THEORY AND APPLICATIONS IN FINANCE - 2023/4

Module Overview

This module provides an in-depth review of the building blocks of finance theory and introduces the workings of the capital, financial options, and foreign exchange markets at the graduate level. It encompasses investor behaviour, asset pricing and financial trading.

Module provider

Economics

Module Leader

MANDILARAS Alexandros (Economics)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None.

Module content

The module encompasses salient aspects of the capital, option, and foreign exchange markets.

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

The alternative assessment for the group project is an individual assignment.

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate that they have achieved the module's learning outcomes and, by association, developed their digital capabilities, resourcefulness and resilience, and employability skills among other module attributes.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:  

A multiple-choice test, which is connected to learning outcomes 1 and 4 (20%). Students are challenged to solve financial problems under time constraint and show that they can critically engage with the financial literature.  

An individual project ("Asset Valuation Report"), which is connected to learning outcome 2 (40%). The report requires students to have mastered advanced concepts of asset valuation and exhibit resourcefulness in their approach to delivering work of a professional standard using suitable programming software.

A group project ("Financial Trading Project"), which is connected to learning outcome 3 (40%). Students will learn how to work together in the context of a diverse group, engage in conflict resolution if the need emerges and develop their digital skills and employability using a trading platform.

Formative assessment

Weekly self-tests with built-in feedback are provided to enhance student learning in the way described earlier.

Feedback

There are many opportunities for students to receive feedback during the live sessions. Assessment feedback is in the following forms: Solutions to the multiple-choice test (assessment 1) are released at the end of the assessment. The Asset Valuation Report (assessment 2) and Financial Trading Project (assessment 3) benefit from feedback which is made available through special forms. These are posted on each student's individual space on SurreyLearn, within the University's designated deadlines and include comments on student performance and advice on how to improve, where appropriate.

Module aims

• The aim of the module is to facilitate a thorough understanding of certain financial markets, train students in the use of advanced asset-pricing techniques and equip them with professional skills that are relevant to careers in the finance industry.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to ensure that students achieve the module's learning outcomes and develop competencies in the corresponding aspects of the curriculum framework (employability, digital capabilities, and resourcefulness and resilience).

Students have access to pre-recorded mini videos (approximately 11 hours in total) summarizing the learning outcomes of the week and highlighting advanced concepts in finance ahead of the weekly live sessions. The captured content (mini videos) is focused on aspects of financial theory that underpin relevant applications so that students have a solid foundation to build on.

The live sessions comprise a mix of lectures, which are also recorded and released, and workshops, which typically are not recorded. In the lectures students have another opportunity to fully understand financial theory by engaging in class discussion of the topics addressed in the captured content. Online polling is often used to motivate students to participate in this process. The workshops are also designed to be interactive, but the focus is on application. This is achieved via the involvement of students in solving exercises, discussing relevant examples from the financial literature and practice, and engaging in applied work that involves financial data.

There is also weekly guided learning (11 hours), in the form of self-tests with built-in feedback. These tests do not carry any marks and are mapped to the week's material to ensure that students have had several opportunities to achieve the week's learning outcomes.

Students who actively participate in the module's activities will be well prepared to engage with the module's assessments.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: ECOM071

Other information

In line with the University's curriculum framework, the School of Economics is committed to developing graduates with strengths in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability and Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module is designed to allow students to develop knowledge, skills, and capabilities in the following areas:

Employability

Through the module's learning and assessment activities, and especially the individual report and the group project, students develop independent judgement, collaborative skills as part of a small group with a common goal, and cognitive skills that enable them to reflect critically on their own practice. They also sharpen their ability to analyze and synthesize ideas and methods through their enagement with advanced schorarship..

Digital Capabilities

Students will work with suitable programming software in the context of their individual report and a trading platform for the group project. These technologies are extensively used in the financial industry and students will benefit from having engaged at an introductory level with both.

Resourcefulness and Resilience

Students will be connected communicators as they work collaboratively for the group project and reflect on their contribution and benefits from participating. In addition, through the various feedback points, they will have the opportunity to develop a responsive attitude to feedback by recognizing successes and opportunities for development.

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2023/4 academic year.