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Economics 212 - Personal Investing,
Fall 2007
Prof. Philip Ganderton
Economics Bldg Room 2010
277-1962
email:
gandini@unm.edu
web: http://gandini.unm.edu
This course introduces you to the world
of investing. Not that there's a good, or
a bad, time to learn about the stock market, but certainly current events make
it a talking point for many people. Volatility is the trade mark of securities markets, be they stock, bonds, options or futures. Many investors make fortunes, and others lose their shirts,
and currently more average Americans have investments in the stock market than
ever before. More and more investors are taking
personal control over their portfolios, rather than relying on brokers, mutual
fund managers, or their employers, to manage their nest eggs, or play-money
accounts. Regardless of what has happened to stocks in recent years, and
what will happen in the future, investing in the stock market still offers a substantial long
term benefit when considered as part of an overall lifetime financial plan.
In this course I offer you an introduction to investing
within the context of a lifelong personal financial strategy. Because this is an economics course, you will learn about markets, and by understanding simple market theory you will learn to make
wiser financial decisions including when, and how, to invest for special
purchases, education and retirement. You
will see how economic analysis makes you a better investor.
Textbooks
I decided against a single required text for this course. I have used
Personal Investing: An Interactive Approach, by Leslie Lum, published in 2003 by Thomson in the past--it's OK, but there's just too much in it that I don't use in
the course, so I don't recommend it to you. I would recommend you find and buy one of the many paperbacks available in
the popular press. Among
these books are Andrew
Tobias's book "The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need" and Peter
Lynch's "One Up on Wall Street."
The
Motley Fool (essential bookmark, by the way) has a list of some all-time
great books. Click here to view that list: http://www.fool.com/Specials/2000/sp001107a.htm
Course Assessment
There will be 10 one-page (I mean it) projects throughout the semester
accounting for 300 points (30 percent of your class score), a final exam worth 400
points and a project worth the other 300 points. You have a choice for the
project: you can participate in the on-line investment
game, or you can
prepare an investment report. Both are worth the same points.
Grades will be assigned according to the following algorithm: a score of
975/1000 or higher gives you an A+, score 925-974 and earn an A, 875-924 earn an A-, and so on,
going down 50 points for each grade.
More Course Information
We will follow the structure provided in the
Lecture
Outline. I intend my lectures to present the economics behind the stuff you may read in popular investing books, so
the lectures and the books are complementary inputs to the production of your
course grade.
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