Finance Courses

FIN 220 - Personal Finance (3 hours)
Gen. Ed. SF
Core Curr. SB
Principles and practice of management of personal income, wealth, and credit: budgeting, sources of financing, savings, estate planning, and institutions of personal finance.

FIN 322 - Business Finance (3 hours)
Capital budgeting and principles of financial management. External and internal sources of funds: costs and profitable uses in business organizations. Prerequisite: ATG 157 and junior standing or 42 credit hours and declared finance or actuarial science first major.

FIN 323 - International Financial Management (3 hours)
Financial characteristics of international business. International exchange, liquidity, markets, investments, and banking, in context of historical development, environmental characteristics, economic factors, political systems, and legal constraints. Emphasis on exchange rate exposure management. Cross listed as IB 323. Prerequisite: ATG 158; ECO 222; junior/senior standing.

FIN 325 - Investment Analysis (3 hours)
Principles of investment analysis. Introduction to security valuation using fundamental analysis with associated trading rules. Introduction to technical analysis/charting with trading rules. Functions and descriptions of securities markets and trading. Prerequisite: FIN 322, QM 262 or MTH 325.

FIN 327 - Derivative Securities (3 hours)
Overview of options, futures, swaps, and related financial securities. Examination of exchanges, pricing issues, arbitrage, and trading strategies. Applications emphasize the use of derivative securities for managing financial risk. Prerequisite: FIN 322; MTH 115 or higher

FIN 328 - Financial Institutions and Markets (3 hours)
Operation of financial institutions and interrelationships between their operations and economic activity; credit flow and money movements, in the context of financial institutions' operations. Structure and organization of the financial system; emphasis on markets and intermediaries. Prerequisite: ECO 100 or 221; ECO 222; junior standing.

FIN 329 - Commercial Bank Management (3 hours)
The role of commercial banks in the capital markets; introduction and application of financial management concepts, tools, and techniques to the fundamental financial decisions that managers of commercial banks make. Focus is on the dynamic banking environment, regulations, nature of risks, asset and liability management, investment and credit decisions, and financing decision of commercial banks. Prerequisite: FIN 322, FIN 328.

FIN 330 - Financial Services Marketing (3 hours)
Examination of the increasing use of marketing techniques in the financial services industry and the changing environment of financial services. Course is structured around the core marketing principles of buyer behavior, segmentation, product development, distribution, pricing and promotion, as well as topics such as relationship marketing, customer loyalty, and technological developments. Designed for students with an interest in banking, insurance, securities, and other financial services industries. Cross listed with MTG 330. Prerequisite: FIN 322, MTG 315.

FIN 384 - Entrepreneurial Finance (3 hours)
Planning and strategies involved in starting or expanding a business. Emphasis on capitalization, record keeping, liquidity management, fixed asset management, financial analysis, expansion strategies, establishing firm value, and exiting the firm. Cross-listed with ENT 384. Prerequisite: ENT 382 or FIN 322.

FIN 421 - Liquidity Management (3 hours)
Managing firms' liquidity position; emphasis on use of positive and normative models dealing with short term assets and liabilities; ensuring liquidity while enhancing firm value. Prerequisite: FIN 322, QM 263.

FIN 422 - Financial Analysis (3 hours)
Core Curr. WI
Interpretation and analysis of corporate financial statements. Current annual and interim reports as a source of data for management, stockholders, and creditors. Prerequisite: FIN 322, QM 263.

FIN 423 - Advanced Business Finance (3 hours)
Complex problems of the corporate finance manager. Emphasis on modern finance tools in managerial decision making. Recent literature of corporate finance. Prerequisite: FIN 322 and QM 263

FIN 424 - Capital Budgeting (3 hours)
Long-term capital investment decisions and long-term financing. Strategic wealth creation, general valuation principles, evaluation of net present value rule, alternative capital budgeting methods, ranking projects, taxation, marginal cash flows, and the impact of inflation. Single-investment risk analysis, risk analysis for top management and fully diversified investors, cost of capital, capital structure, dividend policy, interactions between investment and financing decisions, leasing, and capital rationing. Prerequisite: FIN 322, QM 263.

FIN 425 - Portfolio Theory and Management (3 hours)
Introduction to portfolio theory. Diversification concepts. Market-oriented capital asset pricing model, options pricing model, and arbitage pricing theory. Market efficiency. Relationship of portfolio theory to fundamental and technical analyses. Portfolio management and evaluation techniques. Prerequisite: FIN 325; QM 263 or MTH 326

FIN 426 - Financial Research & Modeling (3 hours)
Modeling financial processes, cash flows, security prices, etc., for decision making. Econometric, distribution-based, Markov and Stochastic Process concepts are employed. Treats risk/uncertainty identification, measurement and management. Prerequisite: Q M 263 or MTH 326; FIN 325

FIN 429 - Topics in Finance (3 hours)
Topics of special interest which may vary each time course is offered. Topic and prerequisite stated in current Schedule of Classes. May be repeated under different topics for a maximum of nine hours credit.

