FIN 2030 Personal Finance for Non-Business Majors (4 Credits)

This course provides an overview for all Non-Business Majors of topics which are critical to lifetime personal financial planning. The premise of the course is that personal financial planning starts early in life, regardless of a college major, as a new college graduate begins a professional career. The main topics in the course include Principles of Taxation, Basics of Estate Planning, Lifetime Asset Allocation, Principles of Insurance, Proper Debt Management, the Real Estate Housing Decision, and College Financial Planning for Children.

FIN 2400 The Franchise Journey: Start-up to Exit (4 Credits)

Gain knowledge, skills, and best practices to grow a business from one location to a national brand—this course is your guide to building, operating, and thriving in the world of franchising. Owning a business can be incredibly rewarding, but it often feels lonely and isolating. Entrepreneurs face challenges that few others understand, bearing the pressure of making pivotal decisions that determine success or failure. Franchising offers a solution—an opportunity to be in business for yourself, but not by yourself. From small beginnings to expansive growth, franchising has the power to transform a small business into a thriving network of entrepreneurs working toward a common goal. Building a successful franchise system requires vision, strategy, and collaboration. That’s right—collaboration between a franchisor and its franchisees. This course takes students on a journey through the lifecycle of growing a franchise business, offering insights and practical skills from both franchisor and franchisee perspectives. Whether interested in franchising as a career path or an entrepreneurial venture, students will learn what it takes to start, operate, scale, and exit a franchise business while exploring critical functions, strategies, and tools required for success at each stage. Through real-world case studies and interactive discussions, students will develop the skills to navigate common challenges faced by franchisors and franchisees, equipping them to thrive as future franchisors, franchisees, or franchise business professionals.

FIN 2800 Financial Decision Making (4 Credits)

Basic financial principles and analytical skills including ratio analysis, breakeven analysis and leverage, net present value, internal rate of return, and standard forecasting techniques. Prerequisite: ACTG 2200. Restriction: Must be pursuing BSBA or BSAcc degree.

FIN 3030 Personal Finance for Business Majors (4 Credits)

This course provides an overview of topics that are critical to lifetime personal financial planning, which is especially important as a college student and young professional. Main topics in this course include: Principles of Taxation, Basics of Estate Planning, Lifetime Asset Allocation, Principles of Insurance, Proper Debt Management, the Real Estate Housing Decision and College Financial Planning. Prerequisite: FIN 2800 or permission of the instructor.

FIN 3060 Life Cycle -Financial Planning (4 Credits)

This course is one of the intermediate courses for the wealth management track. Students who are interested in pursuing the Certified Financial Planner™ designation should take this course. Study will focus on several aspects of personal financial planning: goals, cash management, budgeting, investing, taxation and estate management. Prerequisite: FIN 3030.

FIN 3090 Wealth Management (4 Credits)

This course covers topics such as the Financial Planning Process, Insurance Basics, Investment Basics and Strategies, Retirement Planning, and Estate Planning. We are pleased to work with the College for Financial Planning (CFFP), located in Denver, to provide instruction from their “The Foundations of Financial Planning” program. This course can lead to the Financial Paraplanner Qualified Profession™, which will be a valuable addition to your resume.

FIN 3110 Financial Institutions (4 Credits)

FIN 3110 provides a comprehensive analysis of financial institutions and how they operate within the markets. Topics include the management of commercial banks and other financial institutions and their relationship to money and capital markets. Keeping up with current events is integral to this course, as the course evolves alongside current events. Prerequisites: C- in FIN 2800.

FIN 3120 Commercial Bank Management (4 Credits)

This course attempts to study the changing environment within which banks operate and develop solutions to current bank management problems. FIN 3120 is designed for students who want to learn more about the commercial banking industry, the impact of the economic environment, managing interest rate risks, services provided, changing regulations, and the vast array of current challenges facing the industry. Prerequisite or Co-requisite: FIN 3110.

FIN 3150 Advanced Business Valuation (4 Credits)

Business valuation is at the heart of intelligent decision-making in many areas of finance and business -corporate finance, investment banking, private equity, venture capital, investment management, entrepreneurial finance, estate planning, and financial litigation. This course covers the advanced topics related to business valuation in both a conceptual and practical framework. Students will be exposed to sound practices and the latest developments in valuation at the core of financial professions.

FIN 3200 Corporate Financial Problems (4 Credits)

This course is an advanced study of the theory, concepts, and techniques applied in managerial finance. The major focus will be on how managers of corporations create value for their shareholders through asset investment decision, such as capital investment decisions and lease or buy decisions. This course aims to use the application of corporate financial theory in “real world” problems and uses Excel spreadsheets, Excel solver, as well as financial calculators. Prerequisite: FIN 2800.

FIN 3210 Corporate Financial Theory (4 Credits)

This course provides an expansion to FIN 3200 to include mergers and acquisitions, risk analysis, valuation and capital structure, corporate financial planning, and financial applications of decision theory. Prerequisite: FIN 3200.

FIN 3230 Entrepreneurial Finance (4 Credits)

FIN 3230 focuses on the financial aspects of small and emerging businesses. This course places an emphasis on the new enterprise, funds acquisition and valuation. Upon completion of FIN 3230, students will be able to differentiate between the challenges faced by small businesses compared to large businesses, describe stages of development of a business, calculate the value of an emerging business, among other topics. Prerequisite: FIN 3200.

