Long-Term Financial Products: Mortgages, Life Insurance and Pensions

Catalog description

Long-term financial assets" addresses the challenges of applying traditional finance and financial engineering principles to long-term assets. For example, complex short-term derivatives receive a lot of attention in the finance curriculum. Issues like stability and the predictability of long-term returns and risk make longer-term valuation and risk assessments difficult and frustrating. These issues affect individuals’ rent/buy decisions, mortgage selection and financing behavior, life insurance choices, retirement plans and pensions, and even social welfare and health care (social security and Medicare/Medicaid). In this class, we address the challenges and proposed solutions for measuring and addressing long-term risks and financial decisions. This includes thoughtful analysis of risk and returns, taxes and institutional considerations. Students who take this class will be better able to articulate the problems in designing and deploying long-term assets, and help them evaluate the solutions. They will also be better prepared to enter careers in wealth management and insurance. | Prerequisites: FRE-GY 6103 and Matriculation into a master or doctoral program