The course will cover the main points of statistics and pricing in finance. Emphasis is placed on introducing students to the use of statistical and mathematical methods to analyze, price and obtain information about financial instruments. Emphasis is placed on real examples where students are trained to solve tasks similar to those they may have to solve in their jobs in the financial market.

In the statistical part of the course, ideas about continuous and sparse probability distributions, expected values, variance and standard deviation, confidence intervals, null hypotheses and linear regression analyses, both simple and multivariate, will be reviewed. The basic ideas of the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) will also be reviewed.

The pricing part of the course will deal with the pricing of futures contracts on shares, bonds and currency and interest rate swaps, the construction of interest rate curves, as well as the types and characteristics of options.

The course focuses on the nature and workings of international financial markets, in particular from the perspective of asset management. Topics covered include key theories on asset pricing and market efficiency, dynamic portfolio optimization, risk and return assessment, financial crises, behavioral finance, and ethical issues. The acquisition of technical expertise is emphasized; students should be able to systematically work on and apply the necessary formulas. In addition, emphasis is placed on students’ acquisition of solid understanding of the nature and workings of financial markets. The course is partly based on the BS course in Portfolio Management and students are expected to have completed this or a comparable course, or to familiarize themselves with the relevant material along with the material covered in this course.

This course is taught every other year. It will the taught in autumn 2024.

The course will cover the main points of statistics and pricing in finance. Emphasis is placed on introducing students to the use of numerical and mathematical methods to analyze, price and obtain information about financial instruments. Emphasis is placed on real examples where students are trained to solve tasks similar to those they may have to solve in the workplace.

The statistical part of the course will cover time series analysis. There, models such as auto regressive models (e. Auto regressive model, AR model) and models with moving averages (e. Moving-average model, MA model) will be introduced to play. Also the combination of ARMA, ARIMA and SARIMA models. Finally, conditional variance models or ARCH and GARCH models will be reviewed.

In the pricing section, we will cover binomial trees, Wiener processes, Ito's auxiliary theorem, the Black-Scoles-Merton model and the pricing of stock and currency options.

Select topics from the BS course Finance II, but more in depth. Topics include cost of capital, evaluation and selection of financing alternatives for the long term and the short term, alternatives for the dividend policy and capital structure, bond issues, stock issues, credit rating, mergers and acquisitions, and financial restructuring. Corporate finance is discussed from the viewpoint of both the Chief Financial Officer, who needs to master both the practical and theoretical aspects of the position, as well as that of investors and creditors, who need to assess the credit rating and going concern.

Course content: Corporate and investment valuation. Discussion of the content and analysis of financial statements in the context of valuation of companies and investments. Discussion of various methods for valuation, suitable for valuation of different companies such as operating companies, real estate companies, banks, insurance companies, etc.

In this course, the main types of fixed income instruments and interest rate derivatives will be covered. Emphasis will be placed on bonds in international context as well as the special features of the domestic bond market. Some of the issues covered will be: traditional, indexed-linked, callable and convertible bonds, credit and interest rate derivatives. Pricing, portfolio management and risk management for fixed income instruments and derivatives on those will also be covered.

The main emphasis of the course is on the role of financial markets and institutions. The interplay between central bank and commercial banks is explored in relation to interest rate - and exchange rate determination. Furthermore, the connection between monetary and fiscal policy is mapped out, regarding both price and financial stability. The second emphasis of the course is on the role of the banking system in the economy and on the function of main asset markets. The main structural characteristics of Icelandic financial markets are described in comparison to foreign markets.

The purpose of the course is to teach students how to apply financial theory in practice. The course will present how to approach practical financial problems by using theory in the spreadsheet environment of Excel and in the coding environment of Visual Basic. Cornerstone financial models will be assessed using real world data. Upon completion of the course, students should be comfortable with pricing securities (bonds, stock, derivatives) and performing various types of risk evaluations. Topics covered include portfolio management and evaluation, assessment of equilibrium stock pricing models, option pricing (e.g. Monte Carlo), volatility predications (e.g. GARCH models), bond immunization strategies, term structure estimation, etc. In short, the purpose of the course is to help students learn how to use the tools necessary to use financial theory in a practical way which will benefit them in any finance or research related position.

