Sunday, September 6, 2015

COURSE OUTLINE FOR SECURITIES AND PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS



UNIVERSITY OF PROFESSIONAL STUDIES (UPSA)
WEEKEND SCHOOL

SECURITIES AND PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS

LECTURERS:
DAVID MENSAH
REBECCA ATTAH-ANNOR
SAINT KUTTU


Objective of the Course:
This course covers the operation of stocks and securities markets and the construction of investment portfolios. On completion of this course, students will be able to discuss, explain, and apply modern portfolio theory to a range of practical situations; understand the implications of capital market efficiency for security selection styles such as technical and fundamental analysis, evaluate bonds as an investment strategy; understand the basic characteristics of options and futures contracts; apply pricing models and appreciate the roles of theses derivative instruments as risk management tools.

Pre-Requisites:
This is basically an extension of the knowledge acquired in investment fundamentals and corporate finance. Students with strong background in these areas should find this course very interesting.

Assessment and Evaluation Procedure:
The final assessment shall be on the basis of the continuous assessment (CA) system. This involves
(i)                 Interim assessment                                                 20%
(ii)               Assignment                                                                        10%
(iii)             End of semester exam                                                       70%

Teaching Methods:
The primary mode of delivering this course would be through lectures, presentation and discussions.

Basic Text/Main Text:
(i)                 Sam Mensah (PhD), Securities Markets and Investments
(ii)               Robert  A. Strong, Portfolio Construction, Management, and  Protection, 5th ed
(iii)             Mayo H. B. Investment: An introduction, 8th ed
(iv)             Reilly F. K. and Norton E. A,  Investment, 5th ed

How to pass the course:
(i)                 Attend all lectures
(ii)               Focus on solving problems; working the calculations as well as mastering the theories
(iii)             Re-work and master all examples done in class
(iv)             Study (not read) the textbook
(v)               Ask questions
(vi)             Chat with the lecturer after class or appropriate times
(vii)           Form study groups





WEEK
BRIEF CONTENT
DETAILS
One
Investment Process and Financial Markets
Financial markets and instruments: Financial intermediaries, importance of intermediation, regulatory bodies, the stock exchange, types of securities, characteristics of investments
Two
How Securities Markets are Organized
How companies raise capital, the issuing process, process of trading securities, stock market indexes an averages, types of orders, trade handling and settlement, other market institutions
Three
Legal and Regulatory Framework
Why securities firms are regulated, relevant legislation: the securities industry law, (Amendment, (Act), 2000, Act (590)), the Ghana Stock Exchange Rules, Taxation, Regulation of the Government Securities Markets, Regulation of collective investment schemes
Four
Time Value of Money and the Mathematics of Finance
Simple and compound interest, effect of the frequency of compounding, finding interest rates and time requirements, annuities, perpetuity, comparing annuities and perpetuities.
Five
Risk and Return Analysis
Measuring investment return, measuring investment risk
Six
Fixed Income Securities
Discount and coupon instruments, the primary market for government securities, the money market instruments, the valuation and quotation of money market instruments, bond instruments, valuation of a bond, bond returns and risk, factors to consider in managing a bond portfolio, the risk structure of interest rates, bond portfolio management strategies
INTERIM ASSESSMENT
Seven
Shares and Shares Valuation
Preference shares, ordinary shares, rights of shareholders, bonus shares, share buybacks, valuation of shares
Eight
Economic, Industry, and Company Analysis
Economic and industry analysis, relationship between economic variables and shares prices, industry analysis, Financial statement Analysis and Financial Ratios, Technical and Fundamentals Analysis
Nine
Derivatives
Futures, Forwards, and Options
Ten
Portfolio Construction
Mathematics of Diversification, Why diversification is a good idea, international Investment and diversification
Eleven
Portfolio Management
Equity portfolio, fixed income portfolio, portfolio management strategies
ASSIGNMENT
Twelve
Investment Funds and Performance Analysis
Unit trusts, mutual funds, operation of investment funds, performance analysis.
Thirteen
Revision
SUBMISSION OF ASSIGNMENT
NB: The assignment in week eleven must be submitted in the revision week

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