Education
Through the Investment Management Initiative, students can combine tailored coursework with experiential learning to build deep expertise in specific markets or investment approaches.
NYU Stern offers a wide array of courses on investments covering all major asset classes and investment styles, as well as classes on the financial system, market structure, portfolio and risk management, and trading. This rich offering allows students to customize their coursework to build a deep expertise in specific areas of public financial markets.
What courses are specifically geared towards common areas of investment management?
Below are courses specifically geared towards some of the most common areas of investment management. These courses are a guide for students as they plan their curriculum, as well as for applicants to the Scholars Program, when they propose a targeted course of study.
Fixed Income Markets
The fixed income market is a dynamic asset class that has grown significantly over the past two decades due to rising government and corporate debt issuance. It spans the safest asset classes in the world, such as US Treasuries, to distressed debt, which are some of the riskiest securities available to investors. Students interested in this field can take courses focused on interest rates, credit and distressed investing, and macro and international economics.
- Debt Instruments and Markets (FINC-UB.26 )
- Derivatives (FINC-UB.43)
- International Finance and Macroeconomics (FINC-UB.30)
- Restructuring and Distressed Investing (FINC-UB.17.001)
Fundamental Equity Investing
Discretionary equity strategies are a mainstay of the investment management profession, from deep value, long term investors to short-term, catalyst driven hedge funds. Common to these different styles of equity investing is a sophisticated approach to valuation, which is a specialty of NYU Stern. Students interested in this field can take courses in valuation, financial statement analysis, discretionary investing, and industry and sector specific electives.
- Financial Modeling and Analysis (ACCT-UB 23)
- Equity Valuation (FINC-UB 41)
- Financial Analysis in Telecom, Media and Technology (FINC-UB.68)
- Research on Wall Street (FINC-UB.48)
Systematic Investing
From its origins in academic research on the factors that predict public equity returns, systematic investing has expanded over the past three decades, fueled in part by the increased availability of new and alternative sources of data and advanced machine learning data techniques. In the current market, this data-driven and quantitative form of investing is being applied to all the major publicly traded asset classes. Students interested in this field can take courses in econometrics, data science, computer science, as well as a course dedicated to applying these tools to investing.
- Econometrics (ECON-UB.25)
- Programming and Algorithms using Python (TECH-UB.27)
- Data Driven Investing with Python (FINC-UB.54)
- Principles of Securities Trading (FINC-UB.49)
Electives
In addition to the Finance Core classes, several electives are broadly applicable to students interested in careers in investment management.
- Portfolio Management (FINC-UB.44)
- Alternative Investments 1: Principles and Strategies (FINC-UB.15)
Managing Investment Funds
Students can apply to take an experiential course in which they put these different skills to work managing a slice of the NYU endowment.
In this two-semester course (FINC-GB.6020, admission by application only), students manage a dedicated portion of the NYU endowment, through the Michael Price Student Investment Fund (MPSIF). Students are split into sub-funds with dedicated investment styles and assets classes, and are responsible for all aspects of fund management, including macro and micro market analysis, sourcing and analyzing investment ideas, and risk and portfolio management. It is intended as a capstone for students interested in careers in investment management, through which students can apply concepts from their other coursework to actual investing. Students that have focused on one of the areas above are particularly encouraged to apply, and they will be assigned to a fund that aligns with their focus.