FIN 3300 Investments (4 Credits)

This course provides a survey of marketable securities, markets, regulation, and risk and return measurement alongside an introduction to fundamental and technical analysis. This is an introductory investment course that will provide a sound basis for making and evaluating investment decisions. This course is essential for students who want to become investment professionals, but it will also help with personal investing. Prerequisite: FIN 2800.

FIN 3310 Equity Analysis (4 Credits)

FIN 3310 is an advanced course that focuses on the analysis of equity securities. The curriculum is primarily derived from the Candidate Body of Knowledge (CBOK) from the Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA) Program. The CFA Institute regularly surveys practicing investment experts to develop a CBOK that reflects the knowledge, skills, and abilities of a generalist investment practitioner with four years of experience. Prerequisite: FIN 3300.

FIN 3340 Fixed Income Securities (4 Credits)

Fixed income markets are huge and constantly growing. In order to succeed in the financial profession, it has never been more important to understand how these markets work. Additionally, understanding the many factors at play in the fixed income market will develop your skills that are applicable to all areas of investments and risk management as well as greatly improve your understanding of how some of the most significant financial institutions work. Prerequisite: FIN 3300.

FIN 3360 Analysis of Derivatives (4 Credits)

The objective of this course is to provide a theoretical foundation for the pricing of contingent claims and for designing risk-management strategies. It is intended for students who have a more quantitative background and are interested in enhancing their knowledge of the way in which derivatives can be analyzed. This course covers: option pricing models, hedging techniques, trading strategies, portfolio insurance, value-at-risk measure, multistep binomial trees to value American options, interest rate options, and other exotic options. Prerequisites: FIN 3300.

FIN 3410 Multinational Financial Management (4 Credits)

This course provides a survey and analysis of financial management within an international arena. It covers Eurodollars, Euromarkets, and foreign currencies. Prerequisite: FIN 2800.

FIN 3500 Financial Modeling (4 Credits)

FIN 3500 focuses on the construction and development of financial models from corporate finance, investments, and financial markets. It is intended for students who have basic familiarity with Excel, but are not necessarily familiar with R. The course addresses advanced topics such as pro-forma modeling in Excel and uncertainty modeling and portfolio optimization using R. Prerequisite: C- in FIN 2800.

FIN 3610 Financial Forecasting (4 Credits)

This course focuses on methods of forecasting both economic and financial variables. Emphasis will be placed on techniques used by business and forecasters. Cross listed with STAT 3620, STAT 4783. Prerequisite: FIN 2800.

FIN 3700 Topics in Finance (0-4 Credits)

Exploration of various topics and issues related to finance. Prerequisite: FIN 2800.

FIN 3710 Reiman Fund I (4 Credits)

This course is a practical portfolio management class designed to cover the major areas of the investment management lifecycle. This course focuses heavily on learning and using leading industry data and analytical tools to support the investment decision-making process in a live portfolio environment. The class recommendations and decisions are implemented in the Reiman Fund portfolio. This is an elective course that is the first in the series of classes involving the Reiman Fund portfolio. Prerequisite: FIN 2800 and instructor's permission.

FIN 3720 Reiman Fund II (4 Credits)

This course is a practical portfolio management class designed to cover the major areas of the investment management lifecycle. This course focuses heavily on learning and using leading industry data and analytical tools to support the investment decision-making process in a live portfolio environment. The class recommendations and decisions are implemented in the Reiman Fund portfolio. This is an elective course that is the second in the series of classes involving the Reiman Fund portfolio. Prerequisite: FIN 3710 (minimum grade of C-).

FIN 3730 Reiman Fund III (4 Credits)

This course is a practical portfolio management class designed to cover the major areas of the investment management lifecycle. This course focuses heavily on learning and using leading industry data and analytical tools to support the investment decision-making process in a live portfolio environment. The class recommendations and decisions are implemented in the Reiman Fund portfolio. This is an elective course that is the third in the series of classes involving the Reiman Fund portfolio. Prerequisite: FIN 3720 (minimum grade of C-).

FIN 3800 Organized Walk Down Wall Street (0-4 Credits)

This course provides the opportunity to learn and reinforce financial concepts, tools, methodologies, and practices used by Wall Street professionals in the finance industry. After preparatory classes in Denver, students will spend a week in New York visiting and learning from investment bankers, leveraged lenders, individuals in private equity, and asset managers. Prerequisites: FIN 2800 and instructor's permission.

FIN 3885 Investment Banking and External Financing (4 Credits)

This course is an advanced Corporate Finance course, focusing on the activities involved in investment banking and the decisions by companies related to external sources of financing. There will be a mix of theory and practice, with many outside speakers providing insight into the practice component. Topics will include business valuation, mergers and acquisitions, startup financing, angel investing and venture capital, bank loans, private equity, stock issuance, and going private.

FIN 3980 Finance Internship (0-10 Credits)

Practical experience (field study); requires written report. Prerequisites: FIN 2800 and instructor's permission.

FIN 3991 Independent Study (1-4 Credits)

Independent research/study; requires written report. Prerequisites: FIN 2800 and instructor's permission.