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Finance

This is an archived copy of the 2011-12 Catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.iastate.edu.

Undergraduate Study

For undergraduate curriculum in business, major in finance.

In addition to the basic business requirements, finance majors must also complete:

FIN 310Corporate Finance *3
FIN 320Investments3
Select four from the following (two must be 400-level):
Fixed Income Securities
Financial Markets and Institutions
Personal Risk Management and Insurance
Real Estate Principles
Business Financing Decisions
Financial Futures and Options
Security Analysis and Portfolio Management
Bank Management Decisions
Corporate Risk Management and Insurance
Real Estate Finance
Select one from the following:
Intermediate Managerial Accounting
Intermediate Accounting I
Intermediate Accounting II
or any 400-level course listed above
International Finance

*

STAT 326 Introduction to Business Statistics II is highly recommended to be taken as a prerequisite

**

FIN 320 Investments is prerequisite for FIN 380 and 400 level finance courses

 The courses in finance constitute a broad program of study designed to provide a descriptive, behavioral, and analytical background of financial management to enable students to qualify for opportunities in financial services, insurance, brokerage, government, real estate, and financial management of business enterprises. Finance is also an excellent area for those who wish to become more knowledgeable as consumers, particularly in the fields of investments, insurance, and real estate.

Areas of study in the field of finance include financial management, investments, insurance, real estate, and financial services. Upper-level courses include a review of contemporary literature in the field, case studies, and financial problem analysis integrating finance courses previously taken.

The instructional objective of the Finance program is to provide a well-rounded professional education in finance. Such an education should provide the student with:

  1. a mastery of basic financial concepts and methods of analysis
  2. an understanding of financial operations in a global setting and of the role of financial institutions in the economics system
  3. an ability to effectively communicate and work with others as the finance member of a team
  4. an ability to demonstrate leadership capabilities in financial analysis and portfolio management.

The department also offers a minor for non-Finance majors in the College of Business. The minor requires 15 credits from an approved list of courses, of which 9 credits must stand-alone. Students with declared majors have priority over students with declared minors in courses with space constraints.

Graduate Study

The department participates in the full-time and part-time Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) program. The M.B.A. is a 48-credit, non-thesis, non-creative component curriculum. Thirty of the 48 credits are core courses and the remaining 18 are graduate electives. Within the M.B.A. program, students may develop an area of specialization in finance.

Courses primarily for undergraduate students

 

FIN 301. Principles of Finance.

(3-0) Cr. 3. F.S.SS. Prereq: ACCT 284; ECON 101, STAT 226
Introduction to financial management with emphasis on corporate financing and investment decision making, time value of money, asset valuation, capital budgeting decision methods, cash budgeting, and financial markets.

FIN 310. Corporate Finance.

(3-0) Cr. 3. F.S.SS. Prereq: 301
Theory used in a firm's investment and financing decisions. Analysis of environment in which financial decisions are made; applications of analytical techniques to financial management problems.

FIN 320. Investments.

(3-0) Cr. 3. F.S.SS. Prereq: 301
Introduction to various investment media and markets from the viewpoint of the individual investor. Emphasis on mechanics of trading, behavior of security prices, corporate stocks and bonds, mutual funds, individual asset and portfolio selection techniques, and performance evaluation.

FIN 327. Fixed Income Securities.

(3-0) Cr. 3. Prereq: 301
Valuation of fixed income securities, including pricing conventions, term structure of interest rates, default, duration, and hedging of interest rate risk. Analysis of active and passive investment strategies for managing fixed income portfolios. Nonmajor graduate credit.

FIN 330. Financial Markets and Institutions.

(3-0) Cr. 3. F.S. Prereq: 301
Introduction to the structure and operations of the United States financial system and its markets and institutions. Emphasis on developing and integrated understanding of markets and financial service providers including global linkages.

FIN 361. Personal Risk Management and Insurance.

(3-0) Cr. 3. F.S. Prereq: ECON 101
Risk concepts and the use of insurance by individuals and families. Emphasis on the insurance mechanism and methods of dealing with income, property, and liability risks.

FIN 371. Real Estate Principles.

(3-0) Cr. 3. SS. Prereq: ECON 101
Legal, economic, social and financial aspects of real estate, including property rights, contracts, mortgage instruments, tax factors, brokerage, valuation, risk and return analysis, financing techniques, and investments.

FIN 415. Business Financing Decisions.

(3-0) Cr. 3. Prereq: 301 and STAT 326
In depth study of the firm's external financing decision. Emphasis on the development of cash flow statements, projected financing needs and the selection of the appropriate financing instrument. Focus on case studies and application of developed techniques on actual field project. Nonmajor graduate credit.

FIN 424. Financial Futures and Options.

(3-0) Cr. 3. Prereq: 320 and STAT 326
Advanced study of the pricing and use of derivative market instruments, current topics and issues. Nonmajor graduate credit.

FIN 425. Security Analysis and Portfolio Management.

