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2020/2021  BA-BHAAV2389U  Behavioral Finance

English Title
Behavioral Finance

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Elective
Level Bachelor
Duration One Quarter
Start time of the course Second Quarter, Third Quarter
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Max. participants 45
Study board
Study Board for BSc in Economics and Business Administration
Course coordinator
  • Jimmy Martinez-Correa - Department of Economics (ECON)
  • Steffen Andersen - Department of Finance (FI)
Contact information: studenthub@cbs.dk​
Main academic disciplines
  • Finance
Teaching methods
  • Blended learning
Last updated on 28-04-2020

Relevant links
Learning objectives
The course will provide students with an understanding of how human psychology leads to biases and mistakes in the financial decisions of others and potentially of themselves. Through an awareness of these biases and mistakes, students will be better able to mitigate them as finance industry professionals, managers in non-financial firms, and investors of their own money.
Objectives:
To attain the top grade, students are required to have a good understanding of the major concepts and issues in behavioral finance. This includes the ability to:
• Identify and apply psychological concepts to financial markets and financial decision-making.
• Compare and contrast behavioral and non-behavioral explanations of financial phenomena.
• Apply the psychological and behavioral finance concepts to new problems outside the finance discipline.
Course prerequisites
The course is designed for students in the final year of their bachelor studies with a strong interest in finance and financial decision making. The course assumes knowledge of basic financial theory, as acquired in standard corporate finance courses.
Examination
Behavioral Finance:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Home assignment - written product
Individual or group exam Individual exam
Size of written product Max. 10 pages
Assignment type Written assignment
Duration 72 hours to prepare
Grading scale 7-point grading scale
Examiner(s) One internal examiner
Exam period Winter and Spring
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
Course content, structure and pedagogical approach

The objective of the course “Behavioural Finance” is to provide bachelor students with a broad understanding of how human psychology affects financial decisions, with specific reference to the impact on financial markets, corporate finance, and personal financial decisions.

There are two sides to the course. The "soft" side concerns the psychology of decision making. The "hard" side concerns modern empirical finance, as used in many hedge fund strategies, for example. The teaching of both sides focuses more on intuition and understanding rather than technical skills. The teaching is research-based, drawing on findings from the current academic literature, and covers a large quantity of material.
Description of the teaching methods
The teaching is interactive and students are expected actively to participate in class discussions.
Feedback during the teaching period
Upon agreement between teacher and students, feedback will be given through in class exercises at the class level and in office hours at the individual level.
Student workload
Class attendance 36 hours
Exam attendance 72 hours
Readings 83 hours
Exam preparation 83 hours
Last updated on 28-04-2020