This course covers the foundations of finance. While we emphasize applications that are vital for corporate managers, we cover topics that are of great importance to all investors making investment decisions. Essential in these decisions is the process of valuation, which will be a central theme throughout the course. Topics include criteria for making investment decisions, valuation of financial assets and liabilities, portfolio risk and return, and financing and capital structure choices. This course is designed to provide students who have had little prior exposure to finance with the tools necessary to estimate the value of a business enterprise or a financial investment decision.
3 units · GSB Letter Graded
This course covers the foundations of finance. While we emphasize applications that are vital for corporate managers, we cover topics that are of great importance to all investors making investment decisions. Essential in these decisions is the process of valuation, which will be a central theme throughout the course. Topics include criteria for making investment decisions, valuation of financial assets and liabilities, portfolio risk and return, and financing and capital structure choices. This course is designed to provide students who have had little prior exposure to finance with the tools necessary to estimate the value of a business enterprise or a financial investment decision.
Offered in Autumn 2026 at Stanford University.