ISET uses 70% of the CFA 'golden standard' curriculum, which will be strengthened by international standard courses tailored to local needs. 70% coverage of the CFA curriculum will allow the school to apply for affiliation with the institute as soon as it has its first graduates. Such affiliation has also been received by many of the world's leading universities - the University of Oxford (Master of Financial Economics), New York (Master of Business Administration in Finance), Massachusetts (Master of Science in Finance), San Diego (Master of Finance) and others.
The first-year courses (13 in total) covered by the program curriculum are all mandatory and the total credit is 60 ECTS. The student must earn a total of 60 ECTS during the 2nd academic year. Of these, 33 ECTS falls on compulsory courses (including 4 ECTS - on the Capstone project (which involves an internship by the student in a host organization), 12 ECTS - on various electives, and 15 ECTS - on a master's thesis.
The aim of the course is to teach the student probability theory, methods of statistical and mathematical analysis that are necessary for a better and in-depth understanding of finance. The course will teach the student how to use descriptive statistics and its tools to characterize and assess risk and return and other important financial or economic variables, how to use probability theory for investment decision making in the presence of uncertainty and how to solve practical problems with the mathematical methods.
The goal of the course is to thoroughly explore the fundamental microeconomic and macroeconomic concepts of financial analysis and the ways they can be used as essential tools for financial practice. The student can use microeconomic and macroeconomic concepts, theories and approaches and critical analysis of relationships between various economic variables.
The goal of the course is to teach the student basic components of financial accounting and the use of management accounting methods. Students will know the principles of preparing financial statements, recording transactions through accounting equations and understand the importance of managerial accounting and the decision-making process.
The course aims to thoroughly teach methods of academic writing in English. During the course the student will sharpen their skills in creating academic papers and will also explore working on analytical essays. The student will be able to classify the main principles of academic writing in English on advanced level, identify tools of searching various materials and sources, define methods of critical evaluation.
The course aims to develop the financial comprehension and analysis skills, which will help the student to evaluate the financial conditions of a company and associated risks over time, how to perform security and business valuation, credit risk assessment, and due diligence.
The aim of the course is to develop the student's ability to use statistical and econometric methods, including financial technologies, to solve problems in the financial sector and manage investments. The course will help the student to use modern quantitative tools and innovative approaches in fintech in securities and risk analysis, investment analysis and corporate finance, solve practical problems with the statistical and econometric approaches, using correlation, regression, time series, simulations and financial technologies when evaluating investments.
The course aims to provide the student with an in-depth understanding of exchange rate equilibrium rates and theories of economic growth. The student will be able to apply the acquired knowledge of economic growth, economic regulations, cost-benefit analysis of regulations in the investment decision-making process.
The main goal of the course is to equip the student with the methods of corporate financial analysis, to teach the features of a company's financial operations, risk assessment and working capital management. The student will be able to define a company’s corporate governance, identify a capital budgeting problem, estimate a company’s cost of capital and analyze a company’s operating and financial leverage and its working capital management.
This course aims to help the student develop vital communication skills that they will use throughout their career and in a dynamic workplace to adapt to the job market. The student will understand the importance of creating an employment portfolio and building their own personal brand. The student will be able to define effective business communication and ethics, explain the difference between an ethical dilemma and an ethical lapse, explain how cultural diversity affects business communication and understand the specifics of teamwork.
The course aims to develop the data visualization skills needed for advanced study and applied work in finance. During the course the student will use programs such as: Tableau Desktop and Excel, R, Google Charts, and some other data visualization tools. The course will help the student understand various programs required for digital imaging and data optimization strategy.
The course develops techniques of understanding and interpreting financial statements of multinational companies, it teaches quality aspects of financial reporting and tax considerations. The course will help the student identify quality issues that may exist in reported financial statements, analyze effects of financial reporting choices on financial statements and ratios for international corporations and evaluate financial reporting quality.
The goal of the course is to teach the student how to evaluate credit worthiness, yield curve and key relationships underlying its components, theories and models explaining the shape of the yield curve. During this course the student will learn the characteristics of fixed income securities and its market operations, fixed income risk, return relationships and valuation principles, will identify theories of the term structure of interest rates.
The course aims to teach the student characteristics of markets, capital, fixed income and alternative investments, analysis and evaluation of different types of assets. The student will learn how to identify major types of securities, currencies, contracts, commodities, and real assets that trade in organized markets, including their distinguishing characteristics and major subtypes and describe classifications of assets and markets.
