The Investments MFIN8801 course at the Carroll School of Management, Boston College, focuses on investing in financial markets, valuation techniques, and investment strategies. Students study the valuation of stocks, bonds, and options, portfolio allocation, risk and return analysis, and the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). Graduate Tutor’s finance tutors offer live online private tutoring for Investments MFIN8801 at Boston College, Carroll School of Management and other finance courses such as MFIN 8860 derivatives and Risk Analytics, MFIN8852 Financial Econometrics, MFIN 8840 International Finance, MFIN 8845 Global Finance, MFIN 8870 Data Analytics in Finance, MFIN 8880 Fixed Income Analysis, MFIN 8807 Corporate Finance, MFIN 7704 & MFIN 7722 Financial Management, MFIN8824, MFIN 8835 Real Estate Finance, Applied Investment Management, MFIN 8825 Applied Portfolio Management, etc. We cover the following topics on this page:

Objectives of the Investments MFIN8801 Course at the Carroll School of Management, Boston College

The Investments MFIN8801 course provides students with a comprehensive understanding of financial markets and investment strategies. Key topics include valuation models for stocks, bonds, and options, portfolio allocation theories, the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), and fixed-income securities. The course also emphasizes the practical application of these models, preparing students to make informed investment decisions in real-world scenarios.

Prerequisites for Investments MFIN8801 at Boston College

Students enrolling in this course need a foundational understanding of finance and basic quantitative skills. According to Professor Vincent Bogousslavsky, who taught recently, students are “expected to understand valuation formulas and be able to apply them to new problems.” A reasonable familiarity with financial concepts, mathematics, and statistics is essential because the Investments MFIN8801 Course at the Carroll School of Management, Boston College, focuses on applying valuation tools to analyze investments and evaluate financial risks. These prerequisites may be at the MFIN66XX or MFIN88XX or MFIN77XX level provided you have the necessary financial knowledge. Note that the MFIN77XX courses are for full-time MBA students only.

Teaching Format: Investments Course at Carroll School of Management

The Investments MFIN8801 course at the Carroll School of Management, Boston College, follows a lecture-based classroom format. Students are expected to actively participate in discussions and complete regular homework assignments. Class slides, readings, and additional resources are provided on Canvas. The course also incorporates in-class quizzes, group assignments, and case studies, offering students opportunities to engage with the material interactively.

Case Studies Used in the Investments Course at Carroll School of Management

Some professors of the Investments MFIN8801 course at the Carroll School of Management, Boston College, assign individual or group case assignments. For example, the Harvard Business School case study on Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) was used in class, where students analyzed investment strategies and applied financial models to evaluate DFA’s approach. The case required a 5-page write-up. This HBS case was chosen to reinforce the investing concepts covered in the course.

In other semesters, professors have used The Trading Game, where students practice buying and selling real-life financial assets. Here, grades were based on your return and the paper students submitted.

Another Investments MFIN8801 semester had student teams prepare an equity analyst’s research report as the class project.  

Required Textbook for the Investments Course at Boston College

The Investments MFIN8801 course at the Carroll School of Management, Boston College, uses lecture notes as the primary reading material. A highly recommended but not mandatory textbook is Investments by Bodie, Kane, and Marcus. Older editions are considered sufficient too.

Some professors recommend additional reading material. For example, Professor David Solomon recommends students read Matt Levine’s “Money Stuff” newsletter, Byrne Hobart’s “The Diff” (free version available each Friday), John Cochrane’s Blog, the Wall Street Journal, or the Financial Times and The Economist.

Key Questions: Investments Course MFIN8801 at the Carroll School of Management

Throughout the course, students in the Investments MFIN8801 course at the Carroll School of Management explore several critical questions:

  • How do financial markets operate, and what are the key investment instruments?
  • What is the relationship between risk and return, and how is it measured?
  • How do portfolio theories guide investment allocation?
  • What are the strengths and limitations of the CAPM and multi-factor models?
  • How do fixed-income securities function, and how are they valued?

Teaching Faculty for the Investments Course at Boston College

Recent faculty for the Investments MFIN8801 course at Boston College include Professor Robert James, Professor Rob James, Professor David Solomon, Professor Michael Barry, Professor Rui Albuquerque, Professor Vincent Bogousslavsky, etc. The course is usually supported by one or two teaching assistants. Teaching assistants provide additional academic support through office hours and guidance on assignments.

Grading in the Investments Course at Boston College

Grades in the Investments MFIN8801 course at the Carroll School of Management, Boston College, are based on multiple components. Note that this may vary slightly depending on the professor teaching this class each semester.

  1. Class Participation and Quizzes – 5%
  2. Homework Assignments – 15%
  3. Case Write-Up – 10%
  4. Midterm Exam – 30%
  5. Final Exam – 35%
  6. 5% Best Exam Bonus – An additional 5% weight is added to the better score between the midterm and final exams.

Exams are usually closed book in the Investments MFIN8801 course at the Carroll School of Management. A calculator cheat sheet with one piece of paper with handwritten notes (double-sided, 8.5’’x11’’) is allowed. Laptops and advanced calculators are not permitted.

Order of Topics in the Investments Course at Boston College

The Investments MFIN8801 course at the Carroll School of Management follows a structured progression of topics:

  1. Introduction to Financial Markets
  2. Risk and Return
  3. Portfolio Allocation
  4. Present Value Formula
  5. Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM)
  6. Multi-Factor Models and Performance Evaluation
  7. Market Efficiency and Limits to Arbitrage
  8. Fixed-Income Securities

This sequence ensures students develop a thorough understanding of investment principles, preparing them to analyze financial markets and apply investment strategies effectively. Investments MFIN8801 course students at the Carroll School of Management also apply this knowledge on projects or cases selected by faculty.

Tutoring for Investments MFIN8801 course at the Carroll School of Management, Boston College

GraduateTutor’s finance tutors offer live online private tutoring for Investments MFIN8801 as well as other core courses such as Investments (MFIN8801), Corporate Finance (MFIN8807), Management of Financial Institutions (MFIN8820), Financial Econometrics (MFIN8852) at the Carroll School of Management, Boston College. Our graduate-level tutors can also provide finance tutoring for the finance electives including FinTech and Cryptocurrencies (MFIN6650), Quantitative Portfolio Management (MFIN8803), Global Macro and the Financial System (MFIN8850), Derivatives and Risk Analytics (MFIN8860), Behavioral Finance (MFIN8865), Data Analytics in Finance (MFIN8870) and Fixed Income Analysis (MFIN8880).  

Please email or call us if we can provide corporate finance tutoring for AEM 4570/5570: Corporate Finance or any finance courses from Carroll School of Management, Boston College listed here. Or, for that matter, graduate-level tutoring or any other quantitative course you will encounter in a b-school program.