BUS-F 255 Topics in Finance: Knall-Cohen Fund: Basics of Equity Research

• 8 weeks
• 1.5 credits
• Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Knall-Cohen Fund program/Instructor permission

Equity research is a critical component of the financial industry, involving the analysis of individual stocks or sectors to provide insights for investors. This course prepares students to conduct fundamental analysis of an industry and of a stock in that industry. It teaches students the fundamentals of equity and debt markets, how to assess a company’s financial health from its financial statements, and how to use financial statements as the basis for company valuation. It also touches on how the macroeconomic environment interacts with valuation. The class teaches both discounted cash flow valuation as well as comparable company analysis. Following this class, students will take F212, in which they apply what they learned to a specific industry and company, write a stock recommendation report complete with an analytic model, and present their stock idea to the Knall-Cohen Fund board of investment professionals.