Approved by Faculty Senate April 14, 2003

WINONA STATE UNIVERSITY

PROPOSAL FOR UNIVERSITY STUDIES COURSES

Department ______Economics and Finance______Date ______3/18/03______

_Finance 421______Institutional Investment and Financial Markets______3_____

Course No.Course NameCredits

This proposal is for a(n)__X___ Undergraduate Course

Applies to:__X___ Major______Minor

_____ Required_____ Required

__X__ Elective_____ Elective

University Studies (A course may be approved to satisfy only one set of outcomes.):

Course Requirements:

Basic Skills:Arts & Science Core:Unity and Diversity:

_____ 1. College Reading and Writing_____ 1. Humanities_____ 1. Critical Analysis

_____ 2. Oral Communication_____ 2. Natural Science _____ 2. Science and Social Policy

_____ 3. Mathematics_____ 3. Social Science_____ 3. a. Global Perspectives

_____ 4. Physical Development & Wellness_____ 4. Fine & Performing Arts_____ b. Multicultural Perspectives

_____ 4. a. Contemporary Citizenship

_____ b. Democratic Institutions

Flagged Courses:_____ 1. Writing

__X_ 2. Oral Communication

_____ 3. a. Mathematics/Statistics

_____ b. Critical Analysis

Prerequisites ______Finance 360, Economics 303, CMST 191______

Provide the following information (attach materials to this proposal):

Please see “Directions for the Department” on previous page for material to be submitted.

Attach a University Studies Approval Form.

Department Contact Person for this Proposal:

______Mark ______

Name (please print)Phonee-mail address

University Studies Course Approval Proposal

Department or Program: Finance

Course Number: 421

Semester Hours: 3

Frequency of Offering: Once Every Year

Course Title: Institutional Investment and Financial Markets

Catalog Description: This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the world of financial management as it applies to financial institutions and markets. The course is a study of portfolio management decision-making in this age of innovative global financial markets, new financial instruments, and instantaneous worldwide communications. Prerequisites: FIN 360, ECON 303, and CMST 191.

This is an existing course previously approved by A2C2: Yes

This is a new course proposal: No

Department Contact Person: Mark Wrolstad Email:

University Studies Approval is requested in: Oral Communication Flag

Attachments: The syllabus explains what topics are typically covered in this course. Examples of projects assigned to students are also included in this application. They illustrate some of the learning activities that students undertake aside from exams and in-class work.

As required by the approval process, the following address the six outcomes listed for Oral Communication Flag courses and documents course content and learning activities relevant to the course outcomes:

Oral Communications

Earn significant course credit through extemporaneous oral presentations

Students earn up to a maximum of 75 points for each of two class presentations. The two presentations collectively account for about 25% of the course grade. All students in the class are assigned to a group that will present the facts and a discussion of the issues concerning a type of financial institution. All students are required to prepare their own section of the presentation and present it in front of the class. They are required to coordinate their part of the presentation with other members of the group.

Understand the features and types of speaking in their disciplines

One of their presentations will be about describing a financial institution and its management practices and problems. The other presentation will be about a current events issue and their effort to persuade others to view it from their perspective. The first presentation will be descriptive and the second will be more persuasive in nature. These presentations are reflective of on-the-job type oral communications.

Adapt their speaking to field-specific audiences

Students will be given both oral and written guidance concerning the content and mechanics of their presentations. They will also benefit from watching their peers perform.

Receive appropriate feedback from teachers and peers, including suggestions for improvement

Individuals within the groups will receive feedback from both the instructor and their peers. Feedback will include both an evaluation and suggestions for improvement.

Make use of the technologies used for research and speaking in the field

Groups will be required to use Internet resources for research and to make presentations on Powerpoint.

f. Learn the conventions of evidence, format, usage, and documentation in yourfield

A detailed list of requirements and expectations is included in the syllabus. The presentation requirements are presented and discussed in class before the first group is due to make their presentation. Students are expected to organize their presentations in such a way as to complement the efforts of the other members of their group. They are graded on a wide array of criterion as shown in the discussion concerning the grading expectations and requirements.

Finance 421 - Section 01

Fall 2002 Time: TR 9:30 - 10:50 a.m.

