The purpose of this class is to help you understand the key areas of security analysis and portfolio management. Please be aware that this is an applications class, with an emphasis on applying what you are learning to real world examples, not just doing problems from the book. As such, it will take significant effort, but should also give significant rewards as well.  Please plan for a minimum of 3 - 4 hours outside of class for every hour we meet.   

 

There are seven learning objectives for the Asset management class. By the end of this course, team members should be able to:

 

1.      Demonstrate a grasp of key areas of financial analysis and asset management.  This classwill cover the entire process, from screening, pricing, industry analysis, deep financial analysis, buying/selling securities, portfolio monitoring, portfolio attribution, and portfolio reporting. 

 

2.      Apply screening criteria and develop a watch list. This class will share the tools to screen all U.S. publicly traded companies on specific financial criteria. This criteria will then be weighted to determine a “Watch List” for the class.

3.      Use Pricing Tools to determine the relative pricing of various stocks. Once a watch list is determined, you will be able to determine the relative attractiveness of a security based solely on price.

4.      Use Industry Tools to determine relative attractiveness of a security versus its peers. After determining relative price attractiveness, you will understand and use an Industry Tool to compare various financial criteria among different companies within the same industry.

5.      Analyze multiple companies for possible inclusion in the portfolio. In the internship class you analyzed one company per semester. This class will give you the tools to analyze 3-4 companies in the same amount of time, in addition to the many other things we will be doing.

6.      Provide an opportunity to make and be held accountable for portfolio selection and management decisions. Students will develop a process for finding undervalued companies, and then do the analysis on those companies. Students will then present their findings to class, and if appropriate, make the decisions as to how much to purchase. Students will then report on portfolio performance each month to GFA.

 

7.      Report to management each month on portfolio performance. Students will contribute to the monthly reporting process, which entails reporting to management on portfolio performance, highlighting significant changes and concerns relating to the economy, industry, and companies in the portfolio.

 

8.      Provide an opportunity to mentor other analysts in helping them develop the skills for effective investment analysis. You will be assigned to work with three other students from BM496R Investment Banking Internship class and you will work with them to help them analyze, prepare, and present to the portfolio mangers of GFA.