International University of Grand-Bassam
School of Business, International Relations, and Economic Policy
FI 4000: Fundamentals of Valuations
Spring 2014
Monday & Wednesday: 8:30 AM – 11:20 AM, Room: 6, Academic Building
INSTRUCTOR
Name: Dr. Ndeye Salimata Fall
Phone: +225 47 54 02 55
Email: fall.s@iugb.org
Office:
OFFICE HOURS
Monday: From 2:30 to 4:00PM
Tuesday: From 10:00 to 11:30 A.M.
COURSE DESCRIPTION & PREREQUISITE
This course introduces a sound foundation for the main concepts in investments. Students will
acquire fundamentals of finance theory and analytical tools for making good investment decisions.
The topics discussed include: risk-return analysis, portfolio selection, asset pricing, equity
securities analysis, the efficient market hypothesis, derivatives analysis and pricing, fixed income
securities, and the economics of the foreign exchange markets. This is a highly quantitative course
and students are expected to be comfortable with basic finance a probability, statistics, regression
analysis, and spreadsheet programming.
Prerequisite: Fi 3300, Math 1070, Bcom 3950
Computer Skills Prerequisites (CSP): 1, 2, 6.
COURSE MATERIALS
Required textbook:
Essentials of Investments by Zvi Bodie, Alex Kane, and Alan J. Marcus, 8th Edition, Irwin
McGraw-Hill
Careers in Finance by Trudy Ring (2nd or 3rd edition)
STUDENTS PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT
In this course, students will be evaluated according to their performance in the following
assessment items: Three midterm exams, a final exam, two projects, a career project, quizzes, and
in-class participation. Homework submitted by students must be of the highest professional output.
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International University of Grand-Bassam
School of Business, International Relations, and Economic Policy
Exams
There will be two exams – one midterm exam and a final exam. The exams will include
combinations of objective questions (multiple choice), true/false, numerical problems, short
answer, and longer essays. Exams will be closed book and closed notes. You will be provided with
a formula sheet. Midterm exams will be held on the scheduled exam day and final exam will be
held in the final exam week on the day and time stated in the course calendar. Detailed information
about the exams will be provided later. Please see the "Course Policies" section for information
about exams make-ups.
Projects
There will be one class project and one career project. The requirements of the projects will be
discussed during the class. Each project is due by the end of the class period on the designated due
date. Refer to the course calendar for the due dates. No late submission is accepted and failure to
submit the project on time will result a score of zero. The project is individually assigned and each
student is expected to work on it completely independently without any help from others. Each
student need to submit a report on the project displaying their results. The detail of the report that
is expected will be discussed in the class in due time. Please see the "Course Policies" section for
penalties applying late project.
Quizzes
Every week, starting week 2, there will be quizzes. Quizzes will be designed to be completed in
not more than 30 minutes.
Homework
Throughout the semester, you will be given homework to help you better understand the materials
covered.
In-class Participation
In-class participation is highly appreciated. Good participation means regular attendance, frequent
involvement and positive contributions in class discussions. Each student’s classroom participation
will be assessed based on:

The student getting ready for each class by performing all assigned readings. Not
performing the assigned readings will negatively affect your in-class participation grade.

The student’s attendance to each and every class session on a timely basis. Missing a class
will negatively affect your in-class participation grade.