Dr. Wrolstad Place: Somsen 316B

Office: Somsen 321A

Phone: (507) 457-5676

Office Hours: M 11-12 W 8-12,Other times by appt.

E-Mail:

Institutional Investment and Financial Markets

Prerequisites:

FIN 360 (ECON 201,202, ACCT 211,212, DIS 220), ECON 303

Texts:

Managing Financial Institutions, Mona Gardner and Dixie Mills, Fourth Edition, The Dryden Press, Hinsdale, IL, 1999.

Objectives of the Course:

To give students an understanding of how financial institution professionals apply economic and financial concepts to the management of investment portfolios. The emphasis will be on strategic policy formulation, portfolio decision making, and problem solving techniques.

University Studies: Oral Communication Flag

This course satisfies the three semester hours requirement of the Oral Communication Flag component in the University Studies Program. As such, it seeks to provide students taking this course the opportunity to achieve the following outcomes:

earn significant course credit through extemporaneous oral presentation;
understand the features and types of speaking in their disciplines;
adapt their speaking to field-specific audiences;
receive appropriate feedback from teachers, including suggestions for improvement;
make use of the technologies used for research and speaking in the fields; and
learn the conventions of evidence, format, usage, and documentation in their fields.

Placing the letter references above in brackets identifies where these outcomes are addressed below.

Course Schedule:

Class

Mtg Topics Readings

Sep 3 Introduction & Ethics Ch. 1

Sep 5 Asset Liability Management Ch. 2

Sep 10 Regulation,Federal Reserve System Ch. 3,Appen.

Sep 12 The Fed (cont.) (Group A) None

Sep 17 Impact of Organizational Structure Ch. 4 Sep 19 Financial Statements (Group B) Ch. 5

Sep 24 Financial Market Instruments None

Sep 26 Performance and Risk Analysis (Group C) Ch. 6,(FF#1)

Oct 1 Review None

Oct 3 Midterm 1 None

Oct 8 Capital Management Ch. 8 Oct 10 Noninterest Revenues (Group D) Ch. 9

Oct 15 Noninterest Revenues(cont.) None

Oct 17 Interest Rates (Group E) Ch. 14

Oct 22 Term Structure Ch. 15

Oct 24 Term Structure (cont.)(Group A) None

Oct 29 Immunization Ch. 16

Oct 31 Interest Rate Risk Management (Group B) Ch.17,(FF#2)

Nov 5 Review None Nov 7 Midterm 2 None

Nov 12 Derivatives Ch 18

Nov 14 Asset Management-Liq. Res. And Securities

(Group C) Ch. 19

Nov 19 Securities (cont.) None

Nov 21 Deposit and Liability Management Ch. 20

Nov 26 Deposit/Liability Mgt.(Cont.)(Group D) None

Dec 3 Asset Management-Lending Ch. 21

Dec 5 Lending (cont.)(Group E) None

Dec 10 International Management Ch. 22(FF#3) (Student reports due)

Dec 12 Review None

Dec 18 Final Examination (1:00 - 3:00 p.m.) None

Key:

Bold Print - Student Presentations and due date for paper.

Determination of Grades:

Grades will be determined based upon a student's performance

on three exams, a group presentation, class participation, and the research project. The breakdown is as follows:

Midterm 1 100 pts

Midterm 2 100 pts

Final Examination 100 pts

Current Events Project 100 pts

Class Participation* 30 pts

Group Presentations 150 pts [a]

Total 580 pts

* Points awarded for class participation can vary from 0 to 50 points depending upon the instructor’s discretion. Your participation points will be based upon attendance and individually assigned presentations.

Examinations:

Three (one hour and twenty minute) examinations will be given on the dates indicated on the attached schedule. These are the only dates and times the exams will be offered. If a student should miss one or more of the dates, the student will have to take a comprehensive essay final, instead of the non-comprehensive final exam given to the rest of the class. The comprehensive final exam will carry the weight of the missed exam.

The format for the exams will be a combination of true/false, multiple choice, and problems. The true/false and multiple choice portions will be from both the book and any additional material presented in the lectures. Unless otherwise indicated by the instructor, any formulas needed will be provided to you on the examination.

