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2015/2016  KAN-CFSMO1122U  Financial Markets & Instruments

English Title
Financial Markets & Instruments

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Mandatory
Level Full Degree Master
Duration One Semester
Start time of the course Autumn
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Study Board for MSc in Economics and Business Administration
Course coordinator
  • Søren Ulrik Plesner - Department of Finance (FI)
Contact information: https:/​/​e-campus.dk/​studium/​kontakt
Main academic disciplines
  • Finance
Last updated on 07-07-2015
Learning objectives
To achieve the grade 12, students should meet the following learning objectives with no or only minor mistakes or errors: The objective of the course is to develop a deeper understanding of the role and inner workings of financial markets and financial instruments such as stocks, bonds, and derivatives. We will place particular emphasis on helping you develop a systematic way of thinking about and making investment decisions.


The aim of the course is that students after having followed the course are able to:
  • Explain the concepts, theories, models, and methods for portfolio selection, risk measurement and management, the risk-return tradeoff, and the pricing of stocks, bonds, and derivative securities as discussed during the course.
  • Discuss the theoretical and empirical validity of the central theories and models developed in the course.
  • Apply the theories and models to realistic problems.
  • Implement relevant models using Excel or similar computational tools.
  • Discuss the role of capital markets, the efficiency of capital markets, and theories about investor behavior.
Examination
Financial Markets & Instruments:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Written sit-in exam
Individual or group exam Individual
Assignment type Written assignment
Duration 4 hours
Grading scale 7-step scale
Examiner(s) One internal examiner
Exam period Autumn, The regular exam will be held in January. The make-up/re-exam takes place in February or March.
Aids allowed to bring to the exam Limited aids, see the list below:
  • Written sit-in-exam on CBS' computers
  • Books and compendia brought by the examinee
  • Allowed dictionaries
  • Allowed calculators
  • Notes in paper format brought by the examinee
  • Access to personal drive (S-drive) on CBS' network
  • USB key to upload your notes before the exam
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
If the number of registered candidates for the make-up examination/re-take examination warrants that it may most appropriately be held as an oral examination, the programme office will inform the students that the make-up examination/re-take examination will be held as an oral examination instead.
Course content and structure

The topics we will explore include the following:
 

  • the basics of risk and return
  • the investment process and the importance of asset allocation
  • how markets operate
  • portfolio theory and how to form optimal portfolios
  • equilibrium models of security prices
  • security price anomalies such as the size, book-to-market, and momentum effects in stock returns
  • the behavioral approach to finance and its role in understanding price anomalies
  • the role of fixed income securities in the portfolio
  • the term structure of interest rates
  • the use and valuation of derivatives


Course status
This constitutes a basic course in capital market theory and instruments and forms the basis for second semester course in risk management.
Teaching methods
Lectures with exercises.
Expected literature

Bodie, Kane & Marcus: Investments, Global 10th edition, McGraw Hill,

ISBN - 9780077161149
Last updated on 07-07-2015