COURSE SYLLABUS©
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COURSE DETAILS
TERM:
COURSE TITLE:
PREREQUISITES:
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TEXTBOOK /
REQUIRED READING
MATERIALS:
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FINC 4210/ add section
Investments
ACCT 2010, ACCT 2025, BUSN 2750, FINC 3210
25
None
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textbook, including receiving gratis academic inspection copies, contact the
librarian Benjamin Fasching-Gray at benjamin.fasching-gray@webster.ac.at .
If there is a standard textbook for your course (info in your contract), please
enter that title. If you would like to change this textbook, you must get the
approval from your department head.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Introduces information about investing in securities, commodities, and options; and methods and
techniques for analyzing investment opportunities and assessing financial conditions for investment
purposes.
COURSE OBJECTIVES / LEARNING OUTCOMES
Outcome
Students can describe major security types.
Students can compute average returns and
standard deviation.
Expectation
Students can discuss money market
instruments, equity, debt and derivatives.
They can describe the major features of each
and their risk-return characteristics. Students
can also identify investment goals for which
each would be appropriate.
Given a series of historical returns students
can compute arithmetic and geometric
averages and standard deviation. Students can
also compute average expected return and
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Students can discuss security market structure.
Students can perform financial analysis.
Students can value equity using fundamental
analysis.
Students can compute required returns using
the capital asset pricing model.
Students can discuss the advantages and
disadvantages of mutual funds.
Students can relate the effect of bond features
on risk and return.
standard deviation based on a probability
distribution of expected returns.
Students can describe major market structures
and their functioning. Students can discuss the
difference between primary and secondary
markets. They can also differentiate between
auction and over-the-counter markets. They
can relate current developments in the
markets and appraise the ability of different
market structures to provide price discovery
and liquidity.
Students can collect financial data on a
corporation and its competitors. They can
conduct comparative financial analysis using
ratio analysis, including extended DuPont
analysis. Students can discuss the limitations
of financial statement analysis. They can
define “quality of earnings” and discuss a few
methods of measuring.
Students can develop and support future
growth projections. They can utilize these to
compute firm value using the discounted cash
flow model.
Students can discuss the difference between
systematic and unsystematic risk. They can
explain why diversification reduces total risk
and can compute the standard deviation of a
two-asset portfolio. Students can compute
beta given correlation with market and
standard deviation of an asset and the market.
They can compute the required return of a
security or a portfolio using beta estimates.
Students can discuss how mutual fund
investments differ from other managed
investments. They can describe major
categories of funds and discuss the benefits
and drawbacks of using mutual funds.
Students can discuss provisions of bond
indenture and relate these features to bond
risk. Students can also discuss the importance
of bond ratings on return.
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GRADE BREAKDOWN
(Note: instructors can determine the components of evaluations, below is just an example).
GRADING SCALE:
MIDTERM EXAM:
FINAL EXAM:
QUIZZES/ASSIGNMENTS:
CLASS PROJECT:
PARTCIPATION:
A: 93-100, A-: 90-92, B+: 87-89, B: 83-86, B-: 80-82, C+: 77-79,
C: 73-76, C-: 70-72, D+: 67-69, D: 63-66, F: <63
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COURSE POLICIES / ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
List policies that are specific to your course, such as your policy on acceptance of and/or penalties for late
work, an explanation of how you enforce the attendance policy (for example, whether lateness counts as a
partial absence, or points taken off for each absence or partial absence, etc.), elucidation of what
constitutes cheating, etc. or, use this section for any additional information that pertains to your course.
WEEKLY SCHEDULE
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UNIVERSITY POLICIES
Students are required to inform themselves of WUV academic policies. A full list of these policies is available on the WUV website:
http://webster.ac.at/academic-policies
Academic Honesty & Cheating:
The University is committed to high standards of academic honesty. Students will be held responsible for violations of these standards.
A special Honor Code that the Vienna Student Council has developed applies to students and faculty. Any student found cheating on
any part of the course work (homework assignment, term paper, quiz, exam, etc.) will automatically be given an “F” for the course.
Any student found to be helping another student to cheat will likewise be given an “F” for the course. In each case, the student will
also be put on disciplinary probation for the remainder of her or his stay at Webster. If the student is found to have engaged in
cheating a second time, s/he will be automatically expelled from the University. Faculty members are held responsible for upholding
and enforcing the Honor Code.
Academic Work:
Students are required to save digital or hard-copy files of any and all materials they use for any assignment in any WUV course. Upon
the instructor's request they have to provide complete text documentation for any sources they have used. In every case, should the
assignment or project be shared outside the academic department, the student's name and all identifying information about that
student will be redacted from the assignment or project.
Contact Hours:
Graduate courses are only offered in an 8- week term format and meet 1-time per week for 4 hours. Graduate Mid-term and final
exams sessions are scheduled in 2-hour block sessions in addition to weekly class meeting times (36 total contact hours). Please see
the Graduate Course Schedule/Timetable on the website for specific exam dates/times: http://webster.ac.at/graduate-courseofferings-and-schedules
Undergraduate courses are offered either in term format, which meets for two 2-hour sessions per week for 8 consecutive weeks (32
contact hours), or a 15-week semester format, which meets for two 1.5 – hour sessions for 8 consecutive weeks followed by a break
week (no classes are held) and then for another 7 consecutive weeks. The total number of contact hours for undergraduate semester
courses is thus 45.
Attendance:
Students are expected to attend all class sessions of this course. In the case of unavoidable absence, the student must contact the instructor
and provide written documentation. The student is subject to appropriate academic penalty for incomplete or unacceptable makeup work,
or for excessive or unexcused absences.
Excused absences—based on submitted documentation—must not exceed:
 Four class sessions when the course meets twice a week;
 Two class sessions when the course meets only once a week.
Should the number of excused absences be higher, it is the student's responsibility to withdraw from the course.
In the case of unexcused absences, amounting to:
 Four class sessions when the course meets twice a week;
 Two class sessions when the course meets only once a week;
the instructor must lower the student's grade by one letter grade and inform the student of the action.
Should the number of unexcused absences be higher, the instructor must assign the grade of F and inform the student of the action.
Note: In the case of a mixture of excused and unexcused absences, the instructor’s response must be based on the dominant category.
Student Conduct:
Since every student is entitled to full participation in class or exams without interruption, disruption of class by inconsiderate behavior
is not acceptable. Students are expected to treat the instructor and other students with dignity and respect, especially in cases where
a diversity of opinion arises. Students who engage in disruptive behavior are subject to disciplinary action, including removal from the
course. All and any use of a cell phone is strictly prohibited during class. Students using a cell phone may be sent out of the classroom,
which may result in an unexcused absence. If a calculator is needed in any class, the student must bring a calculator—and not a cell
phone. It is up to the individual instructor to rule on the use of laptops or I-pads. Instructors have the right to prohibit students’ use of
such electronic devices.
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