The objective of the course is to afford the students an opportunity to apply the tools and theories of finance that they have studied in other courses (see the prerequisites), to complete assignments and define the conditions behind certain theories/models/methods, being used. Practical cases improve decision making skills, through confronting diverse and real cases. The goal of the assignments is not necessarily to work out one correct solution, as is common in both undergraduate and graduate assignments, but rather to recognize the underlying problem and use the appropriate financial tools and theories to deal with the problem. In fact, the cases are written in such a way that there is no one single correct solution. It is, however, possible to pose good or bad reasoning to support a solution. Thus it is important to be able to substantiate why a particular financial tool was selected as a solution to the problem.
Emphasis will be placed on students adopting the technical aspects of the subject matter, i.e. that they are able to present the problems under consideration clearly and comprehensively, and that they can use the appropriate calculations to solve them.

The goal of this course is to give students insight into diversity of quantitative and qualitative research methods and its application in organizational setting. Students will learn about data collection, analysis, and reporting methods, in line with defined research problem and research question. Critical thinking demanding assignments in this course will prepare students for analytical work in their professional path and their Master’s thesis research.

This course will provide a deep understanding of the complex topic of international finance. It will introduce the theory of international finance and key concepts with reference to current issues and potential policy actions. International finance is sometimes viewed as the funding side of international trade, but as financial deepening has continued with increased capital flows driven by foreign direct investment and speculative investment between countries it has become much more important to sustainable prosperity of countries. Currently flows of funds are multiple higher than flows of goods than services. The current inflation crisis which is accompanied by monetary tightening in most developed economies effects capital flows in many countries. Why is that? This effects exchange rates and may have important implications in countries where short term external funding is heavily used. Abrupt changes in financial flows may have detrimental effects on both economic and financial stability in vulnerable economies. This course will help you understand the interaction between financial flows and economic and financial stability. Understanding economic sustainability is also crucial for global investment decisions. Is it likely that the currency of a country will remain stable and that the external positions is sustainable to the extent that it will support viable and strong economic growth underpinning good returns on investments. 

This topic is particularly important for investors and policy makers in open economies like Iceland, where investment and policy decisions are heavily influenced by currency movements and capital flows.

The course will start with introductions of financial concepts important for the class. Then we will learn about national accounts and balance of payments. Foreign exchange rates and international financial markets will be next. Then we will turn to theory about long and short run interaction of monetary policy, interest rates, production and exchange rates. Last we will focus on capital flows, debt sustainability and international financial cycles. Emphasis will be on current issues, including the increased risk posed by monetary policy tightening in major economies. There is a large policy decision spillover from large economies to other countries, which is an inherent part of intergraded financial markets and amplifies economic fluctuations and increases financial stability risks. We will explore how these risks accumulate and potentially materialize. Also how can policies lean against the accumulation of these risks or what kind of reactions are possible when capital flow crisis hit.    

The topic of the master's thesis must be chosen after consulting the thesis advisor(s), who must be full-time faculty at the School of Business.

The thesis must equal 30 credits and coursework shall equal 60 credits. The thesis must be presented at a departmental seminar.The thesis must be submitted online no later than the specified dates before each graduation. Grades for a master's thesis are awarded by the thesis advisor(s) and an external examiner.

Please note! According to the rules of the University of Iceland, all MS theses must be open after they have been submitted to the University Library. If a student wishes for its MS thesis be closed for a certain period of time, after graduation, they need the approval of their supervisor and the dean of the department. Maximum closure is 5 years. It is preferable to apply for the authorization before writing the thesis.

Application for closing master's thesis.

The topic of the master's thesis must be chosen after consulting the thesis advisor(s), who must be full-time faculty at the School of Business.

The thesis must equal 30 credits and coursework shall equal 60 credits. The thesis must be presented at a departmental seminar.The thesis must be submitted online no later than the specified dates before each graduation. Grades for a master's thesis are awarded by the thesis advisor(s) and an external examiner.

Please note! According to the rules of the University of Iceland, all MS theses must be open after they have been submitted to the University Library. If a student wishes for its MS thesis be closed for a certain period of time, after graduation, they need the approval of their supervisor and the dean of the department. Maximum closure is 5 years. It is preferable to apply for the authorization before writing the thesis.

Application for closing master's thesis.

The topic of the master's thesis must be chosen after consulting the thesis advisor(s), who must be full-time faculty at the School of Business.

The thesis must equal 30 credits and coursework shall equal 60 credits. The thesis must be presented at a departmental seminar.The thesis must be submitted online no later than the specified dates before each graduation. Grades for a master's thesis are awarded by the thesis advisor(s) and an external examiner.

Please note! According to the rules of the University of Iceland, all MS theses must be open after they have been submitted to the University Library. If a student wishes for its MS thesis be closed for a certain period of time, after graduation, they need the approval of their supervisor and the dean of the department. Maximum closure is 5 years. It is preferable to apply for the authorization before writing the thesis.

Application for closing master's thesis.

