International Banking, Finance and Investment Management MSc

University of Dundee

This module is designed to introduce students to the structure and functioning of the banking and financial services industry. In particular, the module will examine the key and emergent issues in banking, including the role of central banks and regulation, and the risks that banks face. The module will also introduce students to different banking systems across the globe.

This module provides you with an extensive, detailed and critical knowledge and understanding of contemporary issues in the banking industry and financial markets. You will understand the role of banks as financial intermediaries; the role of banks in the international money; credit and bond markets; the impact of international factors on banks; the regulatory environment in which banks operate; the risks faced by banks and how to mitigate these risks, and the latest trends in innovation and technology in banking.

This module will enable students to develop skills in the interpretation and use of financial statements. For example, to aid in the decision as to whether to buy, hold, or sell a particular firms stock, students will learn how to set up an in-depth analysis of the firms strategic capabilities, market environment, financial and operating performance and accounting policies.

The module aims to provide a detailed understanding of how to analyse and estimate the efficiency of banks and the competitive structure of banking markets. The module covers issues relating to the financial statement of banks, including ratio analysis and the risk assessment of banking ratios. The module also aims to equip students with the knowledge and skills required to model banking efficiency using parametric and non-parametric techniques.

The module assumes no prior knowledge of quantitative methods and will provide an intuitive grasp of the theoretical concepts and basic skills required to estimate and interpret statistics. In particular, the module aims to equip students with the knowledge and skills required to use statistics in their research in accounting or finance, to introduce students to statistical thinking, to enable students to identify and carry out appropriate statistical tests, to introduce students to the SPSS statistical software and for students to be able to recognise when they are out of their depth statistically.

The module provides you with an intuitive grasp of the theoretical concepts and basic skills required to estimate and interpret economic models. In particular, it will allow you to apply statistical techniques to problems in finance by (i) translating theoretical models into an empirically implementable form; (ii) analysing statistical data; and (iii) interpreting econometric results. The module also provides you with an overview of the empirical methods used by financial academics and professionals in the analysis of financial asset prices.

The module aims to broaden knowledge and understanding of the structure and functioning of markets and securities, to provide a view of equity securities and their role in investment management, and to provide tools and techniques for the analysis of markets and estimation of equity values The module will focus on the following topics: Security markets organisation and structure; Security market indices; Market efficiency; Overview of equity securities; Industry and company analysis; Equity valuation concepts, basic tools and processes.

The module aims to provide students with a theoretical and practical understanding of contemporary investment management theories, principles, models and processes in a structured way in order to enable them to make investment decisions. The module will focus on the following topics: The investment environment; Theories of active and passive investment management; Portfolio concepts and quantifying risk and return; Asset allocation and portfolio construction; Portfolio management processes; Investment funds including mutual funds, hedge funds, and pension fund; Selecting stocks, fixed income securities and derivative; Alternative investments.

This module will develop your understanding of the behaviour of financial agents and the workings of global financial markets within the framework of modern finance theory. Topics include the time value of money and discounted cash flow analysis; theories of the yield curve and bond valuation; risk-return trade-off and mean-variance portfolio theory; Capital Asset Pricing Model and the Efficient Market Hypothesis; alternative approaches to stock valuation and financial ratio analysis; influence of corporate dividend policy and capital structure on stock pricing; functions of futures exchanges and the valuation of financial and commodity futures and the properties and valuation of option contracts.

This module is designed to provide students with the skills necessary to produce a focused project on a topical area in banking, finance or investment management.