Duration
30h Th
Number of credits
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
English language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the first semester, review in January
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
The course provides students with a deep and wide overview of the role of investment funds in the financial markets as well as the role of fund service providers. It covers the different types of funds, both from a legal and investment perspectives. The course describes the economic ecosystem in which the funds operate, which includes the different service providers (custody, depository, fund administrators, auditors, tax/legal advisors, distributors/placement agents, transfer agents) and stakeholders (supervisory authorities) surrounding the investment funds, including some general information about the fee structure (management fees, service providers' fees).
Part I. Types of investment funds
Module 1: From MPT to investment funds. The first module gives the theoretical material in order to understand the role of investment funds within the Modern Portfolio Theory framework. It gives a first description of the different types of funds based on both an investment and legal perspectives but an in-depth analysis of mutual funds with practical exercise and case discussion. This module will incorporate discussion about the introduction of sustainability criteria into the asset allocation decisions of mutual fund managers and make a refresh about current EU regulation in sustainability.
Module 2: Deviating from MPT - The case of alternative investment funds
This modules successively covers the different types of alternative funds: hedge funds, private market funds (debt, private equity, real estate) as well as crypto-currency funds (to be confirmed).
Part II: Investment fund management*
Module 3: Fund finance. This module will cover the concepts such as bridge financing, subscription lines, capital call facilities.
Module 4: The role of the management company and of the Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM). It covers the core functions of the ManCo and AIFM (i.e. portfolio management and risk management) of an investment fund according to its investment policy and regulatory status.
Module 5: Module on depositary services presents the role of the depositary for traditional and alternative funds as well as highlights their differences. The course will cover in details the duties of these service providers but also the implications of the contractual relationship with the fund sponsor. It will finally also provide students with market information (major players) and the current challenges with regard to new legal requirements.
Module 6: Fund audit module covers the service of fund administration (fees payment, investor redemption/subscription, role of transfer agent, prospectus and reporting) and accounting (NAV calculations, ...). It finally covers the independent audit function and introduces students to supervision bodies and legal requirements.
*Subject to changes as some Modules imply the participationof guest speakers.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
Students will develop the following individual capacities:
(1) Students will be able to differentiate the (i) investment strategies, (ii) risk and return potential and (iii) targeted investors of different types of funds.
(2) Students will be able to integrate sustainability criteria in investment decisions as well as to measure sustainability risks and the environmental impact of their investments
(3) Students will be able to conduct a due diligence on investment funds, establishing their financial strategy, their organizational/legal structure and its distribution channel including the targeted investors. For answering this concrete complex and transversal financial management problems, students will need to collect market data, model financial information, research information autonomously.
(4) Students will master the financial management of an investment fund. This includes the process to establish a fund, selecting or in-sourcing the service providers and organizing the distribution channels.
(5) Students will understand the key evolutions within the global fund landscape including its administrative, legal and economic contexts. Students will need to adapt their management practices in this specific context.
(6) They will strengthen their communication skills in business related problems and in English.
This course contributes to the following Intended Learning Outcomes :
ILO-2 : Gaining the knowledge and understanding of one of the proposed fields of concentration or to gain deep knowledge in the field of the management being already specialized through a first University Master Degree .
ILO-5 : Integrate autonomously researched information, tools, knowledge and context to build and propose, either individually or as part of a team, original, creative and viable solutions to concrete complex management problems, whether real or simulated, taking into account, when necessary, the human, social and legal context.
ILO-6 : Ability to speak 2 foreign languages: C1 in English and B2 in one other language.
ILO-7 : Being capable of professional team work
ILO-8 : Developing leadership
ILO-9 : Developing a critical sense (arguing)
ILO-10 : Developing a transversal, global vision
ILO-11 : Creative conception of solutions
ILO-12 : Professional capacity for oral communication
ILO-13 : Professional capacity for written communication
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
Students should have prior knowledge in investments and portfolio management, law, audit and accounting.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
The course consists of 10 lectures of three hours which provide both the academic and the practitioners' views on the current issues in the Fund Industry.
The course uses the following teaching approaches:
- Lectures
- Workshops with practitioners
- Problem-based learning (group work)
- Data collection on a financial dataset (Eikon)
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Face-to-face course
Further information:
The course is composed of 10 face-to-face or in exceptional circumstances virtual (live) lectures/workshops/case work. These lectures include workshops with practitioners. Students will have the unique opportunity to meet key players in the fund industry ecosystem such as fund managers/investment advisors (from different types of funds), depositary, fund auditor, fund accountants, alternative investment fund manager and management company.
Course materials and recommended or required readings
Platform(s) used for course materials:
- LOL@
Further information:
Mandatory readings
The mandatory course material will be available on the course web page on lol@: https://lola.hec.uliege.be/
Complimentary/Recommended readings
Andrew W. Lo, The Dynamics of the Hedge Fund Industry
Matthew Hudson, Funds: Private Equity, Hedge and All Core Structures (The Wiley Finance Series) 1st Edition
Rober Pozen et al., The Fund Industry: How Your Money is Managed Hardcover - February 8, 2011
Owen Concannon, CFA Institute Industry Guides: The Asset Management Industry Paperback - April 3, 2015
Exam(s) in session
January exam session
- In-person
written exam
August-September exam session
- In-person
written exam ( open-ended questions )
Written work / report
Continuous assessment
Further information:
The course grade is split as follows:
-
30% of the grade is a project where students will design an investment strategy for a UCITS fund including ESG criteria.
Each member of the group should participate actively to the assignment to get the group grade.
- 60% of the grade is a written exam.
-
10% continuous evaluation: The evaluation will take into account activities organized during or in preparation of the lectures. It could comprise (non-exhaustive and illustrative list only): case studies organized during the lecture, case studies preparation before the lecture, quizzes organized during lectures.
Retake exam (August)
- Students who fail at the first session or do not present themselves at the exam will have to (re)take the exam in the second session organized in August/September. There is no intermediary session.
- Students who did not participate to the course (and therefore have 0 in continuous evaluation and for the group work), will not be allowed to participate to the first session's exam.
- The grade split for the second session is the same as in the first session. Students who fail or want to improve their continuous grade (individual and group) counting for 40% will receive a take-home assignment.
Work placement(s)
Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
The course offers unique opportunities to students to benefit from the expertise of high-stake professionals in the fund industry. Therefore, attendance to the course is critical.
Since the continuous evaluation and a group project represents a substantial part of the course grade, course enrollment will be closed after October 15 as well as group enrollment. Each student should be enrolled in a group by that date to be authorized to enroll into the course and/or to take the January exam.
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Students are encouraged to ask questions on the material during the class and/or at the end of each session. Outside the course hours, students should send their questions to the teaching assistant anouck.faverjon@uliege.be who will organize a questions and answers session or an individual meeting.
Students are invited to check the lol@ platform on a regular basis for any practical information regarding the course or any schedule change.
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The course structure and content has been adapted to include the latest innovation in the financial industry. The course will also include new case discussions and practical workshops with practioners in sustainability. The split in the assessment methods and content of the group work have been revised in 2025-2026.
Contacts
Professor:
Marie Lambert - Professor at HEC Liège - marie.lambert@uliege.be
Teaching assistants:
Anouck Faverjon: anouck.faverjon@uliege.be
Alexandre Scivoletto: alexandre.scivoletto@uliege.be