The energy of the student to ask appropriate questions in class, and to respond to questions,
comments, and issues which a fellow students and the instructor may raise in class. Not
talking in class will negatively affect your in-class participation grade.
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International University of Grand-Bassam
School of Business, International Relations, and Economic Policy
GRADING
The relative weight for each of the evaluation items is shown below.
Grade Distribution
% of Final Grade
20%
30%
10%
5%
10%
20%
5%
Midterm Exam
Final Exam
Project 1
Homework
Career Project
Quiz
In-class Participation
Grade Scale
Students’ final letter grades will be assessed as follow:
Letter Grade
A+
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD
F
Final Grade (%)
97-100
93 – 96.99
90 – 92.99
87 – 89.99
83 – 86.99
80 – 82.99
77 – 79.99
73 – 76.99
70 – 72.99
60 – 69.99
< 60
GPA Quality Points
4.3
4.0
3.7
3.3
3.0
2.7
2.3
2.0
1.7
1.0
0.0
COURSE POLICIES
Assignments and Projects Submission
All homework are due at the beginning of the class period on the due date. A penalty of 50% of
the grade will be assessed for every 24 hours late submission. Therefore, a zero grade will be
given to a homework submitted 2 days past the due date. If you have a problem in completing or
submitting your project on time, discuss it with the instructor before the due day.
Make-up Policy
As a general rule, there will be no make-ups for individual projects, quizzes and exams. If you
have a legitimate excuse (documented health or business reasons) from missing any of the above,
please notify the instructor if possible a week prior to the project, quiz or exam and provide an
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International University of Grand-Bassam
School of Business, International Relations, and Economic Policy
accepted justification. Failure to do so without an appropriate excuse will result in a zero grade.
No extra-credit assignments, projects, quizzes and exams are available under any circumstances.
Attendance Policy
Attending class significantly increases your understanding of the course content and improves your
odds of obtaining a good grade in the class. Attendance will be taken daily and will account for 50
percent of your in-class participation grade. Missing up to 3 classes will not be penalized; missing
4 through 6 classes will cost you 20 percent in-class participation grade; and missing more than 6
classes will cost you all 50 percent of your in-class participation grade.
Only absences for which an excuse is provided (professional letterhead required) will be accepted.
Coming late to class or leaving the classroom before the end of the class session is considered as
an absence. If you must miss a class, please get my approval in advance. Also, if you miss a class
session, it is your responsibility to find out what you missed and to do whatever is necessary to get
up to speed.
Academic Integrity
Students are encouraged to assist each other in mastering the concepts and skills covered in this
course. However, an individual assignment, group project, a quiz or an exam submitted by a
student in fulfilling the requirements of this course must be the result of that student's own
personal effort and not copied from another work or performed by anyone else. Any student who
cheats, plagiarizes, or performs any other act of academic dishonesty is guilty of academic
misconduct. Any academic misconduct in this course will be dealt with according to IUGB’s
academic misconduct policy and will result in an automatic “F” for the course.
Disruptive Student Conduct in the Classroom or Other learning Environment
All forms of disruptive behavior should be avoided. Disruptive student behavior includes, but is
not limited to, verbal or physical threats, repeated obscenities, unreasonable interference with class
discussion, making/receiving personal phone calls or pagers during class, leaving and entering
class frequently in the absence of notice to instructor of illness or other extenuating circumstances,
and persisting in disruptive personal conversation with other class members. Please ensure that all
potentially noise-making equipment (cellular phones, pagers, laptop computers, etc) are turned off
during lectures. Furthermore, be sure to get to class on time. Entering class during the lecture is
disruptive to the instructor as well as to the students.
Help, Feedback and Continuous Improvement
I’ve scheduled office hours (see the first page of the syllabus). Students are strongly encouraged to
visit me in my office or use my e-mail to ask questions, to express concerns about any aspect of
the course, or to clear up possible points of confusion. I will do my best to correct any problems
and accommodate your suggestions. I’m eager to help you succeed in this class.
Students who have a disability or a condition, which may impair their ability to complete
homework or otherwise satisfy course criteria, are encouraged to notify me at the beginning of the
semester in order to make possible accommodations.
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International University of Grand-Bassam
School of Business, International Relations, and Economic Policy
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
Weeks & Sessions
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14
Week 15
Session 1
Session 2
Session 3
Session 4
Session 5
Session 6
Session 7
Session 8
Session 9
Session 10
Session 11
Session 12
Session 13
Session 14
Session 15
Session 16
Session 17
Session 18
Session 19
Session 20
Session 21
Session 22
Session 23
Session 24
Session 25
Session 26
Session 27
Session 28
Session 29
Session
30
Topics
Readings
Exams &
Projects
Course Introduction
Review of Time Value of Money
Introduction to Portfolio Theory, Risk and
Return
Introduction to Asset Allocation, Portfolio
Theory and Mean Variance Analysis
Chapter 5
Asset Pricing Models, CAPM and APT
Chapter 7
Equity Valuation
Chapter 13
Chapter 6
Chapter 10
Debt Securities: Bond Pricing and Bond
Yields, Term Structure Analysis
Midterm Review
Midterm Exam
Mid Semester Break: No class
Interest Rate Risk
Introduction to Options, Option
Fundamentals and Strategies
Option Valuation
Chapter 11
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Class Project
Due
Futures Markets
Chapter 17
Chapter 8
Efficient Markets
International Investment and Risk
Management
Chapter 19
Career Project
Due Date
Review
Final Exam: Comprehensive
Notes
1. If you require special accommodations for exams (e.g., "time and a half"), you must provide
documentation and make arrangements with me PRIOR to the exam dates.
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International University of Grand-Bassam
School of Business, International Relations, and Economic Policy
2. Incomplete grades will only be given to students who are passing the course, and even then,
only in very special circumstances. In the case where an incomplete grade is awarded, it must
be removed by the end of the next term that the student is enrolled (and within two terms
regardless of whether or not the student is enrolled) or it will automatically turn into an F.
3. Students who withdraw after the midpoint of each term will not be eligible for a "W" except in
cases of hardship.
4. All instructors must, on a date after the mid-point of the course (to be set by the Provost) give a
WF to all those students who are on their rolls, but no longer taking the class and report the last
day the student attended or turned in an assignment. If you plan to drop the class, do let me
know.
5. This course syllabus provides a general plan for the course; deviations may be necessary.
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