Financial
Engineering
COMM 423
Fall 2018
INSTRUCTOR: Jing Chen
E-MAIL: chenj@unbc.ca
OFFICE LOCATION: 10-4534,
T&L
OFFICE HOURS: T 11:30-
12:20 or by
appointment
TELEPHONE NUMBER:
CLASS TIME: T 8:30-11:20
CLASS LOCATION: 5-183
WEBSITE: http://web.unbc.ca/~chenj/course/syllabus423.htm
Information
regarding the School of Business at UNBC can be found at: http://www.unbc.ca/commerce
COURSE
DESCRIPTION
Study of futures, options, swaps and other complex derivative securities, application of option pricing theory to a broad range of problems in corporate finance and investment decisions
PREREQUISITES for this course are COMM 320, COMM 321
or its equivalent
COURSE
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Upon successful completion of the
course, students will be able to:
- Understand
fundamentals of derivative products
- Learn
basic methods of stochastic calculus
- Understand
Black-Scholes option theory
- Apply
the option theory to a broad range of problems in corporate finance and
investment decisions
RECOMMENDED
TEXT AND READING MATERIALS
Notes and papers will be distributed in
the classes.
|
COURSE
ASSIGNMENTS, EXAMS AND GRADE WEIGHTING |
||
|
Assessment |
Grade Weight |
|
|
Midterm |
25% |
|
|
Final
Exam |
40% |
|
|
project |
25% |
|
|
Class
participation |
10% |
|
|
Total |
|
100% |
Each group of three or four will present a forty minute long report on
financial aspects of institutions at the end of the term. A written report
should be submitted at the day of presentation.
The
examinations will cover all contents discussed in the course, including
contents from student presentations. The style of the questions in the exams
will be similar to those in the homework and the review.
Class participation
will be mainly based upon the number of times you come up to present your
homework solutions.
course
SCHEDULE:
|
Week |
Dates |
Topic |
Notes |
|
1 |
Sept 11 |
||
|
2 |
Sept 18 |
||
|
3 |
Sept 25 |
|
|
|
4 |
Oct 2 |
Stochastic Calculus |
|
|
5 |
Oct 9 |
Option
calculation Excel sheet, Probability
Distribution Table, |
|
|
6 |
Oct 16 |
Review and Midterm |
|
|
7 |
Oct 23 |
||
|
8 |
Oct 30 |
Real options, Theory
of Investment ; Exercises
Excel, Figures
Excel Introduction and basic properties |
|
|
9 |
Nov 6 |
Monetary
Theory and Business Cycles , Maximization technique |
|
|
10 |
Nov 13 |
Theory of capital
structure, Life cycle in financing, Relations among
parameters |
|
|
11 |
Nov 20 |
Presentation of projects |
|
|
12 |
Nov 27 |
Review |
|
|
TBA |
Final exam |
|
|
|
|
ASSURANCE
OF LEARNING GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
|
|
COMM 423 |
|||||
|
Goals |
Objectives |
Introduce |
Emphasize |
Reinforce |
Partial |
Assessed By |
|
Communication |
Produce a concise and logical piece of written communication |
|
|
* |
|
Project and exam |
|
|
Create and conduct a clear and effective oral presentation |
|
|
* |
|
Project |
|
|
Generate new and original ideas |
|
|
* |
|
Project and discussion |
|
|
Prepare an effective presentation of data |
|
* |
|
|
Project |
|
Global Leadership |
Apply a global perspective to business problems |
|
|
* |
|
Project and exam |
|
|
Demonstrate how to inspire people |
|
* |
|
|
Project and discussion |
|
|
Determine how to manage a team |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Use ideas that are new to them |
|
|
* |
|
Project and exam |
|
|
Express how to diplomatically interact (act) with people |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Critical thinking |
Analyze business situations |
|
|
* |
|
Project and discussion |
|
|
Explain the cause and effect of business actions |
|
|
* |
|
Project and discussion |
|
|
Determine how to achieve business goals |
|
|
* |
|
Project and discussion |
|
|
Identify the veracity of data |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Social Responsibility |
Demonstrate the importance of SR (economic, social and environmental) |
|
|
* |
|
Project |
|
|
Recognize the role of ethics in business practices and social responsibilities |
|
|
* |
|
Project and discussion |
|
Technical Skills |
Use appropriate technological tools for computation of business problems |
|
|
* |
|
Project and discussion |
|
|
Identify relevant systems for businesses |
|
|
* |
|
Project |
|
|
Apply technological tools for data analysis and business decisions |
|
|
* |
|
Project and discussion |
The School of Business has been working
on curriculum mapping to align our offerings with the vision of “Fostering
Business Leadership with a Global Vision in the North and Beyond” and to
maintain our high quality of Business education at UNBC. Toward
this end, the school has set the learning goals and objectives listed below
for the BCOMM program.
