25500 Strategic Investment Management

Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a 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.

UTS: Business: Finance
Credit points: 6 cp

Subject level:

Undergraduate

Result type: Grade and marks

Requisite(s): 25503 Investment Analysis
These requisites may not apply to students in certain courses.
There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.

Description

This subject focuses on developing students’ applied knowledge and practical skills required to work in the financial and investment markets. Current industry practice is analysed in real-time and incorporated with the underlying theories of investment management. The subject draws on the experience and expertise of senior industry practitioners to guide students through the analysis of the latest industry developments and investment strategies. Along the way, students develop practical skills and confidence to navigate the workplace to ultimately provide the highest standard of advice to individual and institutional investors. This subject is aimed at students about to enter investment-related jobs in the industry such as in portfolio management, treasury operations, trading rooms as well as client and administrative roles in banking, wealth management and insurance.

Subject learning objectives (SLOs)

Upon successful completion of this subject students should be able to:

1.	develop the essential communication and networking skills required to work individually and collaboratively as part of an investment team
2.	analyse industry and market developments and opportunities in relation to applied investment topics
3.	construct and evaluate asset allocation and investment strategies and styles
4.	formulate an optimal investment strategy for the client based on best practice in the finance industry

Contribution to the development of graduate attributes

This subject contributes to the development of the following graduate attributes:

Communication and collaboration
Professional and technical competence

Teaching and learning strategies

Pre-lecture Learning Material

Students are required to develop their knowledge and a thorough understanding of topics prior to attending live classes. Online learning material will introduce relevant concepts required to understand the applied nature of investment management. The material will cover the subject’s topics and be presented with the assistance of industry practitioners.

The UTS learning management system (LMS) will be used to share content and relevant information about the subject. Resources made available to students via the LMS to facilitate their learning include textbook chapters, case studies, articles, journal papers, videos and recorded industry interviews. This knowledge will enable active and collaborative learning in the live class (such as team presentations and discussions).

Live Contact Sessions

During live three-hour sessions, academics will provide insight and interact with students in an analysis of the latest innovative investment developments and strategies. This includes not just technical knowledge, but also institutional and practical elements.

The live sessions will not only include a discussion of the weekly topics, but also a discussion of the latest real-world financial market events and the delivery of student presentations. This critical part of the subject’s learning journey will be to monitor what is happening in the financial markets and financial services industry in real-time over the duration of the session. To some extent, the students in any given time frame will be influenced by what is happening in the marketplace at the time. It could be volatile movements in financial markets, major economic events, or regulatory action. The subject will create a structure to assess and monitor local and international financial markets and increase the students’ working knowledge of the industry. As such, class discussion, presentations and involvement will be encouraged and enabled with the in-class activities provided.

Students will receive extensive feedback on their performance throughout the semester. This includes automated and written feedback on tasks and quizzes and written as well as verbal feedback on report submissions and presentations.

Content (topics)

Financial Markets and Investment Industry Developments
Innovation in Investment Products
Preparing for a Career in Investment Management

Assessment

Assessment task 1: Analyst Reports (Group)*

Objective(s):	This addresses subject learning objective(s): 1, 2, 3 and 4
Weight:	25%
Criteria:	Ability to work collaboratively as part of an investment team in preparation for a career in investment management. Demonstration of knowledge and understanding of investment products, investment industry opportunities and financial market developments. Capability to construct and evaluate asset allocation and investment strategies and styles. Ability to formulate and recommend an optimal investment strategy. *Note: Late submission of the assessment task will not be marked and awarded a mark of zero.

Objective(s):

This addresses subject learning objective(s):

1, 2, 3 and 4

Weight:

25%

Criteria:

Ability to work collaboratively as part of an investment team in preparation for a career in investment management.
Demonstration of knowledge and understanding of investment products, investment industry opportunities and financial market developments.
Capability to construct and evaluate asset allocation and investment strategies and styles.
Ability to formulate and recommend an optimal investment strategy.

*Note: Late submission of the assessment task will not be marked and awarded a mark of zero.

Assessment task 2: Analyst Presentations (Individual)*

Objective(s):	This addresses subject learning objective(s): 1, 2, 3 and 4
Weight:	25%
Criteria:	Demonstration of the essential communication skills required to present a quality sell-side analyst report and recommendation. Level of understanding of industry and market developments and opportunities in presentation and answering of questions. Ability to verbalise and communicate asset allocation and investment strategies and styles. Demonstrate an understanding of an optimal investment strategy based on the latest innovation in investment products best practice in the finance industry. *Note: Late submission of the assessment task will not be marked and awarded a mark of zero.

Objective(s):

This addresses subject learning objective(s):

1, 2, 3 and 4

Weight:

25%

Criteria:

Demonstration of the essential communication skills required to present a quality sell-side analyst report and recommendation.
Level of understanding of industry and market developments and opportunities in presentation and answering of questions.
Ability to verbalise and communicate asset allocation and investment strategies and styles.
Demonstrate an understanding of an optimal investment strategy based on the latest innovation in investment products best practice in the finance industry.

*Note: Late submission of the assessment task will not be marked and awarded a mark of zero.

Assessment task 3: Tasks and Quizzes (Individual)*

Objective(s):	This addresses subject learning objective(s): 1, 2, 3 and 4
Weight:	50%
Criteria:	Demonstrate an understanding of the networking skills required to work individually and collaboratively as part of an investment team. Identification and in-depth analysis of industry and market developments and opportunities in relation to applied investment topics. Ability to construct and evaluate asset allocation and investment strategies and styles. Appropriate application of theoretical concepts related to innovation in investment products to address practical problems. Capability to formulate an optimal investment strategy for the client based on best practice in the finance industry. *Note: Late submission of the assessment task will not be marked and awarded a mark of zero.

Objective(s):

This addresses subject learning objective(s):

1, 2, 3 and 4

Weight:

50%

Criteria:

Demonstrate an understanding of the networking skills required to work individually and collaboratively as part of an investment team.
Identification and in-depth analysis of industry and market developments and opportunities in relation to applied investment topics.
Ability to construct and evaluate asset allocation and investment strategies and styles.
Appropriate application of theoretical concepts related to innovation in investment products to address practical problems.
Capability to formulate an optimal investment strategy for the client based on best practice in the finance industry.

*Note: Late submission of the assessment task will not be marked and awarded a mark of zero.

Minimum requirements

Students must achieve at least 50% of the subject’s total marks.

Required texts

Excerpts from textbook chapters, case studies, online and in current and academic press will be provided on Canvas.

References

Investments by Bodie, Kane and Marcus, 12th Edition (2020)

Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management by Reilly and Brown, 11th Edition (2018)

The Economics of Money, Banking and Financial Markets by Mishkin, 12th Edition (2018)

Students will be actively encouraged to read seminal publications in investments that have shaped the industry over the last few decades. These include books such as “A Random Walk Down Wall Street” (Burton Malkiel), “Liar’s Poker” (Michael Lewis), "One up on Wall Street" (Peter Lynch) and “Thinking Fast and Slow” (Daniel Kahneman).