ICM613: Alternative Investments and Structured Products

Module code: ICM613

Module provider: ICMA Centre; Henley Business School

Credits: 20

Level: Postgraduate Masters

When you'll be taught: Summer (vacation) semester

Module convenor: Professor Marcel Prokopczuk, email: m.prokopczuk@icmacentre.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: No

Last updated: 28 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module aims to provide students with an understanding of financial decision making in the context of alternative investments and to introduce the key principles and techniques of financial engineering used in structured product design. 

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students will be able to 

• Discuss the particularities of different forms of alternative investments, especially hedge funds, commodities and real estate 
• Characterize the benefits and risks of different alternative investment classes 
• Apply key concepts of financial engineering to structured product design 
• Explain and analyse different types of structured products currently available in the global capital markets. 

Module content

Module content 

• Introduction to Alternative Investments 
• Hedge Funds: Market Structure, Strategies and Performance Evaluation 
• Commodities: Physical and Financial Markets. Energy, Agricultural, Metals. 
• Real Estate: Investment Types. Commercial and Residential Markets. Valuation Approaches 
• Cash Flow Engineering: Forwards and Swap Structures 
• Structured Credit Markets: CDS and CDO Engineering 
• Structuring with Exotic Options 
• Structured Products for Principal Protection  
• Equity Linked Structured Products including Exotic Options 

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

Lectures will be used for both, the exposition of theory and for demonstrating applications to real world problems. Seminars support the lectures by discussing and solving problems. The techniques used to achieve the stated module objectives will consist of a combination of active teaching, question-answer sessions, problem solving, and class discussions.

Study hours

At least 30 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

50% weighted average mark

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Reassessment

Additional costs