FIN4545 Alternative Investments

4 Advanced Management Credits

This course provides an overview of alternative investments along with several non-traditional investment strategies. It is intended not only for finance and investment professionals, but also for those with an entrepreneurial and disruptor spirit. The course begins with a brief review of traditional investments of publicly traded stocks and bonds along with their limitations and imperfections. Students will then consider alternative investment vehicles such as private equity, venture capital, commodities, income producing real properties, licensing and royalty rights, cryptocurrencies, and social impact investing. We will also consider the move toward ESG investments (environment, social and governance) and their emphasized role in the alternative sphere. Students will analyze case studies involving The Endowment Model for Investing, Fund of Funds, Peer-to-Peer Lending, and Social Impact Investing, culminating in a team based capstone project. The course materials will challenge students to recognize investment anomalies that the marketplace has not recognized. The course will also provide an overview of the material for the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Program (CAIA) professional certification. Students will develop a robust knowledge base for careers in portfolio management, investment product development, compliance, consulting, and risk management.

Prerequisites: SME 2021 or FIN2000

FIN4521 Babson College Fund I
4 General Elective CreditsThe Babson College Fund is a two-semester course, where selected students manage a portion of the Babson College endowment. The Babson College Fund Office selects undergraduate and graduate students to be analysts and portfolio managers.

By learning the basics of security analysis and portfolio management, it is hoped that students will be prepared to take jobs in the Investment Management and Investment Banking industries post-graduation.

The Program Director and Executives in Residence are committed to helping this pursuit as much as possible. The course also requires that students refine their networking skills and develop a proficiency in the analytical tools available through the Cutler Center to maximize their employment prospects.

Prerequisites: FIN 3520 and Program Director (Patrick Gregory) Permission

FIN4521 Babson College Fund II
4 General Elective CreditsThe Babson College Fund is a two-semester course, where selected students manage a portion of the Babson College endowment. The Babson College Fund Office selects undergraduate and graduate students to be analysts and portfolio managers.

By learning the basics of security analysis and portfolio management, it is hoped that students will be prepared to take jobs in the Investment Management and Investment Banking industries post-graduation.

The Program Director and Executives in Residence are committed to helping this pursuit as much as possible. The course also requires that students refine their networking skills and develop a proficiency in the analytical tools available through the Cutler Center to maximize their employment prospects.

Prerequisites: FIN 3520 and Program Director (Patrick Gregory) Permission

FIN3515 Corporate Financial Management
4 General Elective CreditsThis course is designed for students interested in corporate financial management. Its principal goals are to provide the concepts and techniques required to make long-term investment and financing decisions within the firm. At the end of the course, students will be able to make real asset investment decisions by valuing a proposed investment project or acquisition. Students will also be able to qualitatively and quantitatively assess the appropriateness of a firm's financing policy. Topics covered include alternative valuation methods, estimating cost of capital, real options, capital structure, and corporate payout policy.

Prerequisites: SME2021 or FIN

Recommended: ACC3502

FIN4510 Corporate Finance Modeling and Decision Tools
4 General CreditsThis course is designed to provide a practical application of corporate finance skills to a variety of analyses commonly performed by investment bank and commercial bank financial analysts. Mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, private equity placements, senior and mezzanine debt issuances, leveraged buyouts, and other common financial transactions will be covered. We will explore the process of each transaction and place heavy emphasis on the role of the financial analyst in analyzing each situation. Students will gather source data and build and apply models typically used in practice by investment banks, commercial banks, and corporate finance consultants. The course is designed for those interested in careers in investment banking, commercial banking, corporate finance consulting, and strategic planning.

Prerequisites: SME2021 or FIN2000

FIN4540 Corporate Financial Strategy
4 General Elective CreditsWith the quickening rate of technological, demographic, institutional, and political change and globalization, managers, consultants, and investment bankers face increasingly turbulent and complex business environments. This course investigates the use of financial instruments and strategies to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage and create value. The course explores the relationships among corporate strategy, corporate finance, and financial innovation, and should be of interest to managers who aspire to use financial strategy and tools to support their strategic choices and to those who will be advising corporations on how to achieve their financial goals.

Prerequisites: SME2021

Recommended: ACC3502

FIN3560 Financial Markets and Instruments

4 General Elective Credits

This course provides students with an understanding of many important financial instruments and the financial markets in which they trade. The topics covered include the major financial markets and their associated structures, quantitative techniques for valuing various financial securities and their cash flow streams, and factors affecting interest rates. This course also provides an introduction to derivatives and risk management. Topics include: instruments/markets, bond markets, equity markets, security firms and investment banks, issuing securities, organized exchanges, bond and stock valuation, interest rate determination (term structure), bond duration, foreign exchange, mortgages, risk management, an introduction to derivatives (including options, futures, and swaps), pay off profiles and an introduction to Black-Scholes.

Prerequisites: SME2021 or FIN2000

FIN 4508: Financial Planning and Wealth Management

4 advanced management credits

This course will provide an Experiential Learning experience for students in the financial planning and wealth management industry. During the semester students teams will obtain hands-on consulting experience across various projects providing investment solutions, marketing guidance, and other assignments as designed by four financial planning firms. Every effort will be made to have the firms be run by members of the Babson Community. Weekly updates on the project assignment to the instructor will be a requirement of the course.

Prerequisites: One 3000 Level Finance Course

FIN4505 Financial Trading Strategies and Risk Management
4 General CreditsIn this course, students learn to develop and implement institutional (firm-level) financial trading strategies. These strategies are guided by quantitative models that identify, quantify, and manage risks and expected return. In so doing, students learn how to make decisions in an uncertain environment. The course is based on an experiential learning approach, in which trading simulation software provides a platform for delivering learning-by-doing cases. Specific cases covered in the course include: agency trading; principal (liability) trading; algorithmic market making; managing risk capital with value-at-risk; transportation, storage, and production arbitrage in commodity futures markets; and agricultural hedging. The course also covers fundamental concepts in market microstructure, such as bid-ask spreads, price discovery, information asymmetry, liquidity, and inventory risk.

Prerequisites: SME2021 or FIN2000

FIN3535 Financing and Valuing Sustainability
4 General CreditsThis course will examine the intersection of sustainability, corporate social responsibility and socially responsible investing with the traditional theories and tools of finance. Students will learn to describe the sustainability landscape and then analyze sustainable technologies, strategies, and business models from the perspective of managers, entrepreneurs, and investors. Basic financial tools such as discounted cash flow, capital budgeting, capital structure, and risk/return will be used to evaluate the feasibility and financial implications of sustainable products and practices in a variety of industries and applications. Students will learn how to balance the needs of all stakeholders in organizations to create both financial and social value.

Prerequisites: SME2021 Finance