COURSE NUMBER: MBA233.1

COURSE TITLE: Investments

UNITS OF CREDIT: 3 units

INSTRUCTORS: Christine Parlour

E-MAIL ADDRESS: parlour@haas.berkeley.edu

CLASS WEB PAGE LOCATION: http://bspace.berkeley.edu

MEETING DAY(S)/TIME: Tuesday and Thursday, 2:00-3:30PM

PREREQUISITE(S): MBA203

CLASS FORMAT: Lectures + discussion

REQUIRED READINGS: Course reader

BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE: Midterm, Final and group assignments

ABSTRACT OF COURSE'S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES:

Understanding financial markets is key for success. In this class you will be exposed both to tools but you will also learn how to think like a financial economist about practical problems and situations. This mindset is important both for jobs in industry and to evaluate how professionals are managing your portfolio.

The course is roughly divided into two parts. In the first half, we will cover the financial theory and some of the quantitative tools that are needed to understand how stock, bond and derivatives prices are determined and how information about asset returns should be used for investment decisions. We will cover modern ideas about asset pricing especially factor models, the relationship between risk and return, and various aspects of practical asset allocation. We will focus on common stocks, but we will also discuss fixed income securities (bonds).

The second part of the course takes a hard look at some post-2008 truths. We will discuss the evolving post-2008 regulatory environment, the current structure of equity markets and trading costs, and how to evaluate portfolio performance in light of these frictions. In addition, we will touch on some alternative investments and how private equity and hedge fund vehicles that are positioned to take advantage of market inefficiencies.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:

Christine A. Parlour specializes in microstructure: the study of market design and trading strategies. She has worked at both the SEC and has been a member of the Nasdaq Economic Advisory board.