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Foundations of Modern Finance II

Learn fundamental principles of modern finance, including valuation models, methods for risk analysis, derivative instruments and investment management.

Foundations of Modern Finance II

Learn fundamental principles of modern finance, including valuation models, methods for risk analysis, derivative instruments and investment management.

Many of the most important financial decisions in business are made under uncertainty. This second course in the Foundations of Modern Finance series provides you with the science of financial decision making under uncertainty.

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We build on the core set of basic principles taught in the first part, and continue to develop a powerful and general framework for making financial decisions in business and in personal financial planning. We introduce financial derivative securities and their valuation models, discuss the capital structure decisions of firms, and explore the interaction between investing and financing.

At the center of financial decision making is the valuation problem. How much value does a business investment create? What is a fair price to pay for a financial asset? We develop models and analytics for measuring risk and for valuing financial assets. We apply valuation models to financial securities, including stocks and bonds, and to project valuation and capital budgeting.

What you'll learn

  • Valuation of futures, forward, and options
  • Portfolio optimization and the capital asset pricing model (CAPM)
  • Capital structure decisions within the firm
  • The interaction between investing and financing

Prerequisites

15.415.1x Foundations of Modern Finance I

Probability and Statistics

Calculus

Linear Algebra

Meet your instructors

  • Featured image for Egor Matveyev
    Executive Director of MicroMasters Program in Finance
  • Featured image for Leonid Kogan
    Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Professor of Management and Professor of Finance
  • Featured image for Jiang Wang
    Mizuho Financial Group Professor and a Professor of Finance

Who can take this course?

Because of U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) restrictions and other U.S. federal regulations, learners residing in one or more of the following countries or regions will not be able to register for this course: Iran, Cuba, North Korea and the Crimea, Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic regions of Ukraine.