Experimental course.

Experimental course.

The aim of this course is to help you learn to apply fundamental ideas of financial economics, which you already know from basic finance courses such as RSM1232H, to problems in the area of corporate finance that reflect the complexities that the real world entails. The course will give you the opportunity to analyze practical financial situations, on the assumption that you are already familiar with fundamental ideas concerning valuation methods, risk analysis, CAPM, derivatives, and capital structure. In addition to analyzing specific financial issues, we will consider how those issues relate to the broader objectives of the firm and the underlying "big-picture" assumptions used in numerical calculations.

This course covers financial decision making inside non-financial firms. While we will always have to consider the perspective of financial markets and financial institutions as "constraints" for our decisions, and while financial markets provide some of the data we require (for example: the cost of debt and equity capital), the goal is to learn how to make optimal decisions from the perspective of non-financial firms. In this course, this also includes financial decisions inside small firms and even inside a non-profit firm. We take the perspective of various decision makers: not just the CFO, but also other executives including the CEO, COO, and divisional and functional heads. Since the decisions of functional managers (Marketing, HR, Operations, etc.) have to satisfy the financial goals and constraints of the firm, we will explicitly examine their decisions and their relationship to value maximization and financial risk management. We will also examine how firms can avoid “running out of money” while they grow and execute strategic plans.

Students who are interested the theoretical framework and real-world practice of portfolio management. This course provides a solid background for those who plan to work in the investment management industry in any capacity, and for others who have a strong interest in investing.

The course learning objectives have general applicability but are particularly relevant for developing skills for risk management, investment strategies, and securities trading. Concepts include: reviewing recent innovations in financial markets and securities, information processing, etc; developing modeling skills (e.g., coding, algorithms, Monte Carlo simulation, etc.) and; practicing decision making for investment, trading, and risk management strategies.

The course is particularly well suited to anyone willing to gain some general knowledge and historical perspectives on the functioning of our institutions today. The financial landscape is rapidly evolving as we are facing an unprecedented health and economic crisis. Many of the themes of this class have special relevance today: how banks and credit markets amplify or absorb economic shocks, how banking regulation limits the risks of a banking crisis, how monetary policy affects growth and inequalities, how financial institutions channel funds from households to firms, how central banks curb inflations. Examining these questions will provide you with a holistic view of finance, capital markets, and the role of financial institutions.

This course will focus on corporate financial management in an international context. We begin with a brief overview of the nature of international business activities and the evolution of multinational enterprises. Next is an introduction to multinational tax issues, international trade and international trade finance. We then cover the foreign exchange market and exchange rate determination, as well as other international financial markets and instruments. This sets the stage for learning about a variety of international financial management topics, including foreign exchange exposure measurement and management, financing the global firm, and foreign direct investment decisions.

This course is for students who expect to work in finance, or who would like to learn to use derivatives-based tools for personal finance and investing, or who somehow have special interest in derivatives markets. The objective is to provide a well-balanced, practically useful introductory course on financial derivative products. It emphasizes hands-on learning through a group-based project in trading options and futures.

The objective is to enhance student’s knowledge of the way in which derivatives can be priced, analyzed and hedged. The course starts with Black-Scholes analysis. This leads to a variety of approaches commonly used to value and hedge derivatives. This technology is then applied to a variety of exotic contracts. The second half of the course focuses on the types of models used in the swap markets.

This course is for students expecting to work in finance, particularly those who would like to work for a bank, insurance, or other large financial institution. This course addresses the way companies, particularly financial institutions, manage risk. It covers credit risk, market risk, operational risk, and model risk. The nature of bank regulation and the Basel capital requirements for banks are examined. Other topics include copulas and the calculation of economic capital. The course also covers recent regulatory changes and macroprudential policies that have significant impacts on the Canadian and international capital markets.

This course should be useful to any student interested in capital markets, investment banking/private equity, strategy consulting, corporate development, entrepreneurship, accounting and control, business journalism, general management, and advising senior management. The objective of the course is to provide an understanding of the strategic motivations and the drivers of value creation/destruction in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), as well as to develop skills in the design, evaluation, and negotiation of these transactions. Familiarity with M&A is a foundation for effective work in a wide range of fields including investment banking, private equity, strategic consulting, corporate development, and advising senior management.

The course is designed for students interested in pursuing a career in debt capital markets and who are interested in the functioning and understanding of the fixed income market, the deepest pool of capital globally. Key features of this course include a focus on the primary market through real transaction analysis, review of bond structures and pricing. The latter will also include an overview of the sustainable debt, the newest sector in the market — use of proceeds, structuring, and oversight. The objective of this capital markets course is to link bond theory with market practice using traditional educational cases and current, real-world examples.

This course is for students interested in a rigorous course on company evaluation using the Value Investing approach. The mission of this course is to provide students with the skills needed to practically apply the value-based investment philosophy to investment decision-making.

This course prepares students for the emerging jobs where future leaders must apply their commerce training together with a deep understanding and appreciation for sustainability issues and goals. Examples of these jobs range from finance roles in asset management, where ESG/CSR and other sustainability objectives and measures (e.g., fossil fuel divestment, social justice, development, etc.) are fast becoming required currency, to roles inside large and small non-financial corporations and non-for-profit institutions where financial literacy and finance skills are required in the pursuit of goals related to sustainability. The market for these jobs is expanding and they range from opportunities in the traditional financial sector to the corporate sector to small fin-tech firms to the entrepreneurial start-up world. Risk management is another sector that worries about global, national, and local risks arising in fields associated with sustainability like climate change and income inequality.

