This course is concerned with the application of quantitative tools to model, estimate and forecast financial variables. Topics considered include: the analysis of the properties of financial data (such as non-normality and non-stationarity); the application of estimation methods (such as unit roots and cointegration) to test the rational valuation model of share prices; the application of the GARCH class of models to estimate volatility and to test the capital asset pricing model.

This subject examines important features of financial markets, illustrating how economic analysis can aid understanding of those features. Topics considered may include: payments systems (drawing on network economics); security issuance techniques (drawing on auction theory); credit rationing (drawing on asymmetric economics); financial market regulation (drawing on the theory of regulation); macroeconomic determinants of financial prices; flow of funds analysis and long term influences on saving, investment and financial markets (such as retirement incomes policy); international debt defaults and enforcement and international agencies.

Financial Statement Analysis seeks to introduce students to the analysis and use of financial information for decision-making purposes. The subject considers how the information disclosed can be best utilised by creditors and investors in making their lending and investing decisions. Students consider the environment in which financial reporting exists, including the incentives faced by preparers of financial reports. From their assessment, students learn to adjust reported data as is typically done by analysts.

The structure of the financial system; terminology, trading and pricing of money and capital market instruments; duration, value at risk, financial market volatility; term structure of interest rates; inflation, interest rates and indexed securities; regulation of securities markets and financial institutions; market; tax treatment of financial institutions; tax and company finance; futures markets; options markets; forward rate agreements; swaps; developments in retail financial markets.

This subject examines mergers, acquisitions and other corporate restructuring techniques and the valuation issues which arise in this context. Topics include: mergers and acquisitions (motives, corporate voting and control, economic issues, strategic issues, legal issues); divestments (carve-outs, spin-offs, leveraged buy-outs); valuation techniques (cashflow-based approaches, multiples-based approaches); and investor activism.

Technology has been transforming the financial industry, with the potential to deliver existing financial product and services more effectively and to develop new ones. This subject introduces fundamental economic concepts (including money, moral hazard, property rights and bank runs) and psychological concepts (including engagement, trust and privacy) relevant to major problems faced by the financial sector. It also discusses new technologies (such as big data, distributed ledgers, artificial intelligence, machine learning and natural language processing) underlying real-world fintech applications. The focus is on core concepts and foundations, with the aim to develop students' ability to actively participate in creating fintech solutions.

This subject examines the application of modern portfolio theory, capital asset pricing models, equity valuation models and interest rate theory in managing various types of investment portfolios containing cash, fixed interest securities and equities. Topics include: index funds, exchange-traded funds, factor investing, smart betas and international portfolio considerations. Students use investment software to solve practical problems.

This subject introduces students to principles and applications of data analysis for finance. Concepts covered include data collection, processing and management, relevant theory in statistics, econometrics and machine learning, programming in relevant languages and data presentation. Specific topics include data sourcing, processing and cleaning, summarizing and visualizing data; multiple regression, time-series models, panel data techniques and causal inference; machine learning and classification methods, model selection and assessing model performance, unsupervised learning and textual analysis. Students will become proficient in relevant programming languages such as Python or R.

This subject examines the key concepts and methodologies used in the management of a variety of financial risks including price risk, quantity risk, interest rate risk, credit risk and currency risk. Topics include: exchange-traded and over-the-counter instruments used to manage risk, value-at-risk and related concepts, agency problems, financial engineering, security design, securitisation. There will be an extensive use of real-world cases throughout the course to illustrate both successful and unsuccessful risk management practices.

Ethical practices instil a public trust in the fairness of financial markets and transactions, allowing them to function efficiently. Ethical practices by finance and investment professionals benefit all market participants and stakeholders and lead to increased investor confidence in global capital markets. The perspectives acquired in this subject should be useful to students in their chosen finance profession as this subject presents a framework for ethical conduct in the investment profession by focusing on the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct. Citing and discussing examples of the financial scandals that have shaken public confidence in the ethics of financial market participants, this subject explains the importance of ethics in the operation of financial institutions and in the personal conduct of finance professionals.

This is a practice-based capstone subject which enables students to develop their skills in the researching and production of a substantive piece of work (written, video and/or multi-media based) whilst also engaging with finance practitioners to identify current issues of interest to the broader society. The piece produced by each student will make use of the technical skills that they have developed during the first semester in the Master of Finance program and is designed to be consumed by a non-specialist audience. The subject would be team-taught by faculty from both the Department of Finance in the Faculty of Business and Economics and the Centre for Advancing Journalism in the Faculty of Arts. Department of Finance faculty will be responsible for coordinating the guest lectures by finance practitioners that occur in the first half of the course. It is anticipated that the practitioners chosen would represent a diverse range of market participants including; regulators, financial institutions, consultants, industry bodies, corporates and consumer rights organisations. Faculty from the Centre for Advancing Journalism will take responsibility for the development of the technical research and writing skills necessary for the students to successfully produce their final piece of work.

This is a capstone subject for the program consisting of selected case studies from topics including: financial management, investment management, portfolio analysis, derivatives and risk management, mergers and acquisitions, raising capital and other topical issues. The case studies describe actual business situations faced by financial managers, which requires analysis and decision-making.

Balance of payments analysis, foreign exchange markets and terminology, international financial markets and international banking, international investments and portfolio allocation, measuring and managing foreign exchange exposure, international capital budgeting and counting risk analysis, international corporate financing decisions.