The course will cover the main points of statistics and pricing in finance. Emphasis is placed on introducing students to the use of statistical and mathematical methods to analyze, price and obtain information about financial instruments. Emphasis is placed on real examples where students are trained to solve tasks similar to those they may have to solve in their jobs in the financial market.

In the statistical part of the course, ideas about continuous and sparse probability distributions, expected values, variance and standard deviation, confidence intervals, null hypotheses and linear regression analyses, both simple and multivariate, will be reviewed. The basic ideas of the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) will also be reviewed.

The pricing part of the course will deal with the pricing of futures contracts on shares, bonds and currency and interest rate swaps, the construction of interest rate curves, as well as the types and characteristics of options.

The course focuses on the nature and workings of international financial markets, in particular from the perspective of asset management. Topics covered include key theories on asset pricing and market efficiency, dynamic portfolio optimization, risk and return assessment, financial crises, behavioral finance, and ethical issues. The acquisition of technical expertise is emphasized; students should be able to systematically work on and apply the necessary formulas. In addition, emphasis is placed on students’ acquisition of solid understanding of the nature and workings of financial markets. The course is partly based on the BS course in Portfolio Management and students are expected to have completed this or a comparable course, or to familiarize themselves with the relevant material along with the material covered in this course.

This course is taught every other year. It will the taught in autumn 2024.

The course will cover the main points of statistics and pricing in finance. Emphasis is placed on introducing students to the use of numerical and mathematical methods to analyze, price and obtain information about financial instruments. Emphasis is placed on real examples where students are trained to solve tasks similar to those they may have to solve in the workplace.

The statistical part of the course will cover time series analysis. There, models such as auto regressive models (e. Auto regressive model, AR model) and models with moving averages (e. Moving-average model, MA model) will be introduced to play. Also the combination of ARMA, ARIMA and SARIMA models. Finally, conditional variance models or ARCH and GARCH models will be reviewed.

In the pricing section, we will cover binomial trees, Wiener processes, Ito's auxiliary theorem, the Black-Scoles-Merton model and the pricing of stock and currency options.

Select topics from the BS course Finance II, but more in depth. Topics include cost of capital, evaluation and selection of financing alternatives for the long term and the short term, alternatives for the dividend policy and capital structure, bond issues, stock issues, credit rating, mergers and acquisitions, and financial restructuring. Corporate finance is discussed from the viewpoint of both the Chief Financial Officer, who needs to master both the practical and theoretical aspects of the position, as well as that of investors and creditors, who need to assess the credit rating and going concern.

Course content: Corporate and investment valuation. Discussion of the content and analysis of financial statements in the context of valuation of companies and investments. Discussion of various methods for valuation, suitable for valuation of different companies such as operating companies, real estate companies, banks, insurance companies, etc.

In this course, the main types of fixed income instruments and interest rate derivatives will be covered. Emphasis will be placed on bonds in international context as well as the special features of the domestic bond market. Some of the issues covered will be: traditional, indexed-linked, callable and convertible bonds, credit and interest rate derivatives. Pricing, portfolio management and risk management for fixed income instruments and derivatives on those will also be covered.

The main emphasis of the course is on the role of financial markets and institutions. The interplay between central bank and commercial banks is explored in relation to interest rate - and exchange rate determination. Furthermore, the connection between monetary and fiscal policy is mapped out, regarding both price and financial stability. The second emphasis of the course is on the role of the banking system in the economy and on the function of main asset markets. The main structural characteristics of Icelandic financial markets are described in comparison to foreign markets.

The purpose of the course is to teach students how to apply financial theory in practice. The course will present how to approach practical financial problems by using theory in the spreadsheet environment of Excel and in the coding environment of Visual Basic. Cornerstone financial models will be assessed using real world data. Upon completion of the course, students should be comfortable with pricing securities (bonds, stock, derivatives) and performing various types of risk evaluations. Topics covered include portfolio management and evaluation, assessment of equilibrium stock pricing models, option pricing (e.g. Monte Carlo), volatility predications (e.g. GARCH models), bond immunization strategies, term structure estimation, etc. In short, the purpose of the course is to help students learn how to use the tools necessary to use financial theory in a practical way which will benefit them in any finance or research related position.