|
Learning Goals |
Learning Objectives |
Goals and objectives
addressed in COMM 423 |
Assessed by |
|
Communication |
Produce a concise and logical piece of written communication |
* |
Project and exam |
|
Create and conduct a clear and effective oral presentation |
* |
Project |
|
|
Generate new and original ideas |
* |
Project and discussion |
|
|
Prepare an effective presentation of data |
* |
Project |
|
|
Global Leadership Skills |
Apply a global perspective to business problems |
* |
Project and exam |
|
Demonstrate how to inspire people |
* |
Project and discussion |
|
|
Determine how to manage a team |
|
|
|
|
Use ideas that are new to them |
* |
Project and exam |
|
|
Express how to diplomatically interact (act) with people |
|
|
|
|
Critical Thinking |
Analyze business situations |
* |
Project and discussion |
|
Explain the cause and effect of business actions |
* |
Project and discussion |
|
|
Investigate the veracity of business data |
|
|
|
|
Determine how to achieve business goals |
* |
Project and discussion |
|
|
Social Responsibility |
Demonstrate the importance of SR (economic, social and
environmental) |
* |
Project |
|
Recognize the role of ethics in business practices and social
responsibilities |
* |
||
|
Use of Technology |
Use appropriate technological tools for computation of business
problems |
* |
Project and
discussion |
|
Identify relevant systems for businesses |
* |
Project |
|
|
Apply technological tools for data analysis and business
decisions |
* |
Project and
discussion |
Conduct in
Examinations
Students
must present appropriate identification upon entering the examination room.
Appropriate identification is defined as a UNBC student card and/or some other
form of photo identification acceptable to the proctor. The following
regulations apply to the conduct of examinations in this course:
- Students are not allowed to carry class notes, reading
materials, and any electric device, except their textbook and financial
calculator.
- No candidate is permitted to enter the examination
room more than 30 minutes after the beginning of the examination, or
permitted to leave within 30 minutes after the examination has started.
- Candidates must not communicate in any way with other
candidates in the examination room.
- Candidates must not leave their seats, except when granted
permission by the proctor.
- Candidates must turn in all materials, including rough
work, upon leaving the examination room.
- Food and beverages other than water are not permitted
in the examination room.
MISSING EXAM
Advance
notice must be given when a student is unable to appear for an examination.
Only duly authenticated bereavement, illness and legitimate reasons are
admissible justifications for absence from a scheduled examination (e.g.
Writing a CPA exam and there is a time conflict).
Do not schedule travel during the exam period that may
conflict with your midterm and final exams.
IF YOU
HAVE MISSED A FINAL EXAMINATION
Satisfactory explanation,
with supporting documentation as appropriate, must be made by the student or
designate to the instructor within 48 hours from the time the examination was
written. Normally, for explanations of sickness, a doctor's certification is
required.
GRADE
SCALE
See UNBC Undergraduate Calendar, General
Academic Regulations, section 39 for UNBC Grading System Information for
further details.
Academic
Misconduct
It is the student's responsibility to be
aware of UNBC's Academic regulations, policies and procedures as described in
Section 45 and 46 of the General Academic Regulations section within the
Undergraduate Academic Calendar. Please refer to the UNBC website. Any conduct
that violates the standards of the University as set out in the Undergraduate
University Calendar, particularly those related to academic honesty, is a
serious offense. The formal processes set out in these Regulations are to be
followed.
|
RESPECT |
Please demonstrate respect
to your fellow classmates who express their thoughts and explore new ideas in
the course.
ETHICAL STANDARDS
The following behaviors are considered
unethical:
- Telling
the instructor that you "need" a certain grade
- Asking
for extra assignments for the purpose of raising a grade
- Asking
that the grade be raised because it is very close to the next higher grade
- Asking
that the grade be raised because you did very well on one part of the
course or grading
Scheme
- Asking
for a higher grade because you don't like the grading scheme
- Asking
to be allowed to turn in an assignment/project late - even a few minutes
late - because of
problems in
computer and/or printer or any other reasons
- Asking
to be treated better than other students by making an exception to the
rules
- Asking
for any other unfair advantage in grading
|
ACCESS RESOURCE CENTRE |
If there are
students in this course who, because of a disability, may have a need for
special academic accommodations, please come and discuss this with me, or
contact staff at the Access Resource Centre (arc@unbc.ca) located in the Teaching and
Learning Centre, Room 10-1048 on the main campus. Students can also call the
ARC at (250) 960-5682. Regional students can call the Centre toll-free at
1(888) 960-5682.
ACCESS SUCCESS CENTRE
The Academic Success Centre offers support
for mathematics, writing, study skills, physics, statistics, commerce and
economics. Services are available through one-to-one tutoring at the
centre (room 10-2584, second floor of the Teaching and Learning Building),
drop-in writing support is available on the first floor of the Library, and
drop-in mathematical support is available at MACE (room 10-2088). Peer-led
supplemental sessions are held for select courses – more information will be
announced in your classes. In addition, online support, including online
writing tutoring, is available through the website at www.unbc.ca/asc. All ASC services
are Free to UNBC students! ASC us!