This is a course about interest rates. “Rates” are important, because every cashflow calculation in finance includes an interest rate. If you have curiosity about being at the corner of economics and markets, it is interest rates that determine much of the traffic.

While the cash flows of fixed income securities are contractually specified, the valuation of bonds is particularly challenging given interest rate movements, credit risk, and embedded optionality. 

Additionally, as part of an examination of structured products, the course will examine some basic elements of asset-backed finance, particularly the process of creating and valuing residential mortgages. 

Students are expected to possess effective written and oral communication skills, to be knowledgeable of the global interest rate environment, to possess the ability to perform in a team context, to possess critical thinking skills, and to possess an ethical understanding and perspective. 

The class, by its nature, requires a moderate level of quantitative skill, but more importantly it will require consistent focus. In the end, we want you to not just know about interest rates, creditworthiness, bonds, and bond markets, but we want you to know what these things mean and how you can use the information.

Topic: Financial Decisions

This course seeks to place this decision making framework around how markets work and how humans make financial choices. Are markets efficient and are investors rational? Or are there elements of behavioral finance at work here? Or maybe other things too?

Given that, the course examines rational expectations, efficient markets, and intrinsic valuation. Through this lens, finance can be viewed as an exact science, mathematical at its roots and (perhaps) hopelessly entangled with rules and calculations, like discounted cash flows, and the Capital Asset Pricing Model.

The course starts with this foundation but then builds upon it by examining the role of psychology in financial decision making, including the cognitive and emotional issues that impact human choices in finance and investments. Can we explain why perfect market efficiency doesn’t really happen in practice? Can we separate economic incentives from emotional biases? And does this solve all the issues or is there more going on? Could it be that finance is not just math and psychology, but there is adaptation, morphing, and mutation going on, that this is actually like biology?

In an effort to examine and balance conflicting ideas and approaches, this course will require you to think critically and demonstrate an ability to voice opinions and debate ideas. As a writing intensive course, you will demonstrate those skills not only in a classroom setting, but through the written word. 

Everything comes back to money in some way. It affects all of us and confuses most of us. We all think about it a little differently. Money offers up plenty of life’s lessons, like risk, confidence, success, and happiness. It’s a magnifying glass on what people do and it’s the greatest show on earth.

Students should have a strong background in finance (FIN 701 & FIN 702 at a minimum) or economics, or instructor's permission to benefit from this course.