Finance and Investment Semester 1

Enrollment Message

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Course Description

This course introduces students to the challenging and lucrative world of finance. While “Wall Street” may still get a bad rap after the 2008 financial crisis, finance careers still remain highly sought after and can be highly rewarding. The course reviews key financial terms and examines various groups, positions, and roles within financial institutions. Students will learn about resumes, interviews, and networking. Students will also discuss ethics on Wall Street and the role of finance within society.

• Counts as a directed elective or elective for all diplomas
• Counts as a quantitative reasoning course

Course Goals

Upon completion of the course, students will…

• identify the purposes of finance and its impact on society.
• examine the history of Wall Street.
• explain the regulation of the securities and investments industry.
• preview the career paths that will be presented throughout the course (investment banking, sales and trading, private wealth management, and financial planning and analysis).
• examine Lehman Brothers, including its history, culture, and current situation.
• employ numbers and operations in finance.
• describe the nature and scope of accounting.
• explain securities and investments products and their benefits.
• perform calculations and analyses on data using a spreadsheet.
• construct charts/tables/graphs from function and data.
• discuss the importance of written and verbal communication in finance.
• define investment banking and key financial terms regarding mergers and acquisitions.
• explain the role of valuation in making appropriate financial decisions for a company.
• list and evaluate product and industry groups within an investment bank.
• examine the differences between large (bulge bracket) banks and smaller (boutique) banks.
• describe the roles and requirements of an investment banking analyst.
• identify training, education, and certification requirements for investment bankers.
• align safety issues with appropriate safety standards to ensure a safe workplace.
• define sales and trading and key financial terms regarding trading securities.
• examine the differences between equities, fixed income, forex, and derivatives.
• describe the roles and requirements of a sales and trading analyst.
• evaluate the efficient market hypothesis.
• describe algorithmic or high-frequency trading and compare it to human traders.
• discuss legal and ethical considerations in buying and selling securities.
• examine JP Morgan Chase, including its history, culture, and current situation.
• define private wealth management.
• describe the roles and requirements of a private wealth analyst.
• compare the various platforms that a private wealth analyst could work for.
• describe investment analysis and selection processes.
• explain factors to consider when selecting investments.
• discuss the nature of investment risk.
• discuss the difference between expected returns of bonds and stocks.
• select investments for clients.
• interpret financial ratios significant to investors.
• discuss the rise of robo-advisors and analyze if it is a threat to private wealth management.
• examine Bank of America Merrill Lynch, including its history, culture, and current situation.

Indiana Academic Standards

• Next Level Programs of Study Competencies

Units of Instruction

• Unit 1 Why Pursue a Career in Finance?
• Unit 2 Finance Basics
• Unit 3 Investment Banking
• Unit 4 Sales and Trading
• Unit 5 Private Wealth Management

Grading/Evaluation

Indiana Online does not assign letter grades, grant credit for courses, nor issue transcripts or diplomas. A final score reported as a percentage of total points earned will be sent to students upon completion of a course. Your school of record can also access this score within the Student Information System, Genius. The final score will be shown as a percentage in Canvas and Genius. The student’s school of record will determine the letter grade based on their specific grading scale.

Students must complete at least 70% of the course and take all parts of the final exam(s) to have a score reported to their school of record. Failure to meet these requirements will result in a score of 0 reported to the school of record.

Assessments

Online assessments consist of formative and summative assessments represented by computer-graded multiple choice, teacher-graded writing assignments including hands-on projects, model building and other forms of authentic assessments. The course includes the following assessments

• 15 Discussions
• 14 Assignments
• 8 Quizzes

Teacher Contact Response Time

Students can use email or the private message system within Genius or Canvas to access highly qualified teachers when they need teacher assistance. Students will also receive feedback on their work inside Canvas. The Teacher Information page of their course may describe additional communication options.

The teacher will respond to student inquiries (email, text, call) within one business day. Assignments will be graded and posted within two business days.

Expectations for Academic Conduct 

Student Handbook 

It is your responsibility to read the student handbook to understand all aspects of taking an online course including expectations for academic conduct. Contact your teacher if you have any questions. 

Assistance for Students with Accommodations

Indiana Online supports an inclusive learning environment for all students. If there are aspects of the instruction or design of this course that hinder your full participation, such as inaccessible web content, or the use of non-captioned videos and podcasts, reasonable accommodations can be arranged.

Technology

Technology Requirements 

Students will require a computer device with headphones, a microphone, webcam, up-to-date Chrome Web Browser, and access to YouTube. Please review the Indiana Online’s Technology Requirements.

Technical Skills Needed 

Basic technology skills necessary to locate and share information and files as well as interact with others in a Learning Management System (LMS), include the ability to

• download, edit, save, convert, and upload files
• download and install software
• use a messaging service similar to email
• communicate with others in online discussion or message boards, following basic rules of netiquette
• open attachments shared in messages
• create, save, and submit files in commonly used word processing program formats and as a PDF
• save a file as a .pdf
• copy and paste and format text using your mouse, keyboard, or an html editor’s toolbar menu
• insert images or links into a file
• search for information within a document using Ctrl+F or Command+F keyboard shortcuts
• work in multiple browser windows and tabs simultaneously
• activate a microphone or webcam on your device, and record and upload or link audio and/or video files
• use presentation and graphics programs
• follow an online pacing guide or calendar of due dates
• use spell-check, citation editors, and tools commonly provided in word processing tool menus
• create and maintain usernames and passwords

Technical Questions?  Please contact the Indiana Online Helpdesk.