A newer version of this course is available here:
Introduction to Financial Engineering and Risk Management
We hope that students who complete the course will begin to understand the "rocket science" behind financial engineering but perhaps more importantly, we hope they will also understand the limitations of this theory in practice and why financial models should always be treated with a healthy degree of skepticism. The follow-on course FE & RM Part II will continue to develop derivatives pricing models but it will also focus on asset allocation and portfolio optimization as well as other applications of financial engineering such as real options, commodity and energy derivatives and algorithmic trading.
Syllabus
Week 1
Course Overview
An introduction to the course.
Week 2
Introduction to Basic Fixed Income Securities
Review of interest and basic fixed income securities; introduction to arbitrage pricing.
Week 3
Introduction to Derivative Securities
The mechanics of forwards, futures, swaps and options. Option pricing in the 1-period binomial model.
Week 4
Option Pricing in the Multi-Period Binomial Model
Derivatives pricing in the binomial model including European and American options; handling dividends; pricing forwards and futures; convergence of the binomial model to Black-Scholes.
Week 5
Term Structure Models I
Binomial lattice models of the short-rate; pricing fixed income derivative securities including caps, floors swaps and swaptions; the forward equations and elementary securities.
Week 6
Term Structure Models II and Introduction to Credit Derivatives
Calibration of term-structure models; the Black-Derman-Toy and Ho-Lee models. Limitations of term-structure models and derivatives pricing models in general. Introduction to credit-default swaps (CDS) and the pricing of CDS and defaultable bonds.
Week 7
Introduction to Mortgage Mathematics and Mortgage-Backed Securities
Basic mortgage mathematics; mechanics of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) including pass-throughs, principal-only and interest-only securities, and CMOs; pricing of MBS; MBS and the financial crisis.
Week 8
Background Material