Baruch College

Zicklin School of Business

Department of Economics and Finance,

FIN4710: Advance Investment Analysis

Course Title: Advance Investment Analysis

Course Number:
Course Section:
Course code:
Instructor: Dr. Simi
Department: Economics and Finance
Office: 10-240D
Email: wei.simi@baruch.cuny.edu
Office hours:
Class hours: v- 10-126

Learning Goals for Baruch BBA:

-Analytical Skills:
Students will possess the analytical and critical thinking skills to evaluate issues faced in
business and professional careers.
-Technological Skills: Students will possess the necessary technological skills to analyze
problems, develop solutions and convey information.
-Communication Skills: Oral Students will have the necessary oral communication skills
to convey ideas and information effectively and persuasively.
-Communication Skills: Written Students will have the necessary written communication
skills to convey ideas and information effectively and persuasively.
-Civic Awareness and Ethical Decision-making: Students will have the knowledge base
and analytical skill to guide them when faced with ethical dilemmas in business. Students
will have an awareness of political, civic and public policy issues affecting business.
-Global Awareness: Students will know how differences in perspectives and cultures
affect business practices around the world.
-Business Knowledge/Integrative Abilities: Students will have knowledge of the basic
disciplines in business management, and be able to apply and integrate that knowledge
effectively in problem specification and problem solving.
-Proficiency in a Single Discipline: Students will possess a deep understanding of and
intellectual competence in at least one business discipline.

Required textbook: ESSENTIALS OF INVESTING, Ninth Edition, co-authored by Z.

Bodie, A. Kane, and A.J. Marcus, published by McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2013.

Textbook’s website address: www.mhhe.com/bkm

Optional financial newspapers: INVESTORS BUSINESS DAILY (US), WALL
STREET JOURNAL (WSJ) (US), FINANCIAL TIMES (London), and BARRONS (US)
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are four good weekday financial newspapers.

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All other materials will be on Blackboard. Please check Blackboard every day.

Hand-held calculators: Proficiency with a hand-held calculator will aid you, and you are
permitted to use one in this course’s exams. Buy a good one, master it, save the Users
Guide, use it for decades, and check your batteries before the exam. Smart phones may
not allowed to be used in the exams.

Suggestions solicited: Please pass criticisms and suggestions directly to Professor Simi
via word, anonymous note, e-mail, private appointment, or whatever.

Bring to exams: Soft lead (#2) pencil and a good eraser, calculator. PCs and cameras
not allowed.

Exams: The exams are multiple choice exams with choices A,B,C, D and E. Only the
one best choice is counted as being correct, even if other choices are partially correct. A
good way to prepare for exams is to study the class Teaching Notes and the assigned
textbook chapters. In the textbook learn the definitions of Key Terms in the margins of
the textbook pages, the meanings of all headings and subheadings in the textbook, work
the Examples in the textbook, and work the end-of-chapter problems in the textbook with
your own hand-held calculator. Go to the bathroom before the exam; trips to the
bathroom are not allowed during the exam.

Examination and Course Grading:

The course grade will be calculated as follows:

Exam Weight
Exam I: Midterm 30% - Covers teaching notes & textbook
chapters
Exam II: Final 30%- Read the paragraph above.
Project 30%- See the assignment sheet on
Blackboard
Class Participation 10%- Attendance, punctuality, and class
discussion.

For any reason, if you miss the Final Exam or fail to turn in a Term Project, you will
receive a semester grade of Incomplete. If the omitted work is not made up after one
semester, grades of Incomplete automatically turn into grades of F.

Learning your grade: The complete grade roster for the entire class (including your final
semester grade) will be posted on Blackboard under your initials (not your full name).
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Prerequisite classes for the course: College algebra and calculus, Introduction to
Accounting, Introduction to Economics, Introduction to Finance, Introduction to
Statistics, and Introductory Investments (Finance 3710).

Final course grade will be determined on a straight scale percentage basis with students
obtaining:

Total Score Distribution (X*= % below) Grade

X >= 97% A
97%> X >=92% A-
92%> X >=87% B+
87%> X >=82% B
82%> X >=77% B-
77%> X >=72% C+
72%> X >=67% C
67%> X >=62% C-
62%> X >=57% D+
57%> X >=50% D
And so on
*Percentage Ranking: indicates the percentage of the test-taking population that scored
below a given numerical score.

Note that the score schedule could possibly be adjusted upward or downward. There are
possibility to adjust the total score based on your class participations and contributions to
class discussions for people that are on the margin.
Students who miss the final exam will receive a term grade of “F”.
Students who never join in the classes will receive a term grade of “WN” according
college policy.
Students who join in the classes occasionally will receive a term grade of “WU”
according college policy.

Course Policies:
• Attendance Policies: Students are expected to attend all lectures. Attendance will
only be taken at the beginning of each lecture. Unexcused Absences may and can
be held against you. Elementary courtesy would suggest that you inform me in
advance, by email, of any absence and its reason.
• Students will not be excused from any exam. There will be no make-up an exam
without an official excuse (as specified by the college).
• The exams will only cover the material discussed in class since the prior exam,
but you still need to know what you have learned previously.
• The exams will be based on the class lectures and the textbook. The lectures will
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roughly follow the textbook as indicated in the schedule of topics below, but
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sometimes the lectures will go beyond what is covered in the text. Conversely, the

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 lectures often will not cover everything that is in the assigned chapter. Attending
class and taking good notes is therefore very important.
• The exams will test your technical and conceptual understanding.
• Make sure to turn off your cell phone before the class starts.
• The exams and the contents of the course might be subject to pre-announced
changes.

Academic Honesty: Prof. Simi supports Baruch College's policy on Academic Honesty,
which states, in part: "Academic dishonesty is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
Cheating, forgery, plagiarism and collusion in dishonest acts undermine the college's
educational mission and the students' personal and intellectual growth. Baruch students
are expected to bear individual responsibility for their work, to learn the rules and
definitions that underlie the practice of academic integrity, and to uphold its ideals.
Ignorance of the rules is not an acceptable excuse for disobeying them. Any student who
attempts to compromise or devalue the academic process will be sanctioned. " Academic
sanctions in this class will range from an F on the assignment to an F in this course, at the
faculty member’s discretion. A report of suspected academic dishonesty will be sent to
the Office of the Dean of Students. Additional information and definitions can be found
at: http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/academic/academic_honesty.html


Course Outline:
The following is a tentative schedule of lectures and corresponding readings in
ESSENTIALS OF INVESTING, Ninth Edition, co-authored by Z. Bodie, A. Kane, and
A.J. Marcus, published by McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2013.

This schedule is subject to change.

Topic: Reading: (Including Materials on

Blackboard)
Advance Investment Analysis
Macroeconomic and Industry Chapter 12,
Analysis Chapter 13,
Equity Valuation

Option Markets Chapter 15,

Option Valuation Chapter 16,

Review
Midterm Exam Chapter 12,13,15,16

Futures Markets Chapter 17,

Portfolio Performance Evaluation Chapter 18,
Global Investing Chapter 19,
Hedge Chapter 20,
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Review Chapter 17-20

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Final Exam

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Great Books Suggested to Read:

Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to
Save the financial System from Crisis--and Themselves
Andrew Ross Sorkin, Viking Penguin, 2009

A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful
Investing
Burton Malkiel, Norton, 2003

Irrational Exuberance
Robert J. Shiller

When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management
Roger Lowenstein, Random House, 2000

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