive comments or questions. All University conduct policies apply as
well.
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Graduate students may be required to obtain Bloomberg Certification in “Equity
Essentials” and “Fixed Income” before the semester ends.
Grading:
Midterm
Final
Main ToS Project
Quizzes
Smaller Projects
Total
Grades:
93%
90%
87%
83%
80%
77%
73%
70%
67%
63%
60%
59%
100
100
100
90
60
450
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
DF
Any student who is still enrolled in the course after the withdrawal deadline will be given
a grade ("A" through "F"). Furthermore, the professor reserves the right to increase
a student’s grade beyond that which was earned due to “intangible” factors such as,
but not limited to: effort, participation, improvement over the semester, etc.
Course materials:
My expectation for each and every student is high. Be prepared to move at a brisk
pace and to do some work from the textbook, or another outside source, without
having seen the material in class. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to obtain
class notes from someone else in class. Additional materials will be delivered via email,
or posted on my website.
Attendance Policy:
Attendance will not be recorded weekly, but it will be extremely difficult, if not
impossible to succeed in this class without regularly attending.
Email:
All class emails will be distributed to each student’s Winthrop email address. It is the
student’s responsibility to ensure they are receiving all class emails. If a student is not
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receiving emails then he/she should contact technology services in Tillman Hall to have
the problem resolved.
Students with Disabilities:
Winthrop University is dedicated to providing access to education. If you have a
disability and require specific accommodations to complete this course, contact Gena
Smith, Program Director, Services for Students with Disabilities, at 323-3290. Once you
have your official notice of accommodations from Services for Students with Disabilities,
please inform me as early as possible in the semester.
Student Conduct Code:
As noted in the Student Conduct Code: “Responsibility for good conduct rests with
students as adult individuals.” The policy on student academic misconduct is outlined in
the Student Conduct Code Academic misconduct Policy in the Student Handbook online
(http://www2.winthrop.edu/studentaffairs/handbook/StudentHandbook.pdf).
Academic Success Center:
Winthrop’s Academic Success Center is a free resource for all undergraduate students
seeking to perform their best academically. The ASC offers a variety of personalized and
structured resources that help students achieve academic excellence, such as tutoring,
academic skill development (test taking strategies, time management counseling, and
study techniques), group and individual study spaces, and academic coaching. The ASC
is located on the first floor of Dinkins, Suite 106. Please contact the ASC at 803-3233929 or success@winthrop.edu. For more information on ASC services, please
visit www.winthrop.edu/success.
Course Goals:
 Analyze the risk/return relationships of assets
 Learn how to efficiently diversify a portfolio
 Understand the differences and similarities between capital asset pricing and
arbitrage pricing theory
 Dissect the efficient markets hypothesis
 Learn the theory and practice behind technical analysis
 Become competent in sophisticated bond valuation techniques
 Practice using equity valuation techniques on real companies
 Learn how the options market works and how options are valued
 Understand how the futures market operates
 Be able to effectively evaluate portfolio performance
Course Objectives & Student Learning Outcomes
Students will learn the theoretical underpinnings of many financial applications and be
asked to apply those concepts to real-world companies. Critical thinking skills will be
sharpened throughout the entire course.
Global Learning Initiative:
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The global learning component of this course will be a detailed understanding of the
world’s currency market. Students will not only learn the concepts and mechanics behind
the world currencies, but they will be required to trade various currency pairs as part of
their trading projects.
Study Methods:
The best method of studying for this course is to attend all classes, take good lecture
notes, refine and study your notes, and work the practice problems and questions.
Note: Remember it is your responsibility to contact me in the event of an emergency.
There are two ways that I can be reached: through e-mail or my cell phone. Be thorough
and exhaust both options if necessary.
Any changes to the syllabus will be discussed in class and/or formalized through an
official email to all registered students.
Tentative Schedule:
The schedule is subject to change depending on the flow of the class. Given the hybrid
nature of this class, some nights will be face-to-face and some will be online.
June 9th
June 16th
June 23rd
June 30th
July 7th
July 14th
July 21st
July 28th
August 4th
Face-to-face
Face-to-face
Face-to-face
Face-to-face
Online
Face-to-face
Face-to-face
Face-to-face
Online
Chapter 1 & Chapter 3
Technical Analysis & Chapter 13
Currency Markets & Chapter 15
Chapter 15 & Chapter 16 & Chapter 17
Chapter 10 & Chapter 11
Chapter 5
Chapter 6 & Chapter 8
Chapter 6 & Chapter 8 & Chapter 18
Students can use this time to complete their final
exams
Exam Schedule:
Midterm – Administered July 5th and due July 7th
Final – Administered August 3rd and due August 5th
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