Study Programmes 2016-2017
FINA0071-1  
Strategic and Markets Finance
Duration :
30h Th, 24h SEM
Number of credits :
Master in management (120 ECTS) (evening classes)5
Lecturer :
Marie Lambert
Language(s) of instruction :
English language
Organisation and examination :
Teaching in the second semester
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite :
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents :
1. Global financial markets 


  • Introduction to the financial system, financial markets and institutions
  • The place of the company in the financial system and the role of financial communication
  • Time, risk and finance
  • Case study #1   
 2.1 Tools and strategies to manage the financial environment: valuation and investments 


  • Valuation of corporate securities
  • How investors value firms
  • Equity valuation
  • Debt valuation 
2.2. Tools and strategies to manage the financial environment: asset and risk management 


  • Principles of portfolio management and diversification
  • Market timing, style analysis
  • Asset allocation, sector and security selection decision
  • Risk factors
  • Investment management process: type of investors, constraints, policy statements
  • International risk management
  • Regulatory context of Risk Management
  • Global view on Market, Credit, Liquidity and Operational risks
  • Main models and tools for risk management
  • Principles of risk management for derivatives
  • Case study #2 
 
3. International financial decision making: Financing and investment in a global environment 


  •  International investments, international capital structure and the cost of capital
Learning outcomes of the learning unit :
The intended learning objectives (ILOs) for this course are:




  • Identify and synthetize theories, concepts, tools, skills practices and research to address problems;
  • Accomplish complex tasks and complete projects that are common in a business environment;
  • Develop, implement and evaluate a strategy to assess opportunities that sustain and improve the organization's competitive position;
  • Compare the environment in which business operates in a Euregional context and elsewhere through direct experience and interaction with local, regional and multinational businesses;
  • Examine the implications of corporate strategy for financing, knowledge and management; estimate the need for funds, training and project management;
  • Organize and lead a team to collective group accomplishment;
  • Demonstrate managerial communication skills;
  • Synthetize the global context of Risk Management rules;
  • Specify typology and identification of key risks;
  • Assess the risk-adjusted performance of your asset allocation;
  • Employ main models and tools for risk management;
  • Evaluate the characteristics, objectives and risks of financial derivatives.
 
After this Course, students should be able to:




  • Understand the international financial landscape and the challenges and opportunities of a Global Financial Environment;
  • Identify the key financial dimensions any firm is facing (interest rates, credit risk, exchange rates, commodities, equity and liquidity risks) and the adequate ways to proactively manage them;
  • Develop a strategic vision of the firm's positioning in terms of global risk management, development of international investment projects, and financing;
  • Understand the usefulness and necessity of Risk Management;
  • Know the different major types of risks;
  • Understand approaches to risk management;
  • Understand approaches to asset management and security selection;
  • Identify the nature and usefulness of derivatives products.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills :
Planned learning activities and teaching methods :
Lectures, discussions, case studies, group work and presentations
Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning) :
Distance learning and on-site seminar
Recommended or required readings :
The following book is a prerequisite reading before the course:
 
Investments, 9/e
Zvi Bodie, Boston University Alex Kane, University of California - San Diego Alan J. Marcus, Boston College
 
In-depth reading of the following chapters:




  • Chapter 1 The Investment Environment
  • Chapter 2 Asset Classes and Financial Instruments
  • Chapter 3 How Securities are Traded
  • Chapter 11 The Efficient Market Hypothesis
  • Chapter 16 Managing Bond Portfolios
  • Chapter 17 Macroeconomic and Industry Analysis
  • Chapter 18 Equity Valuation Models
  • Chapter 19 Financial Statement Analysis
  • Chapter 24 Portfolio Performance Evaluation (24.1, 24.5)
  • Chapter 25 International Diversification
  • Chapter 27 The Theory of Active Portfolio Management (27.1)
 
Preliminary reading of the following chapters:




  • Chapter 5 Introduction to Risk, Return, and the Historical Record
  • Chapter 6 Risk Aversion and Capital Allocation to Risky Assets
  • Chapter 14 Bond Prices and Yields
  • Chapter 20 Options Markets: Introduction
  • Chapter 22 Futures Markets
  • Chapter 24 Portfolio Performance Evaluation
  • Chapter 27 The Theory of Active Portfolio Management
  • Chapter 28 Investment Policy and the Framework of the CFA Institute
Assessment methods and criteria :
The evaluation will be done on the basis of the following grid:




  • Team preparation of the report: 30% of final grade
  • Individual grading on group presentations: 30% of final grade
  • Integrative case slides: 20% of final grade
  • Final (individual) quiz: 20% of final grade
 
This involves that 50% of the final grade is based on teamwork, and 50% of the final grade is individual.
Work placement(s) :
Organizational remarks :
Contacts :
Prof. Marie Lambert, PhD
Marie Lambert is Associate Professor at University of Liège, HEC Liège. She holds the Deloitte Chair in Financial Management and Corporate Valuation. Marie has a joint Ph.D. in Finance from the Universities of Liège and Luxembourg (2010) on "Hedge Funds and Higher-Order Comoment Equity Risk Premiums". She leads the concentration "Banking and Asset Management" and teaches courses on Corporate Finance and Financial Risk Modeling. Marie is also Affiliate Professor at EDHEC Business School (Nice and Lille) and a Research Associate at the EDHEC Risk Institute. Marie teaches at Paris Dauphine, at the University of Luxembourg and at the Luxembourg School of Finance as a Visiting Associate Professor. Marie is the academic mentor of the team of students representing HEC at the CFA Research Challenge, international competition organized by the CFA Institute. In 2014-2015, HEC ranked first at the BENELUX competition. She collaborates regularly with the industry and has developed closed relationships with BNP Paribas Fortis and Transeo aisbl (European Association for SME Transfer). Her current research interests include asset pricing models, market anomalies and investment styles (value, growth investing), hedge funds and valuation issues in corporate finance (e.g. real options). Marie has published articles on asset pricing and hedge funds in Journal of Empirical Finance, Bankers, Markets and Investors, Journal of Derivatives and Hedge Funds, Finance (Revue of the French Finance Association) and European Financial Management. Her research has been presented to leading academic conferences such the Financial Management Association, International Paris Finance Meeting (Eurofidai/AFFI), the Australasian Banking and Finance Conference, European Financial Management, Financial Management Association Meeting as well as to research seminars at HEC-Montréal, University of Strasbourg, University of Hohenheim, Ghent University, Maastricht University, University of Bologna and the Luxembourg School of Finance.
Contact: Marie.lambert@ulg.ac.be
Experts: TBA