Students

AFCP8101 – Financial System, Participants and Instruments

2022 – Term 2, In person-scheduled-infrequent, City

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Associate Professor
Shane Magee
shane.magee@mq.edu.au
Contact via Email
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to Master of Applied Finance or Graduate Diploma of Applied Finance
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit assesses the structure, instruments and participants in the Financial System. It covers the theory and practical application of financial instruments including debt, equity, hybrids and derivatives. It also articulates the roles and objectives of participants in the system, social contracts and regulation.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Evaluate concepts and models used by various financial market participants and apply relevant concepts and models to meet participants needs and actual business situations.
  • ULO2: Assess financial products and instruments and construct sound and justifiable solutions that meet the requirements of financial market participants.
  • ULO3: Develop solutions for financing issues using appropriate models and financial data sources.

General Assessment Information

Late submissions of assessments  

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, no extensions will be granted. There will be a deduction of 10% of the total available assessment-task marks made from the total awarded mark for each 24-hour period or part thereof that the submission is late. Late submissions will only be accepted up to 96 hours after the due date and time.

 

No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g., quizzes, online tests.

 

Table 1: Penalty calculation based on submission time

Submission time after the due date (including weekends)

Penalty (% of available assessment task mark)

Example: for a non-timed assessment task marked out of 30

< 24 hours

10%

10% x 30 marks = 3-mark deduction

24-48 hours

20%

20% x 30 marks = 6-mark deduction

48-72 hours

30%

30% x 30 marks = 9-mark deduction

72-96 hours

40%

40% x 30 marks = 12-mark deduction

> 96 hours

100%

Assignment won’t be accepted

Special Consideration  

To request an extension on the due date/time for a timed or non-timed assessment task, you must submit a Special Consideration application. An application for Special Consideration does not guarantee approval.

The approved extension date for a student becomes the new due date for that student. The late submission penalties above then apply as of the new due date.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Class activities 20% No Online quizzes due: 10 Apr, 18 Apr, 24 Apr, 15 May, 5 Jun
Assignment 40% No 22 May
Final assessment 40% No University examination period

Class activities

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Online quizzes due: 10 Apr, 18 Apr, 24 Apr, 15 May, 5 Jun
Weighting: 20%

 

Tasks set with online classes including quizzes, online or recorded presentations, learning portfolio, analytical tasks and participation.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Evaluate concepts and models used by various financial market participants and apply relevant concepts and models to meet participants needs and actual business situations.
  • Assess financial products and instruments and construct sound and justifiable solutions that meet the requirements of financial market participants.

Assignment

Assessment Type 1: Case study/analysis
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: 22 May
Weighting: 40%

 

Assessment of finance transactions. Individual task up to 4,000 words.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Assess financial products and instruments and construct sound and justifiable solutions that meet the requirements of financial market participants.
  • Develop solutions for financing issues using appropriate models and financial data sources.

Final assessment

Assessment Type 1: Practice-based task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: University examination period
Weighting: 40%

 

A time-constrained task based on scenarios.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Evaluate concepts and models used by various financial market participants and apply relevant concepts and models to meet participants needs and actual business situations.
  • Assess financial products and instruments and construct sound and justifiable solutions that meet the requirements of financial market participants.
  • Develop solutions for financing issues using appropriate models and financial data sources.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Recommended Text

McDonald, R.L., 2013, Derivatives Markets, Pearson New International Edition, 3rd Edition, Pearson, ISBN 9781292021256

The Pearson New International Edition is based on the U.S. 3rd Edition ISBN 9781292021256

For information on textbook prices and online ordering, please refer to Pearson’s at https://www.pearson.com.au/products/detail?isbn=9781292021256

 

 

Useful References

Bodie, Z., Kane, A., and Marcus, A.J., 2014,  Investments, 11th edition, McGraw Hill.

McDonald, R.L., 2009, Fundamentals of Derivatives Markets, Pearson.

Viney, C., and Phillips, P.J., 2019, Financial Institutions, Instruments & Markets.

 

Learning and Teaching Activities

Strategy: Programs in the Applied Finance Centre adopt a deep teaching and learning strategy in which students acquire and retain knowledge and also are able to make sense of the issues and concepts and apply them in the “real world”. The program relies heavily on student engagement and participation by: (a) Continuous learning throughout the term. This is encouraged through a combination of students undertaking prescribed reading throughout the units and/or completion of practice problems, online activities, case studies, assignments, class discussions, etc and interaction via forums; and (b) Assessments, which enable the student to demonstrate his/her understanding of the learning objectives achieved through the continuous learning.

Student Participation: This is blended unit where students need to complete assigned activities before live Zoom sessions and block teaching. Students participate in this unit by: (a) Actively engaging with the videos and required readings of this unit; (b) Working systematically through and completing online activities; (c) Interacting in forums; and (d) Completing all assessment tasks.

Unit Schedule

Schedule 

Week Topic Session Details
1 Introduction

Zoom webinar: Wed 6 Apr 7:00pm - 8:30pm
2 Valuation, risk and return

Zoom webinar: Wed 13 Apr 7:00pm - 8:30pm
3 The building block financial instruments

Zoom webinar: Wed 20 Apr 7:00pm - 8:30pm
4 Forwards, futures and options: Pricing and applications

Block Weekend: Sat 30 Apr 10:00am - 3:00pm; Sun 1 May 10:00am - 3:00pm 

Attendance: In person at Macquarie City campus (Sydney) or online via Zoom
5 Further option pricing

Zoom webinar: Thu 5 May 7:00pm - 8:30pm
6 Assignment preparation

Zoom webinar: Wed 11 May 7:00pm - 8:30pm
7 Debt and swap markets: Introduction

Zoom webinar: Wed 18 May 7:00pm - 8:30pm
8 Debt and swap markets: Applications

Block Weekend: Sat 28 May 10:00am - 3:00pm; Sun 29 May 10:00am - 3:00pm 

Attendance: In person at Macquarie City (Sydney) campus or online via Zoom
9 Revision   
10 Revision

Zoom webinar: Wed 8 Jun 7:00pm - 8:30pm
11 Exam week  

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Changes since First Published

Date Description
15/03/2022 Changed due date for quiz 4.