FINN43915: Private Equity and Wealth Management

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• The Private Equity and Wealth Management course explores international financing decisions, the structure and financing of private equity and venture capital funds, the investment and financial issues arising from personal wealth management activities.
• This course covers topics on advanced financial analysis and valuation for global firms over different macroeconomic conditions, business, credit, financial and monetary policy cycles. It also covers various topics required for the construction of a comprehensive financial status and goals, asset allocation, securities trading, managed funds, tax planning, risk management and insurance, superannuation, estate planning and social security.
• This course is useful for students who aim for careers in private equity, investment banking, consulting, asset and wealth management.

• Introduction to Private Equity and Venture Capital;
• Business Models of Private Equity;
• Types and Business Models of Private Equity; How Private Equity Funds are structured, operate and govern their portfolio of companies;
• Private Equity Management and Financing;
• Value Creation and Forecasting;
• Exit Strategies: How to successfully Divest;
• Distress Investing: Restructuring distressed companies;
• How to value global firms: Assessing the business performance and prospects for a company over different macroeconomic, monetary, business, credit, and financial cycles;
• Introduction to Wealth Management;
• Equity and Bond Portfolio Management;
• New investment approaches: Hedge Funds;

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• Understand the importance of innovative strategy, capital structuring, debt management and risk allocation for private equity and venture capital activity;
• Have a specialist knowledge and understanding of the impact private equity financing has on corporations;

Subject-specific Skills:

• Be able to conduct valuations of assets from the perspective of a private equity investor;
• Recognize an opportunity worth financing through private equity;
• Have the ability to assess the appropriate valuation methodologies in private equity investments;
• Be able to apply their understanding of Private Equity to analyse principal-agent problems and to develop solutions to limit agency problems;
• Recommend appropriate asset allocation and long-term investment strategies;

Key Skills:

• Written Communication - e.g. through the summative assessment;
• Planning, Organising and Time Management - e.g. by working in teams, preparing for seminars, downloading course notes, revising relevant material before lectures and seminars;
• Problem solving and initiative - e.g. by applying the necessary analytical skills, as well as the ability to manipulate concepts in Mergers and Acquisitions, in answering seminar questions and undertaking assessed work;
• Adaptability;
• Numeracy;
• Computer Literacy and Information Retrieval - by valuating models using spreadsheets and planning research schemes; accessing and downloading teaching material using e-mail to communicate with the class leader and other students; undertaking bibliographical search and information retrieval for the preparation of formative and summative assessment;
• Interpersonal Communication - e.g. by working in teams to prepare for group presentations; using e-mail to communicate with other students and class leaders; discussing prepared material in lectures and seminars with both the class leader and other students in the group;
• Oral Presentation - e.g. by giving group presentations and explaining the answers to seminar questions to other students and the class leader; in general, by actively participating in discussion during classes;
• Using Initiative - e.g. in conducting research for semiars and the group presentation;

• The learning outcomes will be met by a combination of lectures, seminars, case studie and guided reading.
• The summative assessment of the module, by summative assignment, is designed to test the acquisition and articulation of knowledge, and the ability to apply and interpret it in specific contexts.
• There will be group presentations as a formative assessment.

Students will receive written comments on ad-hoc exercises on real-world case studies in the class, and for group presentations. Additional formative assessment, and feedback, may take a number of forms such as oral feedback on work prepared by students for seminars; and answers to questions discussed during a seminar.

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