International Portfolio Management (2235.YR.005418.2)

General information

Type:	OPT	Curs:	1	Period:	S semester
ECTS Credits:	3 ECTS

Teaching Staff:

Group	Teacher	Department	Language
Year 1	Alex Maura Mundo	Economía, Finanzas y Contabilidad	ENG

Those covered in core courses during the first term regarding statistics, econometrics, linear algebra, portfolio management, equity and fixed income valuation, etc.

The aim of this course is to equip participants to better understand the global asset management industry from the point of view of a global investor. We will strive to understand how some of the world's leading investors pursue their different investment goals in order to meet the needs of their clients. Part of doing that involves analysing institutional investors like mutual funds, sovereign wealth funds or pension funds and some of the tools that they are using such as index funds or exchange traded funds (ETFs) among many others. The course takes a practical angle by going to the data to check ideas, analyse performance across investors and products, and put theories to the test. A relevant part of the course will also involve analysing different investment styles and financial innovations that will likely shape financial markets and the investment landscape in the near future, such as smart indexing, robo-advisors or crowd investing.

- Know the difference between an investor and a speculator.
- Consider investing as a journey and begin to develop one's own investment philosophy.
- Understand the terms "passive" versus "active" versus "activist equity styles".
- Compare fundamental investing and stock picking versus other quantitative approaches to portfolio construction.
- Know the structure and functioning of mutual funds, closed end investment companies, and exchange traded funds (ETFs).
- Explore the mechanics of short selling and the functioning of securities lending markets.
- Be able to conduct proper due diligence to identify and select a team of portfolio fund managers.

1. The art of Asset allocation in global markets: beyond diversification

2. Traditional asset classes: speculation, hedging and arbitrage

3. Alternative investments: in search of alpha

4. Quantitative trading: How to Build Your Own Algorithmic Trading Business

5. Behavioural investing: understanding the psychology of investing

6. Mutual Funds: investments styles

7. The case for ETF: investing and trading

8. Investment advisors and asset managers

9. Enhanced portfolio theory and risk adjusted performance measures

This course places great emphasis on helping students develop critical thinking and presentation skills. Thus, we will be using a variety of methods to help elaborate ideas, design tests to validate those ides, find the best ways to present those ideas and discuss/defend them with the rest of the class. Some activities may include case discussions, group work, role-plays, in-class exercises, short take-home problem sets, mini-lectures on theory, and
student presentations.

FISHER, PHILIP A. Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits, (1958) Business Classics, Woodside, California. ISBN: 0-931133-00-9. Since reprinted various times.

GRAHAM, Benjamin and DODD, David, Security Analysis, (buy the reprinted classic 1934
edition for your bookshelf.) McGraw Hill. ISBN: 0-07-024496-0.

GRAHAM, Benjamin, The Intelligent Investor: A Book of Practical Counsel, 4th revised edition.(1973) Harper & Row Publishers, New York. ISBN: 0-06-015547-7. (Reprinted numerous times).

DESAI, Mihir A. The Wisdom of Finance: Discovering Humanity in the World of Risk and Return. (2017) Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. New York: New York. ISBN 978-0-544-91113-0

Group	Teacher	Department
Year 1	Alex Maura Mundo	Economía, Finanzas y Contabilidad