180.367 - Investments and Portfolio Management

This is an introductory course in investments. The course is broken into four parts. The first part covers the fundamental concepts of asset returns, risk, and risk-aversion, and then studies how investors should optimally choose their portfolios given the observed patterns of risk and return. The second part of the course studies the reverse question: given how investors choose their portfolios, what are the equilibrium patterns of risk and expected return in financial markets: in other words, what is the expected return that various types of assets must earn to compensate investors for bearing their risk. The second question is studied in the context of two theories of returns: the capital asset pricing model and arbitrage pricing theory. The third part of the course studies the empirical evidence for and against the equilibrium theories of asset returns, with an emphasis on the evidence in support and against the efficient markets hypothesis. The fourth and final part of the course studies three classes of assets in more detail. The topics that are covered include models of equity valuation, bond valuation and hedging, and option valuation and hedging.



Syllabus

Slides



Exams (with solutions)
2018 First Midterm Exam
2018 Second Midterm Exam
2018 Final Exam
2019 First Midterm Exam
2019 Second Midterm Exam
2019 Final Exam
2020 First Midterm Exam
2020 Second Midterm Exam
2020 Final Exam
2021 First Midterm Exam
2021 Second Midterm Exam
2021 Final Exam
Other Materials

 


   
Johns Hopkins University Department of Economics Johns Hopkins University Department of Economics