The Culverhouse College of Business’s Value Investing Minor provides students with a strong foundation in all critical aspects of the investment process, including generating good ideas, conducting fundamental business and industry research, the in-depth analysis of financial statements, and the ultimate arrival at a credible estimate of what a business is worth.
The curriculum focus is on practical application and is meant to help prepare students for a broad range of business careers, including investment management, investment banking, private equity, management consulting, corporate business development, corporate finance, and entrepreneurship. Ideally, students will also be better prepared for life, as the central tenets of value investing – including discipline, patience, independent thinking, and avoiding risk – should prove valuable regardless of the particular career path taken.
This course will introduce the fundamental principles of a value-based equity investing approach, which will serve as a foundation for examining several critical aspects of the investing process: identifying potential market inefficiency, conducting fundamental business and industry research, understanding, analyzing and interpreting financial statements, and ultimately estimating what a company is worth.
This course will build upon the principles and skills learned in Introduction to Value Investing, with emphasis on conducting investment research beyond the computer screen, the examination of common business models employed by public companies, next-level financial analysis focused on assessing earnings quality and competitive advantage, and valuation using detailed financial models and discounted-cash-flow analysis.
Students will refine and enhance their investing skills, primarily through real-life case studies of specific investment opportunities currently pursued by successful professional investors. Special emphasis will be put on improving understanding and skills around financial analysis and valuation. Students will also learn the basics of portfolio management, how to recognize and overcome common cognitive biases that hamper sound decision-making, and, through consistent practice, will continue to develop their abilities to deliver articulate written and verbal arguments.