C15.0007.03 Professor Crocker H. Liu
Investment Principles
UC63 Tu/Thurs 9:30 - 10:45 am
(212) 998-0353 Office
(212) 995-4233 FAX
email: cliu@stern.nyu.edu
Spring 2005
9-10 Tisch Hall
Office Hours: TuTh  11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Website:www.stern.nyu.edu/~cliu

Texts:
Required

A. Damodaran (AD), 2nd Edition, Investment Valuation:Tools and Techniques for Determining the Value of Any Asset, Wiley

E. Lefevre (EL), Reminiscences of a Stock Operator, Marketplace Book.

J. Siegel (JS), 3rd Edition, Stocks for the Long Run : The Definitive Guide to Financial Market Returns and Long-Term Investment Strategies, McGraw-Hill.

Recommended

S. Benninga (B), 1998, Financial Modeling, MIT Press. I highly recommend this book for those students who wish to master Excel.

T. Copeland, T. Koller, and J. Murrin, 3rd Edition, Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies, Wiley

B. Madden, Cfroi Valuation: A Total System Approach to Valuing the Firm, Butterworth Heinemann.

Class Packets: Available at the NYU Main Bookstore located at 18 Washington Place.
Lecture Handouts Packet 2003
C. Liu (L), 1999, How to Use Excel for Financial Modeling Packet

Grading Policy: Late homework and late mini-cases are not accepted
 
Mini-Cases 
35%
Midterm Exam: 
30%
Final Exam:
35%

Mini-cases are due in class on the assigned date at the beginning of class. Students are not allowed to email their cases to me (I've had several emailed projects in the past that have contained malicious viruses that eluded both my McAfee and Norton Anti-Virus software). The Case Projects are an individual effort.  Rationale: Employers frequently ask students to submit an example(s) of a project done solely by them which demonstrates their analytical ability, their proficiency at financial modeling, and their  effectiveness at written communication. My intent is to provide students with a portfolio of their own work which they can use in the job interview process e.g. submit it to potential employers along with their resumes and cover letters.

Grade Distribution: Grading is based on the class curve rather than the total number of points and adheres to the grading curve set by the Finance department. The professor has no control over this curve. This grade distribution is only an approximation
 
A (A, A-) 25%
B (B+, B, B-) 55%
C (C+, C, C-) 15% (may increase to 20% if no one gets a D or F)
D and F (What you receive if you cheat) 5% (you have to try very hard to get these grades)

Computers and Calculators: The tools of the trade.  Although not required, it is STRONGLY recommended that students own a computer (laptop or desktop).  At the peak times, the Stern computer labs are overcrowed. Students may experience a lost of their work in these labs due to computer viruses or hard drive failures.  Students should also own a business/financial calculator.  Please make sure that the calculator has net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR) functions.

What is Expected of Students:

WARNING: This is a labor intensive class. The philosophy that we use is to talk about it, read about it, and then JUST DO IT! No incompletes will be given. I have front-end loaded the work where the first part of the semester has the heaviest amount of work to be completed.

COURSE SCHEDULE


 
Week
Date
Day
Topic
Assigned Readings/Assignment (Book, Chapter)
1
1/18-1/20
Weds/Mon
Drivers of Capital Markets Gold, the Federal Reserve and Inflation (JS, 11) 
Stocks and the Business Cycle (JS, 12)
World Events Which Impact Fincl Mkts (JS, 13) 
Reaction of Fin. Markets to Econ Data (JS, 14) 
Excel for Financial Modeling (L, 8-47)

Case: Macroeconomic Analysis 2005 case

2-4
1/25-2/10
Tu/Th
Market Efficiency
Investment Strategies
Technical Analysis & Trend Investing (JS, 17)
Calendar Anomalies (JS, 18)
Behavioral Fin & Investing Psychology (JS, 19) 
Stock Indexes (JS, 3)
Perspectives on Stocks as Investments (JS, 5)
Large, Small, Value, and Growth Stocks (JS, 8) 
Valuation of Growth & Tech Stocks (JS, 9)
Reminiscences of a Stock Operator (EL, All)

Case: Price and Earnings Momentum 2005 case

5
2/15-2/17
Tu/Th
Understanding Financial Statements  Understanding Financial Statements (AD, 3)
6
2/22-2/24
Tu/Th
Introduction to Valuation
Relative Valuation
Sources & Measures of Stock Mkt Value (JS, 6) 
Bull Market, New Economy, Age Wave and Future Stock Returns (JS, 7)
Introduction to Valuation (AD, 1) 
Approaches to Valuation (AD, 2)
Basics of Risk (AD, 4)
Fundamental Prin. of Relative Valuation (AD, 17) 
Earnings Multiples (AD, 18)
Book Value Multiples (AD, 19)
Revenue & Sector-Specific Multiples (AD, 20)

Case: Relative Valuation 2005 case

7
3/01
Tu
Midterm Exam (Covers material 
up to and including Week 6)
Bring calculator to class. PV tables will be given out. Test is closed book.
7-8
3/03-3/10
Tu/Th
Absolute Valuation
(These concepts should be a review 
for those of you who have taken Financial Management and Corporate Finance)
Riskless Rates and Risk Premiums (AD, 7) 
Est. Risk Parameters & Costs of Financing (AD, 8)
Measuring Earnings (AD, 9)
From Earnings to Cash Flow (AD, 10)
Estimating Growth (AD, 11)
Closure in Valuation: Est. Terminal Value (AD, 12) 
Dividend Discount Models (AD, 13)
Free CF to Equity Discount Models (AD, 14) 
Firm Valuation: Cost of Capital (AD, 15)
Estimating Equity Value per Share (AD, 16)
9
3/15-3/17
Tu/Th
Spring Recess
10
3/22-3/24
Tu/Th
Mergers and Acquisitions Acquisitions and Takeovers (AD, 25)

Case: Mergers & Acquisition 2005 case

11
3/29-3/31
Tu/Th
Economic Profit/
Economic Value Added (EVA)
Value Enhancement: 
A Discounted CF Valuation Framework (AD, 31)
EVA, CFROI, and Other Tools (AD, 32)

Case: Economic Profit (EVA) 2005 case 

12
4/05-4/07
Tu/Th
Cash Flow Return on Investment 
(CFROI)
EVA, CFROI, and Other Tools (AD, 32)
The CFROI valuation model; Bartley J Madden

Case: Cash Flow ROI (CFROI) 2005 case

13
4/12-4/14
Tu/Th
Valuing Young or Start-Up Firms  Valuing Young or Start-Up Firms (AD, 23)
14
4/19-4/21
Tu/Th
Cross Border Valuation Global Investing (JS, 10)
15
4/26-4/28
Tu/Th
Option Pricing Spiders, Cubes, Futures and Options (JS, 15)
Market Volatility (JS, 16)
Option Pricing Theory and Models (AD, 5)
The Option to Delay (AD, 28)
The Options to Expand and to Abandon (AD, 29) 
Valuing Equity in Distressed Firms (AD, 30)
16
5/03-5/05
Tu/Th
Portfolio Management Stock and Bond Returns Since 1802 (JS, 1)
Risk, Return, and Portfolio Allocation (JS, 2)
Fund Performance, Indexing, and "Beating the Market" (JS, 20)
Structuring a Portfolio for LT Growth (JS, 21) 
The determinants and predictive ability of mutual fund ratings; Ajay Khorana

Case: Portfolio Construction and Analysis and Clipper Fund 2002 data