Fundamentals of Investments
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Course information
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
1) Understand basic concepts of finance, financial markets and securities, investments, portfolio theory, asset pricing, and market efficiency.
2) Understand the fundamentals of the pricing of financial assets such as stocks, bonds, and derivatives, and understand the role of systematic factors in the behavior of asset returns.
3) Apply commonly used methods to construct an investment portfolio, and understand the sources of the risks and expected returns of a portfolio.
4) Analyze the performance of an investment portfolio and understand the role that skill and luck play in observed investment outcomes.
5) Understand the role of investors and financial markets in enabling and advancing sustainable development.
Content
Time value of money, assets and markets, portfolio theory, asset pricing, market efficiency, portfolio management, security analysis, fixed income, derivatives, socially responsible investing.
Teacher
Petri Jylhä
Study material
Bodie, Kane & Marcus (2014, 10th edition). Investments. Other editions can also be used.
Materials provided by the lecturer
Workload
Lectures: 27 h
Lecture preparation: 54 h
Assignments: 50 h
Exam preparation: 27 h
Exam: 3 h
Prerequisites
No prerequisites.
Evaluation
Assignments (30%)
Final exam (70%)
Teaching time and location
The teaching time and the location of the course can be found at Sisu information system
- The link leads to Completion methods tab of the course page
- From the top of the page (Version drop-down menu), check that academic year 2025-2026 is selected
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From the blue bar, click Lecture and open the Groups and teaching times tab to see the teaching time and the location of the course. Exam times can be seen by clicking Exam.
The teacher has four (4) weeks to grade the exam submissions starting from the exam date.
Further information
Equivalent to course 28C00300 Investment Management
Online learning environment for the course
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MyCourses
More details on completing the course will be available at MyCourses closer to the start of the course.
Registration and course fee
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Course registration Registration for this course starts on 22.9.2025 at 9.00
Registration for this course ends on 22.10.2025
It is not possible to register before the registration period has started or after it has ended.
The number of participants is limited to 50.
This course is organized by the Aalto University School of Business.
The course fee is paid upon registration for each course at a time and it is binding. Familiarize yourself with registration and payment rules as well as other guidelines for students:
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