COURSE SYLLABUS
Derivatives Securities, 7.5 credits
Derivatives Securities, 7,5 högskolepoäng
Course Syllabus for students Spring 2025
Course Code: FSOR23
Confirmed by: Council for Undergraduate and Masters Education Oct 24, 2007
Valid From: Jan 15, 2024
Version: 4
Education Cycle: Second-cycle level
Disciplinary domain: Technology
Subject group: NA1
Specialised in: A1N
Main field of study: Business Administration, Economics

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO)

On completion of the course the students will be able to:

Knowledge and understanding

Skills and abilities

Judgement and approach

Contents

The course focuses on the opportunities created by derivative securities for firms and financial operators in general, with an emphasis on the hedging of risks deriving from business operations. The main classes of securities considered are forward contracts, futures contracts, swaps, and options. The broad class of options includes both standard stock options, and more specific securities such as currency options, warrants issued by companies, and also "exotic options." In each case, we consider the structure of the securities, their pricing - typically by no-arbitrage techniques – and their use, illustrated by several examples.
Special attention is paid to the possibilities offered by computer routines allowing tackling the complex mathematical problems that are typically faced by financial operators, in connection with the use and the pricing of derivatives securities.

Type of instruction

Lectures and workshops.

The teaching is conducted in English.

Prerequisites

Bachelors's degree in Business Administration or Economics (or the equivalent).

Examination and grades

The course is graded A, B, C, D, E, FX or F.

All ILOs are tested in a written examination, counting for 6 credits. The ILOs related to skills and abilities and approach are also tested in a number of written assignments, counting for 1.5 credits in total.

Registration of examination:
Name of the TestValueGrading
Written test16 creditsA/B/C/D/E/FX/F
Written assignment11.5 creditsA/B/C/D/E/FX/F
1 All parts of the compulsory examination in the course must be passed with a passing grade (A-E) before a final grade can be set. The final grade of the course is determined by the sum total of points for all parts of the examination in the course. Grade is set in accordance to JIBS grading policy.

Course evaluation

It is the responsibility of the examiner to ensure that each course is evaluated. At the outset of the course, the programme evaluators in the course must be contacted. In the middle of the course, the examiner should meet the programme evaluators to identify strengths/weaknesses in the first half of the course.

At the end of the course, the examiner should remind students to fill in the survey. The examiner should also call a meeting with the programme evaluators to debrief the course, based on course evaluation data and comments. The next time the course runs, students should be informed of any measures taken to improve the course based on the previous course evaluations.

At the end of each study period, JIBS’ Director of Quality and Accreditation crafts a “Course Evaluation Quarter Report”, presenting the quantitative results from course evaluation surveys. The Associate Dean of Education, The Associate Deans of Faculty, Programme Directors, and JSA President and Quality receive the report.

Other information

Academic integrity
JIBS students are expected to maintain a strong academic integrity. This implies to behave within the boundaries of academic rules and expectations relating to all types of teaching and examination.

Copying someone else’s work is a particularly serious offence and can lead to disciplinary action. When you copy someone else’s work, you are plagiarising. You must not copy sections of work (such as paragraphs, diagrams, tables and words) from any other person, including another student or any other author. Cutting and pasting is a clear example of plagiarism. There is a workshop and online resources to assist you in not plagiarising called the Interactive Anti-Plagiarism Guide.

Other forms of breaking academic integrity include (but are not limited to) adding your name to a project you did not work on (or allowing someone to add their name), cheating on an examination, helping other students to cheat and submitting other students work as your own, and using non-allowed electronic equipment during an examination. All of these make you liable to disciplinary action.

Course literature

McDonald, Robert L., Derivatives Markets, latest edition. New York: Pearson Education
Additional articles and handouts, posted on the web-page of the course.