This subject consists of a structured reading program and assignments and a series of seminars presented by practitioners on various aspects of Treasury Management and related themes. Topics covered include issues such as treasury functions, international borrowings, corporate ratings, foreign exchange exposure management, interest rate risk management, value based management, treasury performance measurement, liquidity management systems and controls, tax and accounting issues.

Definitions and examples of project financing; analysis of the risks and potential returns associated with major projects; participants involved in projects financing deals - financing techniques used in project finance; case studies of specific project financing.

This subject presents the principles, concepts and methods needed to analyse an investment in an existing property, to analyse a potential property development and to raise private and public debt or capital for property investment. Discounted cash flows and real estate economics are the basis of these analyses. The subject introduces students to principles of rent and vacancy determination; the application of real estate market analysis to the investment decision; the financial analysis of properties; mortgage financing and the role of public debt taxation; and raising private capital for property.

In today’s world economy, business is conducted in a global arena. As a result financial managers are expected to have a global perspective. Emerging economies are the engine of growth opportunities in the world economy: financial decision making at many levels is, hence, increasingly dealing with the developing world. This course offers a conceptual as well as an applied framework for analyzing emerging markets from multiple perspectives in order to prepare business leaders to make sense of the challenges and make the most of the opportunities of succeeding in a globalized world.

This course is intended for post-graduate (Masters) students specializing in Finance with an interest in exploring business opportunities and future work in emerging markets or in financial decision making involving investments or corporate relations with the developing world. The course builds on the finance concepts learnt in the first and second year finance courses and provides students with a different perspective of finance in an emerging markets context - vital for a modern finance professional. Expertise in emerging market finance will enhance students’ marketability at places like multinational companies, hedge funds and money management firms, commercial banks, investment banks, development banks, consulting firms and financial market regulators.

Students will be assigned in small groups to a Practicum Organisation. Working in teams, they will undertake a structured business planning or business development exercise. This will be supported by online modules and seminar work equipping the students with knowledge of approaches, tools and techniques for completing the task and an understanding of report formats appropriate for conveying the results. During the practicum, in-depth work will be undertaken in identifying the scope, opportunities, constraints and recommendations of the exercise. Students will learn to work with unstructured and incomplete information in real business settings, to develop research and networks to support their enquiry, to work successfully in teams, to present their findings and seek and receive constructive feedback in a range of settings. Students will also be encouraged to plan, reflect, and modify their approaches to improve the outcomes of their efforts in managing the business project.

Note: this subject is available as a semester-long subject during Semester 2, and as an intensive subject during the Summer and Winter semesters.

This subject provides an insight into the complexities and challenges of making business decisions in an international setting. Students will be assigned in small groups to research a business problem in an international context. Working in teams, they will conduct research, analyse, evaluate and propose practical solutions to an assigned business planning or business development exercise. This will be supported by online modules and seminar work equipping the students with knowledge of approaches, tools and techniques for completing the task and an understanding of report formats appropriate for conveying the results. During the practicum, in-depth research will be undertaken in identifying the scope, opportunities constraints and recommendations of the exercise. Students will learn to work with unstructured and incomplete information in international business settings, to develop research and networks to support their enquiry, to work successfully in teams, to present their findings and seek and receive constructive feedback in a range of settings. Students will also be encouraged to plan, reflect and modify their approaches to improve the outcomes of their efforts in managing the business project.

Students may enrol in this subject only with the prior permission of the Program Director and following discussion and submission of an acceptable written project proposal. The proposal must be submitted at least three weeks before the start of semester, and approval finalised before the start of the semester. The final project must be submitted at the end of the relevant semester. This subject is only available to students enrolled in the Master of Finance (Enhanced).

Students are encouraged to select a research topic which aligns with their previous and or future career activities or interests.

This subject provides an integrative learning experience and affords students the opportunity to apply the skills and knowledge acquired in previous subjects in a coherent way to solve business problems. In a business strategy simulation students are required to make decisions, assess outcomes, and compete with other management teams for resources, opportunities and markets. Each team develops a strategy for its firm and applies the subject’s concepts and frameworks, as well as the concepts and frameworks acquired in other subjects. In the process, students will discover the interaction of a firm’s production, marketing, research and development, human resources, and financial operations and observe the impact of key decisions on business performance within a competitive market.

The subject will focus on estimating and testing nonlinear models in finance including volatility models, artificial neural networks, factor models of contagion and discrete models of financial behaviour. Special attention will be given to applications in option markets (implied volatility and smiles), bond markets (level effects) and credit markets (default risk). Estimation and testing methods are based on maximum likelihood and generalised method of moments. The computer software used throughout the course is E-Views.

This subject involves completion of a professional work placement, integrating academic learning in business and economics areas of study, career management and employability skills and attributes including an improved knowledge of workplace culture and career pathways. Students will be required to undertake pre- and post-placement online seminars designed to develop an understanding of professional workplace expectations, introduce skills for developing, identifying and articulating employability skills and attributes, and linking them to employer requirements in business and economics domains. The placement will draw on students’ specific discipline skills associated with the specialisation of their degree. Pre-placement online seminars will also include consideration of career planning and professional skills.

This subject is intended to provide students with the opportunity to apply their business knowledge in an industry setting under the joint supervision of an industry and an academic mentor. Students will be responsible for identifying and securing a suitable work placement. Applications should be submitted by the due dates published on the MBS website. Selection into this subject is based on suitability of the placement, and demonstrated motivation to benefit from the program, and timely submission of the application.

The subject coordinator will have final approval of all selected students. Enrolment will be capped and subject to meeting the relevant academic program requirements. There will be a minimum of 30 places available per semester, additional places offered will be subject to Academic availability.