This course is of interest to those seeking financing for a venture and those interested in private equity, venture capital, investment banking, consulting, venture capital, private equity, and funds management (e.g., as an institutional investor). The primary objective of the course is to improve students’ ability to understand the concepts and institutions involved in entrepreneurial finance and private equity. Private equity firms (both those that specialize in venture capital and those that focus on leveraged buyouts) have demonstrated an ability to create value by acting as a financial intermediary, between firms and ultimate investors. The course will provide students with skill sets so they can analyze and understand entrepreneurial financing opportunities and private equity from multiple perspectives: the perspective of the individual/firm seeking and receiving private equity financing for their project; the perspective of the private equity fund (GP); and, the perspective of the limited partners (LP) that provide finance for private equity funds. The course utilizes tools and frameworks from economics, finance, strategy, accounting, and law, applying them to case situations.

This course focuses on the financial management issues faced by private wealth holders. It will be of interest to students who aim to work in the private wealth industry or who want to better understand wealth management for their own families. The goal of the course is to help students develop an understanding of the unique financial management problems and opportunities faced by individuals and families of wealth, and the practical, integrated approaches to dealing with them.

Fintech — this course will directly benefit students considering technology careers, including careers in both startups and established firms, as well as those considering careers in the financial sector, such as fintech, investment banking, venture capital, private equity. The course will also be valuable to students considering joining regulatory bodies, non-profits, and legal advisory services. The purpose of this course is two-fold: 1) to provide knowledge and skills needed to understand the mechanisms behind various FinTech innovations, 2) to prepare you for careers in the technology space, particularly those focused on financial services.

Blockchain and Decentralized Finance — the course introduces students to the nascent area of decentralized finance, the provision of financial services in decentralized networks, without the default involvement of financial institutions. Blockchain technology allows organizational changes that will change and replace the core operations and infrastructure of the financial industry. We will study how and which financial services that have traditionally been provided by "siloed" institutions can be provided on "decentralized platforms." We will study the functions of these platforms both in terms of the basic technological functionality and the economic mechanisms that drive the interactions on platforms. As part of the content, students will learn about blockchain technology, cryptography, smart contracts, tokens, digital money, oracles, yield farming, decentralized exchanges, blockchain-based borrowing and lending, crypto trading, corporate finance with tokens, decentralized autonomous organizations and their governance, non-fungible tokens, crypto-regulations, stablecoins, and central-bank-issued digital currencies.

This course is designed for students who intend to work in the financial services industry or in an industry that is closely aligned to financial services. Students will learn about the businesses of banks under new regulations that have been adopted since the 2008 Credit Crisis and how these have worked in the pandemic of 2020. The increasingly important factor of technological disruption will feature in most discussions on bank's core businesses. A discussion of how banks will compete with Fintech new entrants and the possibility of facing significant competition from Big Tech firms if they choose to enter the market. Students will learn how banks make money across each of their main business lines, the key components of their business model and the impact of regulation today. Senior subject matter experts in each class will allow students to meet multiple business leaders in person.

Machine learning is an important branch of artificial intelligence where a computer learns from large volumes of data. Many activities within financial services (as well as other industries) are being impacted by machine learning. For example, lending decisions, investment strategies, fraud detection, the marketing of financial products, and even hiring decisions now involve machine lending. The course will introduce students to the tools of machine learning and allow them to become comfortable with the way Python is used for machine learning projects.

Experimental course.

Experimental course.

This course is for those that want to gain the foundational skills of working with data. 80% of business analysis efforts are spent on finding, extracting, cleaning, and visualizing data prior to performing the actual data analysis. Whether or not you are considering a career in data sciences, this course introduces the essential skills for working with data that can apply to careers in; information technology, business, finance, marketing analysis, or data sciences. This is a hands on course focused on developing practical skills across a broad range of the most common data management and analysis concepts, such as relational database design and its implementation with SQL and Python, programming fundamentals, data manipulation and data cleaning and preparation, and data analysis and visualization techniques using Python.

The course is intended for students interested in general management or careers in consulting, operations, or marketing. Understanding how supply chain management impacts business performance is also of value for those aspiring to accounting and finance careers. Supply chains are networks of organizations that supply and transform materials, and distribute final products to customers. This course views the supply chain from a general manager's perspective. Supply chain management represents a great challenge as well as a tremendous opportunity for most firms. If designed and managed properly, supply chains are a crucial source of competitive advantage for both manufacturing and service enterprises. There is a realization that no company can do any better than its supply chain. This becomes even more important as product life cycles are shrinking, product and service variety is growing, and competition is intensifying. The course emphasizes the use of qualitative and quantitative analysis in making supply chain management decisions.

Operations Management Strategy (Ops Strat) is a multidisciplinary course for students aspiring to leadership positions where thinking strategically, making sound decisions with limited data and devising and executing solid implementation plans spells the difference between average and outstanding executive ability. Ops Strat integrates the concepts, tools and practices of operations with competitive strategy, customer focus, innovation, change management and other goals such as sustainability — linchpins of firms' competitiveness. Specifically, students will learn how an effective operations strategy creates an integrated set of operational capabilities that, as evidenced by diverse firms across multiple industries become a formidable source of competitive advantage that competitors must try to emulate (but will be unable to achieve). During the pandemic, we have witnessed how organizations with high levels of agility and operational flexibility have been able to sustain and even build value during times of extreme stress, and we will examine this in our discussions. Furthermore, students will examine the role and measurement plays in successfully executing strategy in light of changing circumstances.