The objective of the course is to afford the students an opportunity to apply the tools and theories of finance that they have studied in other courses (see the prerequisites), to complete assignments and define the conditions behind certain theories/models/methods, being used. Practical cases improve decision making skills, through confronting diverse and real cases. The goal of the assignments is not necessarily to work out one correct solution, as is common in both undergraduate and graduate assignments, but rather to recognize the underlying problem and use the appropriate financial tools and theories to deal with the problem. In fact, the cases are written in such a way that there is no one single correct solution. It is, however, possible to pose good or bad reasoning to support a solution. Thus it is important to be able to substantiate why a particular financial tool was selected as a solution to the problem.
Emphasis will be placed on students adopting the technical aspects of the subject matter, i.e. that they are able to present the problems under consideration clearly and comprehensively, and that they can use the appropriate calculations to solve them.

The goal of this course is to give students insight into diversity of quantitative and qualitative research methods and its application in organizational setting. Students will learn about data collection, analysis, and reporting methods, in line with defined research problem and research question. Critical thinking demanding assignments in this course will prepare students for analytical work in their professional path and their Master’s thesis research.

This course will provide a deep understanding of the complex topic of international finance. It will introduce the theory of international finance and key concepts with reference to current issues and potential policy actions. International finance is sometimes viewed as the funding side of international trade, but as financial deepening has continued with increased capital flows driven by foreign direct investment and speculative investment between countries it has become much more important to sustainable prosperity of countries. Currently flows of funds are multiple higher than flows of goods than services. The current inflation crisis which is accompanied by monetary tightening in most developed economies effects capital flows in many countries. Why is that? This effects exchange rates and may have important implications in countries where short term external funding is heavily used. Abrupt changes in financial flows may have detrimental effects on both economic and financial stability in vulnerable economies. This course will help you understand the interaction between financial flows and economic and financial stability. Understanding economic sustainability is also crucial for global investment decisions. Is it likely that the currency of a country will remain stable and that the external positions is sustainable to the extent that it will support viable and strong economic growth underpinning good returns on investments. 

This topic is particularly important for investors and policy makers in open economies like Iceland, where investment and policy decisions are heavily influenced by currency movements and capital flows.

The course will start with introductions of financial concepts important for the class. Then we will learn about national accounts and balance of payments. Foreign exchange rates and international financial markets will be next. Then we will turn to theory about long and short run interaction of monetary policy, interest rates, production and exchange rates. Last we will focus on capital flows, debt sustainability and international financial cycles. Emphasis will be on current issues, including the increased risk posed by monetary policy tightening in major economies. There is a large policy decision spillover from large economies to other countries, which is an inherent part of intergraded financial markets and amplifies economic fluctuations and increases financial stability risks. We will explore how these risks accumulate and potentially materialize. Also how can policies lean against the accumulation of these risks or what kind of reactions are possible when capital flow crisis hit.    

The topic of the master's thesis must be chosen after consulting the thesis advisor(s), who must be full-time faculty at the School of Business.

The thesis must equal 30 credits and coursework shall equal 60 credits. The thesis must be presented at a departmental seminar.The thesis must be submitted online no later than the specified dates before each graduation. Grades for a master's thesis are awarded by the thesis advisor(s) and an external examiner.

Please note! According to the rules of the University of Iceland, all MS theses must be open after they have been submitted to the University Library. If a student wishes for its MS thesis be closed for a certain period of time, after graduation, they need the approval of their supervisor and the dean of the department. Maximum closure is 5 years. It is preferable to apply for the authorization before writing the thesis.

Application for closing master's thesis.

The topic of the master's thesis must be chosen after consulting the thesis advisor(s), who must be full-time faculty at the School of Business.

The thesis must equal 30 credits and coursework shall equal 60 credits. The thesis must be presented at a departmental seminar.The thesis must be submitted online no later than the specified dates before each graduation. Grades for a master's thesis are awarded by the thesis advisor(s) and an external examiner.

Please note! According to the rules of the University of Iceland, all MS theses must be open after they have been submitted to the University Library. If a student wishes for its MS thesis be closed for a certain period of time, after graduation, they need the approval of their supervisor and the dean of the department. Maximum closure is 5 years. It is preferable to apply for the authorization before writing the thesis.

Application for closing master's thesis.

The topic of the master's thesis must be chosen after consulting the thesis advisor(s), who must be full-time faculty at the School of Business.

The thesis must equal 30 credits and coursework shall equal 60 credits. The thesis must be presented at a departmental seminar.The thesis must be submitted online no later than the specified dates before each graduation. Grades for a master's thesis are awarded by the thesis advisor(s) and an external examiner.

Please note! According to the rules of the University of Iceland, all MS theses must be open after they have been submitted to the University Library. If a student wishes for its MS thesis be closed for a certain period of time, after graduation, they need the approval of their supervisor and the dean of the department. Maximum closure is 5 years. It is preferable to apply for the authorization before writing the thesis.

Application for closing master's thesis.