Current Events Project:

Students will clip articles that they have read for a period of approximately 14 weeks (September 3rd through December 1st) and put them in a notebook. The notebook is organized into four major categories that correspond to the major topics of this course:

1. Financial Markets and Interest Rates

2. The Federal Reserve and Monetary Policy

3. Financial Institutions

4. International Financial System

Notebooks should contain a minimum of eight articles per area (a total of 32 articles for the period). Try to avoid using more than one article in a particular area for any given week. Articles about a given topic over a period of time will give you a better sense of how the issue is developing.

At the end of the period mentioned above, students should write a summary of key events, ideas, trends, etc. in each area (usually about two typewritten pages per area). This two-page effort is not supposed to be a synopsis of each individual article. The idea of these two-page efforts is to identify two to three events, ideas, trends, etc. and then synthesize several of your articles into a summary or overview of the issue.

The final part of this project is to write a detailed analysis of the one event or issue that you found most interesting while doing the earlier part of this assignment(usually about 5 typewritten double-spaced pages). This will typically involve additional research and sources for this part of the assignment. The paper is due December 10, 2002.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ)is the primary source of articles for students. Business Week and the financial section of the local newspaper may also be used to supplement articles from the WSJ.

IMPORTANT: Dates that articles appeared in the paper must indicated for each article used. I will assume that all newspaper articles come from the WSJ. If an article comes from anyplace but the WSJ, you must indicate the source of the article or lose some credit for omitting source information.

Group Presentations: [b] [c] [d]

Students will divide into five groups for the two required oral presentations. Group size will depend upon the enrollment of the course. Every student must have a roughly equal-size part in the presentation. Feedback will be given to students from both the instructor and students. It is expected that all relevant suggestions from the first presentation will be implemented in the second presentation if appropriate. The first presentation will be on an assigned topic as indicated below:

Topic Assigned group

1. Thrift Institutions(including Credit Unions) A

2. Investment Companies B

3. Insurance Companies C

4. Finance Companies D

5. Pension Funds E

Minimal requirements for the presentation include:

a. Nature and history of the institution

b. Size

c. Assets and liabilities

d. Management problems

e. New developments

The second presentation topic will be chosen by the group. The topic will come from the current events. The group will present the background, current situation, and a compelling argument or rationale as to how the issue will most likely be resolved. A good way to accomplish this is to identify the possible scenarios and explain why the one your group chose is the best.

Groups are required to turn in a short paper (really an expanded outline) of their presentation to the instructor at the end of the class in which you make your presentation. Powerpoint presentations, transparencies, and/or handouts are required to help other students follow the presentation and to help reinforce what you are saying.

Grading will be based upon what you say and how well prepared you presentation comes off in class. It would not hurt to do a dry run of your group presentation! Groups should hand in 3 multiple choice questions with their first report which are based upon their presentation. Please include the correct answers to the questions that you submit. Group reports along with the test questions are due immediately after you finish giving your report.

Group Presentation Grading

The following are aspects of the presentations that will be considered in the grading of your presentation:

Content: [f]

brief introduction of team members and topic(s) to be covered
evidence of the use of Internet and other library resources is clearly shown

First Report:

nature and history of the your type of institution
size of companies in your industry
size and distribution of assets and liabilities for an average company in your industry
what are the common issues and problems faced by managers in your industry
new trends, developments, products, and services in your industry

Second Report:

Background of situation clearly explained
Current situation fairly presented
Alternative possible scenarios offered
Most likely resolution suggested and defended by the group

Presentation: [e]

accuracy of information presented
Powerpoint or similar program will be used
slide quality--well thought-out, easy to read, attractive, etc.

easiness to hear and understand-loud and clear for everyone in classroom
talk from key points in notes--not simply read from a sheet of paper!!
smooth transitions from team member to team member
try to make it interesting as possible

Report: (due at time of presentation)

brief outline of presentation with people responsible for each section identified and appropriate bibliography
the three multiple choice test questions are reasonable questions for someone who listened to your presentation and did not take extensive notes (i.e., major issues not obscure details)

Academic Honesty

Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. In accordance with the university’s policy, anyone caught cheating on a test or an assignment will receive an automatic grade of F for the course. Plagiarism, claiming someone else’s work as one’s own, will also result in an automatic grade of F for the course. The university may add its own penalty.