UNCW
Department
of Economics & Finance
FIN
330: Principles of Investments
Course
Syllabus, Fall 2009
Professor Dr. William S.
Compton Email: comptonw@uncw.edu
220-A
Cameron Hall Office
phone: (910) 962-3468
Office Hours MWF 11-1:00pm; TTH 12:30 -2:00pm; and by appointment.
Class Meetings Section Hours Days Location
003 2:00-3:15pm TTh CISI 1003
Required:
Text Fundamentals
of Investments 4th ed,
Jordan & Miller, McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2008.
Course Notes FIN 330 Principles of
Investments Lecture Notes and Supplements
(Available
at Todd Printing,
Total
cost is about $10.00.
Lecture
Notes are also available on the web but supplements are not available.
Detailed
Chapter Outlines (provided by the textbook authors) are also available on
the web.
Calculator A financial calculator, and the
ability to use it, is required for this course.
The BA II+
or HP 10-B, are recommended and should be brought to class every day.
Time Value
of Money exercises, including a list explaining BAII+ keys, are available
online.
Prerequisite ACG 201; ECN 222.
Description: An introduction into the theory and
practice of investment management
Topics include: Asset classes (types of securities), asset
allocation, diversification theory, stock and bond valuation, derivatives
(options & futures), interest rates, inflation, nominal and real rates of
return, primary and second markets, stock exchanges.
Objectives: Upon
completion of the course, you should:
1. Be familiar with the basic types of
securities (asset classes) used for investing.
2. Understand the importance of
diversification in making portfolio decisions.
3. Understand the fundamentals of stock
and bond valuation.
4. Understand the factors that influence
rates of return (real vs. nominal).
5. Understand the difference between
primary markets and secondary markets.
Grading:
Exam 1 ..................................100
points
Exam 2
..................................100 points
Final exam
.............................100 points
Homework .......................…..0-3
points per homework
NOTE:
If I have to ask you to leave class for using the computer during my lecture, I
will dock you 10 points on the next exam for each time I ask you to leave!
Grading scale based on percent of total
points achieved
A
92 – 100 A - 90
– 91.9
B
+ 88 – 89.9 B 82 – 87.9 B - 80 – 81.9
C
+ 78 – 79.9 C 72 – 77.9 C - 70 – 71.9
D
+ 68 – 69.9 D 62 – 67.9 D - 60 – 61.9
F
Below 60
When assigning the final grade I may
lower the minimum percentage required for any grade for the entire class,
depending on overall class performance.
Exams Exams will consist of
multiple-choice questions & problems, and 2-3 long problems/essays. Exam
reviews are available on the web. You may bring one 4x6 index card
with anything on it (except purloined answers!) to each exam. Hand held calculators will be required during
exams, but they cannot be shared.
Exam material will come from lectures, assigned readings, and homework.
Make-up If
you must miss an exam, talk to me in advance.
If you have an excused absence, you can make-up the exam and receive
full credit. Make-up exams must be taken
as soon as possible. If you do not have an excused absence you will
receive a failing grade for the course. Thus, you should always be prepared to
document an excused absence. All
students must take all the exams.
Homework Homework
problems are posted for most of the chapters. I will collect these homework
assignments ON THE CLASS PERIOD FOLLOWING THE DAY WE FINISH THAT CHAPTER. They will be worth 0-3 points each and I will
evaluate the homework primarily on effort
and appearance (i.e follow the
instructions below and be aware that I give sloppy work less respect than neat
work). Please note that I will be looking for a reasonable effort. Photocopies of homework will not be
accepted.
Please adhere to the Instructions for homework problems and
“Check This” concept questions (below).
Extra credit “Check This” Concept Questions appear throughout
each chapter (not at the end of the chapter). If you turn in brief
answers to these questions at the beginning of class on the day we start that
chapter, you can earn 0-2 bonus
points on the next exam. I will
evaluate these answers primarily on effort
and appearance (i.e follow the
instructions below and be aware that I give sloppy work less respect that neat
work). Photocopies will not be accepted
and I will not accept these after we have started the chapter.
Please adhere to the Instructions for Homework problems and
“Check This” concept questions (below).
Instructions for Homework Problems and “Check This”
concept questions:
a) If you are
turning in more than one page, please staple the assignment in the upper
left hand corner.
b) Late
homework loses one point for each day late and is not accepted after I have
covered it in class or returned the homework to the class.
c) Homework
should be done in pencil or, if in pen, there should not be any scratch outs
(use liquid paper). I will also accept spreadsheets or word processor produced
homework.
Attendance Use your better judgment. I will not review class material
for those who miss a class. I will pass a tablet around for you to sign when
you come to class. Anyone who misses fewer than three (3) classes during
the semester will get 5 points added to their grade on the final exam. Anyone
who signs someone else’s name (I don’t expect that to happen) will suffer
excruciating pangs of conscience or other terrible consequences. Students are
responsible for keeping up in class and staying current in their
assignments. I encourage you to have a
friend in class that can update you on what you missed should you find it
necessary to miss a class.
Absences Absence due to illness. Absence due to illness is an excused
absence only if the student provides documentation of the illness upon return
to class. The student should also
attempt to notify the professor prior to class (phone, e-mail) whenever possible.
Absence
due to an official University activity. Absence due to an official University
activity is an excused absence only if the student notifies the professor of
the absence in advance (i.e. prior to the missed class) and
provides written documentation of the University activity from an appropriate
University representative prior to the absence.
Absence
due to emergency. The
professor will make evaluation on a case-by-case basis of whether an absence due
to an emergency is an excused absence.
At a minimum, the student should contact the professor about the absence
as soon as possible and should provide documentation of the emergency whenever
possible.