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The course will study the practical element of investing. Students will study the background of financial markets and investment communities.  We will look how this has developed into the roles and the player’s active in today’s investment industry.  Students will research, present and apply practical investment styles, strategies, evaluation and selection techniques that have been used by very successful investors over time as well as new strategies applied today.

Students will gain knowledge about different investment vehicles that can be used such as mutual funds, investment trusts, exchange traded funds or single lines of stocks etc. Students will also provide understanding and practise about different types of investors and their requirements and limitations when investing.  

Trying to solely understand financial markets is not enough to be successful in the financial industry today. To be able to understand clients’ specific needs, how to create an investment mandate and suitable investment portfolios for different types of investors are also key skills.  Therefore, the students will simulate client role plays and provide a client recommendation for investing.  

The students will also consider recent trends in investing such as introduction to Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) and usage of AI in the investment industry. The students will also participate in numerous active stock trading simulations to be able to apply their investment knowledge at different stages.  

The course will mainly be taught by Patricia Perlman-Dee who has spent over 11 years in the industry on trading floors in numerous investment banks such as Citigroup, JP Morgan and Nomura, followed by Wealth Management at Barclays. The course has large input from industry professionals and gives students plenty of opportunities to network with the professionals.. 

BMAN20072 and BMAN23000(A)/(B) are the pre-requisite for BMAN32082. Available to students on BSc Mgt/Mgt Specialism, IM, IMABS, BSc Accounting, IBFE, BA (Econ) Accounting and Finance Pathways, BSc Economics & BSc Maths with Finance.

Pre-requisites:
BMAN23000(A)(B) Foundations of Finance
BMAN20072 Investment Analysis

It is strongly preferred that students have achieved 60% or higher in the pre-requisite course units listed above. 

Understand the background and roles in financial markets, investment banking and fund management industry.  

Discuss theories of market efficiency; active vs passive management

Critically examine and evaluate practical investment techniques used by some of the world’s most successful investors

Explain how different types of investors make investment choices

Apply a range of investment techniques/strategies in creating and managing a portfolio for different investor ‘s needs

Apply acquired investment knowledge in trading a portfolio of Equities

Review and critically evaluate choice of benchmark and choice of investment vehicles

Present and explain investment advisory solutions according to clients’ needs

Review and critically evaluate the impact of constraints, ethics and behavioural finance in the investment industry

Provide an overview of the practical aspects and terminology in the investment industry, including usage of AI in the investment industry 

If students acquire the learning outcomes, this will greatly enhance their ability and capability to apply for employment in the financial sector (e.g., investment firms, multinational corporations, and international organizations). The course will provide students with a good level of underlying theory but also a huge advantage of practical knowledge and skills, equipping them for interviews and employment in the finance sector. The students will study practical material that is used by day-to-day practitioners as well as having numerous external finance professionals speaking to them, giving the students the opportunity to build contacts and expand their network for the future. 
 

Topic 1 – Overview Asset classes, What are Capital Markets, Why do Capital Markets exist, Development of Investment Banks, Industry participants, buy side vs sell side, etc. Impact on asset classes by market event., Introduction AI in investments,  

Topic 2 - Review of portfolio theory, Asset Allocation/Strategic/Tactical, Passive vs Active vs market efficiency, Active share, Passive investment strategies and products, Smart Beta, Overview Investment style

Topic 3 - Overview theory equity valuation, Equity Research analyst work, Importance of data and assumptions, Sources of information, Equity valuation in practice, The real value in equity research, Understanding Equity Research reports, Introduction to Sustainably responsible investments (SRI), including selection methodologies. Understand equity trading.

