Formation/Cours

At the end of the course, the student should be able to:
1. Demonstrate how asset pricing can be extended in an international context,
2. Assess how and why firms list their shares on international equity markets,
3. Develop international bond portfolio strategies using domestic, foreign and international bonds,
4. Understand the operations in the global fund industry,
5. Construct an appropriate global asset allocation,
6. Explain the decomposition of international portfolio returns.

This course is designed to introduce students to the major issues and challenges encountered by investment managers in an international setting. The course will outline both theoretical and practical issues. Emphasis will be placed in relating insights from scientific analysis with real-world investment decisions and policy issues. The learning process will be facilitated with the help of the Trading Room.

Course outline:

Part I: International Asset Pricing

1. Risk and return of international investments
2. The benefits of international diversification
3. The world and the international CAPM
4. Integrated vs. segmented markets
5. Global risk factors in equity returns

Part II: International Equity Investing: Instruments and Techniques

1. International cross-listing
2. Depositary receipts
3. Closed-end and open-end country funds

Part III: International Bond Investing

1. The characteristics of international debt instruments
2. Floating-rate notes
3. Risk and return on foreign bond investments
4. Yield curve positioning

Part IV: Mutual Funds and ETFs
1. Closed-end funds
2. Open-end funds
3. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs)
4. Fund of fund strategies

Part V: International Investment process

1. Global asset allocation
2. Performance attribution
3. Performance appraisal