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2025/2026  KAN-CGMAI3012U  Investments: Financial Markets, Options and Derivatives

English Title
Investments: Financial Markets, Options and Derivatives

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Elective
Level Full Degree Master
Duration Summer
Start time of the course Summer
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Min. participants 30
Max. participants 60
Study board
Study Board for Governance, Law, Accounting & Management Analytics
Programme Master of Science (MSc) in Economics and Business Administration - General Management and Analytics (GMA)
Course coordinator
  • Carsten Sørensen - Department of Finance (FI)
For academic questions related to the course, please contact course instructor Shlomi Ben Yehuda (sby.fi@cbs.dk).
Main academic disciplines
  • Finance
Teaching methods
  • Face-to-face teaching
Last updated on 03/11/2025

Relevant links
Learning objectives
To achieve the grade 12, students should meet the following learning objectives with no or only minor mistakes or errors:
  • Apply the aspects of fixed income assets on bond's pricing and its risk sensitivity. Analyze and explain the effect of bankruptcy risk on the yield to maturity of the bond.
  • Implement the use of leverage in common financial problems, and analyze the effects of using leverage on risk and return.
  • Analyze option pricing (theory and practice) using the same models used in most financial firms.
  • Describe the process of financial markets movements and the role derivatives play in stability and instability of financial markets.
  • Identify hidden derivatives in real "simple life" agreements and deals.
  • Most important: handle portfolio management based on understanding the characteristics of investments.
Course prerequisites
Completed social science Bachelor. Fundamentals in economics and finance
Examination
Investments: Financial Markets, Options and Derivatives:
Exam ECTS 7.5
Examination form Written sit-in exam on CBS' computers
Individual or group exam Individual exam
Assignment type Written assignment
Duration 4 hours
Grading scale 7-point grading scale
Examiner(s) One internal examiner
Exam period Summer
Aids Limited aids, see the list below:
The student is allowed to bring
  • Any calculator
  • Language dictionaries in paper format
The student will have access to
  • Advanced IT application package
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
The number of registered candidates for the make-up examination/re-take examination may warrant that it most appropriately be held as an oral examination. The programme office will inform the students if the make-up examination/re-take examination instead is held as an oral examination including a second examiner or external examiner.
n/a
Course content, structure and pedagogical approach

This course is both theoretical and practical. No background in financial markets or knowledge related to investments is required. We analyze the current situation in the financial markets using both historical and forward-looking perspective.

The course covers different investment assets and investment instruments including debt (bonds), equity and derivatives, and the cross relation between them. Thus, it gives the students a broad view on the macroeconomy and financial markets, markets that have developed and adjusted to the new technology available for trading.
In addition, the course covers recent and previous crisis, the correlation (or not?) of  financial markets and real economies, effects on savings, risk taking, etc.
The role of big investors (hedge funds, saving funds and other institutional investors) is examined, and a question mark on them supporting/endangering financial markets is raised.
 
The first part of the course covers the debt market, including the recent developments in the interest rates and central banks decisions.
In the second part we learn about options (and other derivatives) and emphasize the relationship between risk and return.
The third part combines bonds and options, adds equity (stocks) and shows the link between the three, discussing arbitrage and leverage.
The fourth part uses previous materials to explain recent crisis, the recent inflation, the hedge-fund industry, commodities prices, forex markets, employee options, hedging, etc.
 
 
Pre-course Activity:
The pre-course activity file, including a few short contemporary articles to read before the course starts, and a request for an overview of specific financial data, is published at the end of May.
 
Class 1&2. Bonds: structure, YTM (yield to maturity), duration, risk, yield curve and spreads, nominal real and inflation; Hull chapter 4,6.


Class 3. Options: fundamentals, definition, graphical demonstration and arbitrage; Hull chapter 9.


Class 4&5. Strategies, put call parity (PCP), hedging and arbitrage; Hull chapter 9,10.

 

Class 6&7. The Binomial model. contingent claims. Demonstration: the option value of stocks, the effect on the yield to maturity; Hull chapter 11.

 

Feedback activity: an optional "take home exam"


Class 8&9. B&S model, the Greeks, evaluating employee options, volatility and the volatility index (VIX, the fear index); Hull chapter 13,17.

 

Class 10. Futures, commodity markets, forex markets. Employee options. Debt, leverage, derivatives and recent crisis. The role of big investors: hedge funds, mutual funds, algorithmic trading and stability/instability; Hull chapter 5,14.

 
Research-based teaching
CBS’ programmes and teaching are research-based. The following types of research-based knowledge and research-like activities are included in this course:
Research-based knowledge
  • Classic and basic theory
  • Methodology
  • Models
Research-like activities
  • Development of research questions
  • Analysis
  • Discussion, critical reflection, modelling
Description of the teaching methods
Tests, lecture notes, case studies, in class examples, worksheets, excel spreadsheets, and articles from financial press, which will form the basis for the class discussions.
Feedback during the teaching period
An optional "take home mini exam" based on the material covered so far.
Student workload
Pre-course Activity 20 hours
Classroom attendance 30 hours
Preparation 129 hours
Feedback activity 7 hours
Examination 20 hours
Further Information

6-week course.

 

Pre-course Activity: The course coordinator uploads the pre-course activity on Canvas at the end of May. It is expected that students participate as it will be included in the final exam, but the assignment is without independent assessment and grading.

 

 
Expected literature

Mandatory readings:

 

John C. Hull, "Options Futures and other Derivatives", 7th-11th edition


"The long-term impact of low rates" , September 9 2012, Financial Times
 
"Why low interest rates are now doing more harm than good" , September 2 2016, The Telegraph
 
"Do Hedge Fund Managers Misreport Returns? Evidence from the Pooled Distribution", Boolen and Pool, 2009, the Journal of Finance

 

"Good Timing: CEO Stock Option Awards and Company News Announcements", Yermack, 1997, Journal of Finance

 
"Mutual Fund Performance", Sharp, 1966, the Journal of Business
 
"Mutual Fund Performance", Fama and French, 2008, the Journal of Finance

 

"Do Managers Withhold Bad News?", Kothari Et al.,
2008, Journal of Accounting Research
 
"Boys will be Boys: Gender, Overconfidence and Common Stock Investments", Barber and Odean, 2001, the Quarterly Journal of Economics

 

Additional relevant readings:

 

Benninga, Mofkadi, "Financial Modeling" 5th edition, 2022

 

"Does the Stock Market Overreact?", De Bondt and Thaler, 1985, the Journal of Finance
 
"Pound's flash crash was amplified by inexperienced traders'", January 13 2017, the Guardian
 
"Bonuses don't have that much to do with performance", June 3 2015, The Telegraph
 
"Here’s all the money in the world, in one chart", January 29, 2016, MarketWatch
 
“Low interest rates fuel financial risk-taking, IMF warns”, October 16 2019, Financial Times

 

 
Last updated on 03/11/2025