Topic 4 -  â€“ Evaluate different types of investors; private client, institutional: How does pension fund invest/manage risk, what are hedge funds and different hedge fund strategies. Establishing a policy statement, Understanding individual risk and return,

Topic 5 - What is an investment mandate, Practical investment mandates, Understanding of different types of investment vehicles and how they are used in investment mandates, The investment selection process

Topic 6 - Theoretical performance evaluation vs Practical Performance evaluation, presentation of performance, understanding benchmarks, understanding fees and implications of fees on performance, typical investment mandates. Introduction to Behavioural Finance 

The teaching and learning methods involves a combination of lectures, guest speaker, workshops, trading sessions, role plays, group projects and presentations as per suggested Week and Teaching outline below. Some weeks will have both allocated lectures as well as workshops. Lectures will be delivered face to face in the lecture theatre, including integrated guest lectures. The only exception is Lecture 7 – which will be an optional live online session for Q&A. Workshops will be delivered online as well as face to face. Workshop 2 will all be delivered online for all groups due to the nature of the Group Assessment. There will be ongoing exercises/assessments throughout the course. Completion of these exercises ON TIME is essential for being awarded marks. 

L1: Explain, compare and contrast and critically evaluate the analytical tools and evaluation methods used by some of the world’s greatest investors

L2: Identify the participants in the financial markets and their roles (investment focus)

L3: Demonstrate the understanding of different investor needs, requirements and constraints

L4: Recognize the importance of both team and specialist input.  

L5: Demonstrate the analytical skills of evaluating and selecting investments

L6: Compare and contrast theoretical knowledge with investor needs in creating financial solutions 

L7: Create an investment portfolio

L8: Illustrate, analyze, organize and implement investment solutions/recommendations for different clients

L9: Create, run and conduct trading of a portfolio of equities 

L10: Demonstrate understanding of importance of transferrable skills in the investment industry

L11: Understand the importance of collaboration, recognizing strengths and weaknesses and how to use these most efficiently in the investment industry.

L12: Demonstrate confident presentation skills

L13: Demonstrate professional relationship & communication skills 

MCQ Exam (50%)
Group Assessment (35%)
Engagement Assessments (15%)

MCW Exam and Engagement Assessments - posted on Canvas
Group Assessment - Oral immediate and written in Canvas 

An up-to-date suggested reading resource list will be provided on Canvas under Reading Lists Online before the course starts as well as on the library website.

The recommended text books are; (selected pages)

Reilly, Brown & Leeds, Investment Analysis & Portfolio Management, 11th Edition, Cengage (RB) Chapters; 1,2, 5, 6, 7, 18,  

Reilly, Frank K. and Brown, Keith C. (2015). Analysis of investments and management of portfolios . New edition. Australia: Cengage Learning. Chapter 9

Reilly Brown; Analysis of Investments & Management of Portfolios 10th Ed International, Chapter 3

All textbook reading will be available in digitized form

Students will use a range of practical literature such as including but not exclusive; Peter Lynch with John Rothchild; One up on Wall Street, Benjamin Graham; The Intelligent Investor, Robert Hagstrom; The Warren Buffet Way, David Dreman; Contrarian Investment Strategies, etc. for completion of Group Assignment

CFA Institute material; Alternative Investments: a Primer for Investment Professionals; Donald R. Chambers et al, 2018, CFA Insitute Research Foundation,

CFA Publication: The Future of the investment management industry, Ronald N. Kahn

Journal Articles, Daily Articles from FT, Pension regulator etc

Students are encouraged to do their own research through sources as Eikon, Stockopedia, Validea, Investorguide.com, Yahoo Finance, Morning Star, FT.com, Bloomberg, Citiwire etc.

A trading platform; Finance Lab Pro will be made available for students to trade a portfolio of equities.

The readings will also consist of specifically tailor-made videos by investment professionals from for example; Barclays Wealth, Instructus Markets, Momentum, AJ Bell, Julius Baer, Brewin Dolpin, MSCI, Lloyds Bank, Fidelity etc 

Lectures: 6x2 hours=12 hours +1x1hour =Optional summary lecture

Lectures take place on scheduled for 2 hours in specified weeks

Workshops: 4x2 hours =8 hours (including Group Assessment presentation) – Workshops will be synchronous and delivered face to face, with exception of workshop 2 which will be delivered online for all groups.

You will not be able to change or swap workshop groups once the course has started. Please check your schedule well in advance. Remember workshop attendance is mandatory and group work will be allocated to the groups in the workshop. Therefore will it not be possible to accommodate changes unless exceptional circumstances.

80.0 independent study hours split between self-study, preparation for lectures and workshops, reading, on-line material, exercises, assessment preparation.  

Total study hours are 100 hours split between formal contact hours and independent study hours.