FIN 494 - Financial Strategy (3 hours)
Contemporary review of theory and practice of financial risk management. Principles for managing financial risk are applied to interest rates, exchange rates, and commodity prices. Financial engineering is incorporated into unified ethical and sustainable managerial problem solving and policy decisions designed to achieve successful operations. Supporting financial elements areas are integrated to understand and appreciate their interdependencies and benefits as a culminating academic experience. Prerequisite: 12 hours of finance at 300 or 400 level.

FIN 498 - Independent Study in Finance (1-3 hours)
Studies undertaken by academically qualified students under guidance of a faculty member. Open to Finance and Quantitative Methods Department majors only. May be repeated under different topics for a maximum of six hours credit. Prerequisite: junior/senior standing; 2.5 cumulative grade point average; consent of Department Chair.

FIN 522 - Introduction to Finance (2 hours)
Principles of financial management; financial systems and flow of funds; time value of money and its application; raising and allocation of funds; financial analysis, planning, and forecasting. Cannot be used to satisfy MBA elective or concentration requirements.

FIN 622 - Financial Management (4 hours)
Review of essential concepts necessary for foundational support of graduate topics. Areas of study include the financial framework and analysis of business; Management of the flow of funds through a company; capital and cash budgeting; valuation problems; risk analysis; evaluation of alternative methods of financing under changing conditions. Prerequisite: Foster College of Business Graduate Student or Consent of Associate Dean.

FIN 623 - Multinational Financial Management (3 hours)
How global financial markets accommodate various cultural, legal, economic, and exchange rate systems. How different conventions apply to country-specific accounting, operating, marketing, and financing. Multinational interaction and exposure management are emphasized. Prerequisite: completion of all MBA prerequisite courses.

FIN 624 - Capital Budgeting (3 hours)
Long-term capital investment decisions, policy, concepts, tools and techniques. Builds on NPV decision rule, cash flow, CAPM and APT, real options, and jump process approaches; risk considerations emphasized. Prerequisite: completion of foundation courses, FIN 622.

FIN 625 - Financial Analysis (3 hours)
Contemporary theoretical and applied approaches to analyzing financial health. Managerial implications. Application and interpretation of ratios; univariate and multivariate tools. Financial modeling. Prerequisite: Completion of all MBA prerequisite courses.

FIN 627 - Financial Risk Management (3 hours)
Risks induced by input factor, interest rate, and currency exchange rate changes are analyzed for interpretation, reduction, offset, or alternative adjustment. How the firm can enhance financial performance relative to risk taken. Prerequisite: completion of all MBA prerequisite courses.

FIN 633 - Quantitative Methods in Finance (3 hours)
Emphasizes the mathematical structure of and methods for model solutions in asset and derivative pricing, capital budgeting and real options, financing and liquidity. Includes solutions of systems of equations, complementarity, and optimization. Applications of numerical analysis, integration and differentiation, functional and differential equation solutions. Prerequisite: consent of department chair.

FIN 636 - Fixed Income (3 hours)
Develops term structure models and options based on fixed-income securities. Standard lognormal models, short-term interest rate models, and more complex derivative models. Prerequisite: consent of department chair.

FIN 637 - Derivatives II (3 hours)
Advanced topics in derivative securities. Builds on introduction to derivatives and fixed income course. Develops numerical techniques used to implement pricing methodologies, term structure models, and options based on fixed income securities. Prerequisite: consent of department chair.

FIN 639 - Uncertainty Analysis and Measurement (3 hours)
The nature and importance of modeling and measuring uncertainty; theoretical and computational approaches to modeling and measuring uncertainty; qualitative and quantitative uncertainty modeling and measurement; computational issues in uncertainty modeling and measurement; simulation, moment generating and characteristic probability functions. Prerequisite: Consent of department chair.

FIN 649 - Quantitative Finance Capstone (3 hours)
A capstone course that will develop topics of special interest which may vary each time the course is offered. Topic stated in current Schedule of Classes. A maximum of three credit hours of topics courses are allowed. Prerequisite: consent of department chair.

FIN 655 - Practicum in Quantitative Finance (3 hours)
Providing solutions to complex financial problems under faculty supervision, with a financial benefit. May involve research with faculty. Up to three hours credit. Repeatable to a combined total of six credit hours. Prerequisite: Graduate Master of Science in Quantitative Methods student in good standing; approval of Director of Master of Science in Quantitative Methods program.

FIN 658 - Topics in Finance (3 hours)
Topics of special interest which may vary each time the course is offered. Topic stated in current Schedule of Classes.

FIN 659 - Topics in Quantitative Finance (3 hours)
Topics of special interest which may vary each time the course is offered. Topic stated in current Schedule of Classes. Prerequisite: Consent of department chair.

FIN 660 - Readings in Finance (1-3 hours)
Individual readings for qualified students, under the guidance of a member of the faculty. Repeatable to a maximum of 3 credit hours. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor and director of graduate programs.

This is the official catalog for the 2021-2022 academic year. This catalog serves as a contract between a student and Bradley University. Should changes in a program of study become necessary prior to the next academic year every effort will be made to keep students advised of any such changes via the Dean of the College or Chair of the Department concerned, the Registrar's Office, u.Achieve degree audit system, and the Schedule of Classes. It is the responsibility of each student to be aware of the current program and graduation requirements for particular degree programs.