MBA Online

MFIN7015
Behaviour Finance
Lin, Tao
General Information
Traditional finance theories encounter increasing difficulties in explaining intertemporal and cross sectional securities returns. Half of the course will focus on behavioral finance which introduces cognitive biases, limited information processing, and costly arbitrage to examine the micro dynamics of price discovery and the implications on corporate financing. It offers an introduction to the emerging behavioral finance studies. Topics covered include the efficient market hypothesis (EMH), financial anomalies, non-fundamental risk, limited arbitrage, cognitive biases, non-expected utilities, and behavioral corporate finance. Emphasis is given on how emerging rational behavioral theories can and cannot explain documented evidence.

The other half of the course will focus on hedge funds. Hedge funds and related investments are an integral part of the growing field of alternative investments. We attempt to understand the hedge fund industry, prime brokerage services and some of the recent developments. A considerable part of the course will be devoted to hedge fund strategies, such as convertible arbitrage, merger arbitrage, fixed income trading, and equity long/short strategies, to help us acquire an insight into these strategies and their concomitant risks. Case studies of some hedge funds that suffered large losses are included to illustrate potential pitfalls in the risk management of hedge funds. The role of fund of hedge funds and structured products on hedge funds will be discussed in the context of hedge fund investments.

Being one of China’s 30 experimental universities for EMBA education approved by the State Council Office of the Academic Degree Committee and the Ministry of Education, the EMBA Program of the School of Management is geared to the needs of high-level managers and executives in enterprises and government bodies with good education background and rich management experience. The EMBA Program aims to train the entrepreneurs and high-level professional managers with outstanding international strategic perspectives and overall decision-making and leadership ability.

Since the first class opened up in the second half of 2002, many entrepreneurs and top managers at home and abroad joined in the program. The participation of many private entrepreneurs features the program, constituting a valuable network of elites. The EMBA program is developing steadily and commits itself to building a platform for entrepreneurs and top managers for study, communication and interaction so as to train high-level management personnel with strategic perspectives that can meet the requirements and challenges of global competition.

Education in the EMBA program of the School of Management includes orientation, course learning, supervisor selecting, overseas study tour, and dissertation writing, etc. There are key courses and elective courses in the EMBA program. The supervisor is selected by a two-way system. And dissertations should be defended after anonymous review and evaluation. The key courses in the EMBA program include Corporate Strategy, Managerial Economics, Advanced Financial Management, Operations and Supply Chain Logistics Management, Organizational Behavior within Cross-cultural Context, Strategic Marketing, etc.

Objective of EMBA Program: To train leaders in economic construction and development
Guidelines of EMBA Program: To inculcate intensive operational knowledge