MGT375   Financial Derivatives   (20 credits)

Description

Over the last thirty years, the worldwide derivatives market has grown enormously in size and importance. This growth is due in part to the long-term consequences of the now famous option pricing formula developed by Black, Scholes and Merton and published in 1973 and the increase in the volatility of many financial instruments over the last 30 years. Futures and options, which are both derivative securities, are increasingly used by many participants in financial markets. This includes bankers, fund managers, security and currency traders in the world's major financial centres, but also increasingly extends to the finance departments of public and private sector organizations. This module aims to provide an introduction to the pricing and use of some of the basic types of derivative securities. Reflecting the subject, the module is analytical in nature. All concepts are taught from first principles. The course is self-contained to a large extent and includes lectures on the underlying financial economics as well as necessary mathematics and statistics.

Reading List