The course teaches how to form and quantify expectations and use such expectations for valuing markets. The student will be able to identify major tools of economic analysis, evaluate capital market expectations and understand how neo-classical growth theory can be used to develop economic forecasts.
The course aims to equip the student with qualitative and quantitative methods of research in finance and teach the specifics of their use. The student will learn major research methodologies and different research instruments and will be able to design a research project in finance.
The course aims to teach the concept of portfolio management and develop the student’s ability to understand, explain, analyze, and implement portfolio management process. The student will be able to use the portfolio theory in risk and return estimation, security selection, and other practical applications, to incorporate investor objectives, constraints, capital market expectations, relevant risk considerations together with portfolio construction, execution and evaluation and to apply Capital Asset Pricing Model, Multifactor Models.
The goal of the course is to teach the fundamental principles that govern financial markets and institutions, how the institutions operate in today's financial markets and what are their regulatory functions. The student will be able to define functions of financial markets and intermediary institutions, understand why interest rates change and the reasons of financial crisis, distinguish effects of money market tools on the financial system, review the structure of banking industry and functions of investment banks.
The course aims to teach capital budgeting process with emphasis on its principals and investment decision criteria, considerations for tax systems, agency costs and financial distress, dividend policies, factors effecting distribution and reinvestment, and dividend payout and share repurchase decisions.
The aim of the Capstone project is to enable the student improve their knowledge in specific areas of finance, in particular, to become familiar with the work environment, dynamics and structures; Get acquainted with the activities and functions of financiers; Practice applying knowledge and skills from different training courses; Improve and refine oral and written communication skills.
The course aims to equip the student with skills of identifying, assessing and managing potential risks in their own units and to teach how to strengthen project management through adequate forward planning of potential risks. The students will learn how to calculate and interpret the value of an interest rate option using a two-period binomial model, how to use assumptions of the Black–Scholes–Merton option valuation model, how to apply implied volatility and explain how it is used in options trading.
This course aims to teach ethics, related challenges to ethical behavior, and the role played by ethics in the investment profession. The student will learn how to define ethics and norms of professional behavior, as well as the role of a code of ethics in defining a profession.
Elective Courses
This course teaches how to manage wealth. It identifies what are financial goals, financial needs, and risk tolerance; and teaches how to create relevant strategies for wealth management. During the course the student will learn how to identify tax-efficient strategies for wealth management and transfer, how to implement strategies to diversify or otherwise deal with concentrated or single asset positions in publicly traded or privately held businesses and real estate, and how to use various strategies and financial products to mitigate the risk of not achieving financial goals.
This course aims to teach alternative investments, including hedge funds, private equity, real estate, commodities, and infrastructure investment. Each will be examined with emphasis on their distinguishing characteristics, considerations for valuation, and potential benefits and risks. Similarities and differences with traditional investments (stocks, bonds) will be also considered.
The goal of the course is to deliver the knowledge about ethics in the finance industry so that the student can quickly master that special area of finance. The student will learn how to define ethics in financial management, identify the methods of balancing, protecting and preserving stakeholders' interests.
The course aims to equip the student with the knowledge needed to prepare an investment policy report and to develop investment portfolio managing, monitoring, and analyzing skills. The student will learn how to apply appropriate policy and procedural changes needed to assure compliance with the Code and Standards and evaluate the structure of the asset management.
The aim of the course is to teach the role of capital investment in the portfolio, taking into account costs and shareholder responsibilities. The student will be able to analyze bottom-up active strategies, including their rationale and associated processes and factor-based active strategies.
The course aims to teach the student characteristics of behavioral finance and its psychological foundations, as well as their applications in the analysis of asset prices, market prices, investors and corporate behavior.
The goal of the course is to present a framework for risk management, focusing on the concepts and tools for measuring and managing market risk and credit risk. The Student will learn how to evaluate strength and weaknesses of company’s risk management process by analyzing a company’s or portfolio’s exposures to financial and nonfinancial risk factors and value at risk (VaR) and its role in measuring overall and individual position market risk.
This course aims to teach the role played by fixed-income securities in portfolios, fundamental concepts necessary for understanding curves and yield curve strategies. The student will learn how to evaluate strategies for managing single liability, formulate a portfolio positioning strategy given forward interest rates and an interest rate view and analyze a portfolio’s sensitivity to a change in curve slope using key rate durations of the portfolio and its benchmark.