(3-0) Cr. 3. F.S. Prereq: 320, STAT 326 and permission of instructor
Advanced study of security analysis, security selection techniques and portfolio management. Emphasis on the applications of methods learned via the selection and evaluation of a portfolio of actual securities purchased in securities markets in the U.S. or abroad. Tracking and periodic reporting of the portfolio's performance relative to standard benchmarks is also required.

FIN 428. Advanced Fixed Income Analysis and Portfolio Management.

(3-0) Cr. 3. Prereq: 327, 320, STAT 326 and permission of the instructor
Advanced analysis of fixed income markets and securities, including valuation and trading of treasury securities, corporate bonds, mortgage backed securities. Students are also required to manage a fixed income portfolio for an institutional investor. A top-down approach to portfolio management is assumed, with active bets taken on market direction, duration, yield curve, and credit spreads. Nonmajor graduate credit.

FIN 445. Bank Management Decisions.

(3-0) Cr. 3. F.S. Prereq: STAT 326 and FIN 330 or ECON 353
Analysis of operations of depository financial institutions from management viewpoint. Emphasis on evaluating performance, policy formation, asset and liability management, the role of capital, and the operating environment. Nonmajor graduate credit.

FIN 462. Corporate Risk Management and Insurance.

(3-0) Cr. 3. F. Prereq: 301 and STAT 326
Analysis of an organization's approaches to the management of price, credit, and pure risk. Emphasis on the consideration and selection of risk control and financing treatments and the decision making framework underlying the alternatives selected. Covers commercial insurance, self-insurance, and alternative financing arrangements. Nonmajor graduate credit.

FIN 472. Real Estate Finance.

(3-0) Cr. 3. Prereq: 301 and STAT 326
Introduction to the techniques of assessing the value of real estate and real estate financing instruments. Nonmajor graduate credit.

FIN 480. International Finance.

(3-0) Cr. 3. F.S. Prereq: 301 and STAT 326
Advanced study of contemporary topics and issues in international finance.

FIN 490. Independent Study.

Cr. 1-3. Repeatable. Prereq: 301, STAT 326 and permission of instructor

FIN 499. Finance Internship.

(3-0) Cr. 1-3. F.S.SS. Prereq: GPA 2.5; permission of internship coordinator; STAT 326; 499A: 330; 499B: 361; 499C: 301 plus 3 additional credits in finance; 499D: 320; 499E: 310
Supervised experience in a private sector banking, insurance, real estate, investments or corporate organization or in a governmental agency that regulates such organizations. Offered on a satisfactory-fail basis only.

A. Banking
B. Insurance
C. Real Estate
D. Investments
E. Corporate

 

Courses primarily for graduate students, open to qualified undergraduate students

 

FIN 501. Financial Valuation and Corporate Financial Decisions.

(3-0) Cr. 3. Prereq: Enrollment in MBA program or departmental permission.
Shareholder wealth maximization as the goal of the firm within a social responsibility context, financial Math, valuation of securities, the global financial market place as the test of value, estimation of cost of capital, global capital investment decisions, capital structure policy, working capital management.

FIN 510. Advanced Financial Management.

(3-0) Cr. 3. Prereq: 505
Modern theory of corporate finance and its application to financial management problems. Advanced treatment of firm's investment, financing, and dividend decisions and survey of related research. Examples of potential topics are the investment banking process, convertible securities and warrants, financial derivatives, asset leasing, mergers and divestitures, leveraged buyouts, international financial management, executive compensation, and pension fund strategy.

FIN 515. Case Studies in Financial Decision Making.

(3-0) Cr. 3. Prereq: 505
This course focuses on case studies to develop an integrated set of financial decisions. Topic areas include fixed asset, working capital, capital structure, dividend and merger/acquisition decisions. The objective of the course is to examine different firm settings and establish a framework within which to apply financial tools.

FIN 520. Investments.

(3-0) Cr. 3. Prereq: 505
A comprehensive survey of the classical and contemporary theories of optimum portfolio construction; determinants of risk-return trade-off in selection of securities; emphasis on the theory and evidence of efficient capital markets and implications for security selection and portfolio management.

FIN 534. Financial Derivatives.

(3-0) Cr. 3. F. Prereq: Graduate classification
An applied course in derivative markets. Topics covered include futures and options markets, option pricing, swaps, use and rating of insurance products, and alternative forms of reinsurance. Emphasis will be placed on agricultural commodity markets, but energy, interest, currency and stock index contracts will also be covered.

FIN 572. Real Estate Finance.

(3-0) Cr. 3. Prereq: MBA Core
Survey of techniques for assessing the value of real estate assets. Introduction to real estate financing instruments, their use and appropriateness.

FIN 590. Special Topics.

Cr. 1-3. Repeatable. F.S.SS. Prereq: Permission of instructor
For students wishing to do individual research in a particular area of finance.

 

Every effort has been made to make the catalog accurate as of the date of publication. However, all policies, procedures, fees, and charges are subject to change at any time by appropriate action of the faculty, the university administration, or the Board of Regents, State of Iowa.

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Copyright 2012 Iowa State University. All rights reserved.
Updated February 2011