Saltar al contenido
- Basic financial concepts: Time value of money, risk vs. return, financial markets, and instruments.
- Types of finance: Personal finance, corporate finance, and public finance.
- Role of financial markets: Stock exchanges, bond markets, etc.
2. Time Value of Money (TVM)
- Concept of present value and future value: How money’s value changes over time due to interest rates.
- Discounting and compounding: Calculating the present and future values of cash flows.
- Annuities and perpetuities: Regular payments and infinite series of payments.
3. Financial Statements
- Balance sheet: Assets, liabilities, and shareholders’ equity.
- Income statement: Revenues, expenses, and profit.
- Cash flow statement: Operating, investing, and financing activities.
- Analyzing financial health: Ratios (liquidity, profitability, leverage, efficiency).
4. Risk and Return
- Types of risk: Systematic vs. unsystematic risk, diversifiable and non-diversifiable risk.
- Expected return: How to estimate potential returns on investments.
- Risk-return trade-off: Balancing risk with expected returns.
- Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM): Estimating the expected return of an asset based on its risk compared to the market.
5. Investment Fundamentals
- Types of investments: Stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate, etc.
- Asset allocation and diversification: Spreading risk by investing in different asset classes.
- Investment valuation: Methods like discounted cash flow (DCF) and price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios.
- Market efficiency: Efficient market hypothesis and how it impacts investment strategies.
6. Corporate Finance
- Capital budgeting: Techniques like Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) to evaluate investment projects.
- Cost of capital: Calculating the weighted average cost of capital (WACC) for financing decisions.
- Leverage: Impact of debt on a company’s risk and return.
- Capital structure: Deciding the proportion of debt vs. equity in a company’s financing.
7. Corporate Governance and Ethical Issues
- Role of managers and shareholders: Balancing interests of owners, managers, and stakeholders.
- Ethical considerations: Ethical investment strategies, sustainability in finance.
- Financial regulations: Governmental bodies like the SEC and their role in regulating the financial markets.
8. Financial Markets and Institutions
- Stock and bond markets: How they work, market participants, and regulation.
- Investment banks, commercial banks, and insurance companies: Their role in the economy and financial markets.
- Monetary policy and interest rates: Role of central banks (e.g., Federal Reserve) in managing inflation and economic stability.
9. Personal Finance
- Budgeting and saving: Creating financial plans, managing income, and setting financial goals.
- Debt management: Types of debt, strategies for paying down debt.
- Investing for retirement: Understanding 401(k), IRAs, and other retirement vehicles.
- Tax planning: Basics of taxation, tax-efficient investing.
10. Financial Planning and Forecasting
- Financial modeling: Using spreadsheets to project company performance, budgeting, and forecasting.
- Scenario analysis and sensitivity analysis: Evaluating how different variables impact financial outcomes.
11. Advanced Topics (For Higher-Level Finance Classes)
- Derivatives: Options, futures, and other financial instruments used for hedging or speculation.
- Mergers and Acquisitions: Valuation methods, the strategic rationale for M&A, and their impact on company performance.
- Behavioral finance: How psychology affects financial decision-making and market outcomes.
- International finance: Currency exchange, global financial markets, and managing risk in international business.
