20782 Alternative Investments
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particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source
of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.
Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 6 cp
Subject level: Postgraduate
Result type: Grade and marksRequisite(s): 25721 Investment Management OR 20721 Investment Management
There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Anti-requisite(s): 25782 Alternative Investments AND 25894 Alternative Investments: Direct Investments AND 25895 Alternative Investments: Indirect Investments
Description
This course is designed to furnish students with a broad knowledge of the alternative investments industry. By using current material from the Chartered Alternative Investments Association (CAIA), students study material deemed relevant by the industry. The Journal of Alternative Investments (JoAI) is also used to ensure that students leave the course equipped with meaningful material. As preparation for employment, the course assessments are designed to improve critical thinking, report writing and quantitative abilities. Class discussion and involvement are encouraged.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
| 1. | distinguish between alternative investments categories in the context of industry and regulation |
|---|---|
| 2. | evaluate the strategies and risks involved with a range of alternative investments including, real estate, commodities, private equity, equity hedge funds and global macro hedge funds |
| 3. | describe the due diligence process in hedge funds and hedge fund of funds |
| 4. | articulate lessons from the alternative investments industry via cases and the state of regulation globally |
Contribution to the development of graduate attributes
Students will develop a rich understanding of alternative investments. They will present a real-life case study on a particular alternative investment and its suitability in an investor’s portfolio. Successful completion of this subject will contribute to students’ acquiring the following graduate attributes:
- business knowledge and concepts
- critical thinking, creativity and analytical skills
- communication and interpersonal skills
The Subject Learning Objectives (SLOs) also align the UTS graduate attributes in the following ways:
- SLO 1, 2, 3: disciplinary, professional and technical knowledge as students learn about each alternative investment and its purpose in an investor’s portfolio. Students will also learn about the role of hedge funds and the due diligence process of selecting hedge funds.
- SLO 4: Disciplinary, professional and technical knowledge, spoken and written communication. Through in class presentation and written assignment students will present real-life cases of actual alternative investments and how regulation or the lack thereof plays a role in the function of the alternative investment.
Teaching and learning strategies
The subject will use a combination of in-class and online learning activities. The online activities include watching lecture videos and completing workshop questions. The in-class activities include instructor led cases and student led discussions. Industry guest speakers will be integrated into the subject providing students with the opportunity to see how theory is applied in practice and provide for an engaging experience.
In-class activities will be supplemented with electronic learning materials and resources. The learning management system will be used to share information and encourage interaction between staff and students.
Students are also expected to employ the following learning strategies:
- Pre-class activities include selected articles to read, videos to watch and workshop questions to complete.
- Review of lectures - After each lecture students should go over the material covered and read material from the textbook that covers the topic in the lecture. Students should post questions on the Discussion Board to discuss the material being covered. These questions will be answered by other students and the lecturers.
- Instructor led activities – each week the instructor will lead an activity to consolidate the topic and encourage strategic thinking
The combination of workshop questions and activities provide ongoing and early feedback for students on their progress.
Content (topics)
• The Alternative Investments landscape.
• Risk and reward with fat tails and low liquidity
• Equity hedge funds
• Real estate
• Convertible bond arbitrage
• Commodities, managed futures and global macro hedge funds
• Private equity
• Fund of Hedge Funds
• Portfolio management and risk budgeting
• Hedge fund replication
• Lessons, due diligence and regulation
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Presentation and Written Assignment/Reflection (Group)*
| Objective(s): | This addresses subject learning objective(s): 1, 2 and 4 |
|---|---|
| Weight: | 30% |
| Length: | The assignment group report should be maximum of 10 pages for Part 1 and maximum of 10 pages for Part 2 in length in Times New Roman 12 point font, single spacing including pictures and appendices. The video recording should be no more than 6 minutes. |
| Criteria: | The assignment will be marked on the following criteria:
*Note: Late submission of the assessment task will not be marked and awarded a mark of zero. |
Assessment task 2: Quiz (Individual)*
| Objective(s): | This addresses subject learning objective(s): 1 and 2 |
|---|---|
| Weight: | 20% |
| Length: | Ten questions in an online quiz. |
| Criteria: | The assessment criterion for the quizzes is the accuracy of students’ answers. *Note: Late submission of the assessment task will not be marked and awarded a mark of zero. Students who miss more than 5 of the weekly quizzes due to illness or misadventure will have the weighting of the Assessment task 2: Class Quiz (Individual) added to the final examination conditional on the students submitting, receiving approval and complying with the requirements of special consideration in accordance with the UTS rules. If the composite mark for the final exam is more than 50 percent and the student is in the final subject of their degree, the UTS rules on borderline result (range of 45-49, inclusive) shall apply whereby students will be allowed to undertake a supplementary final examination. Where a student completes and passes a supplementary examination, the maximum mark awarded for the subject will be 50 Pass. |
Assessment task 3: Final Exam (Individual)
| Objective(s): | This addresses subject learning objective(s): 1, 2, 3 and 4 |
|---|---|
| Weight: | 50% |
| Length: | The final exam is a two-hour exam. |
| Criteria: | The final exam is graded on the following criteria:
|
Minimum requirements
Students must achieve at least 50% of the subject’s total marks.
Required texts
Alternative Investments: CAIA Level I (2020), 4th edition, Wiley. Authored by D.R.Chambers, M.J.P.Anson, K.H.Black and H.Kazemi. This book is available online from the UTS library website: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/UTS/detail.action?docID=6142583
Recommended texts
Alternative Investments: CAIA Level II (2020), ('CAIA II'). This book is available online from the UTS library website:
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uts/reader.action?docID=6351992
Cryptocurrency : all-in-one (2022). ('Cryptocurrency'). This book is available online from the UTS library website:
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uts/detail.action?pq-origsite=primo&docID=6825354
Other resources
In accordance with the university and faculty rules, no further examination or assessment will be offered should you fail to attend a scheduled/special exam or submit an assessment. Your final mark/grade will remain unchanged if you failed to attend an examination or submit an assessment.