Math 498:  Independent Study – Financial Mathematics – Spring 2012

 

INSTRUCTOR:  Dr. Christopher Swanson                  Office Phone:  419-289-5264      Office:  209 Patterson & Clayton 103

                        E-mail:  cswanson@ashland.edu             Home Phone:  SEE FIRST DAY HANDOUT BEFORE 10pm

                        Web Page:  http://personal.ashland.edu/~cswanson/                                 Fax:  419-289-5791

 

OFFICE HOURS:      Mon. 11-12 (Clayton), 3-4 (Patterson); Tues. 2-3 (Patterson); 

Wed. 10-11 (Clayton), 1-2 (Patterson); Thurs. 4-5 (Clayton); Fri. 3-4, 4-5 (Patterson)

                                    OR by appointment OR almost any other time I am in my office.

 

CLASSES:      Mon., Wed., Fri. 2:00 p.m.-2:50 p.m. in Patterson 301 (as needed).  Classes will meet to watch lessons from the ACTEX Exam FM Review Seminar by London and Mocciolo and to work on problems           from the study manual.  As this course is an Independent Study, the students will determine how often we should meet.

 

TEXT:             ACTEX Study Manual SOA Exam FM  (2011 Edition) by Hassett, Ratliff, Steeby and Garcia.  ACTEX Publications, 2011.

 

OPTIONAL TEXT:  Derivatives Markets (2nd Edition) by McDonald, R.L.  Addison Wesley, 2006.

 

TECHNOLOGY:  Students must have an approved calculator for SOA Exam FM.  Students having the TI BA II Plus calculator  may have an advantage in the course for this is the calculator that Dr. Swanson owns and with which he is most familiar.  If you plan to use a different calculator, make sure you have an owner’s manual that explains how to use its financial functions.

 

HOMEWORK:  There will be weekly homework problems due every Friday by 5pm unless stated otherwise.

You may discuss the problems on the homework sets with other members of the class, but you should write up your solutions independently, and you should mention any classmates with whom you work.  Failure to do this will result in points being deducted from the assignment.  The homework set should be legible, written in correct English (including complete sentences when appropriate), and stapled.  Late homework will be accepted with a penalty of 10% of the point value of the assignment per weekday it is late. 

 

EXAMS:  All missed exams will be given a grade of “0” unless PRIOR arrangements are made, and you have a legitimate reason for missing class.  Personal travel plans will never be considered a legitimate reason for missing an exam.  You will be able to use calculators on the exams.  All exams will be multiple choice so that they are similar in style to the actual SOA Exam FM.

 

GRADING:     Midterm Exam  15%                 Comprehensive Final Exam        25%

                        Homework        60%

 

Scaled course %                       Grade               Scaled course %                       Grade

93 to 100                                      A                  73 to 77                                       C

90 to 93                                       A-                 70 to 73                                       C-

87 to 90                                       B+                 67 to 70                                       D+

83 to 87                                       B                   63 to 67                                       D

80 to 83                                       B-                 60 to 63                                       D-

77 to 80                                       C+                 below 60                                      F

 

Math 498:  Independent Study – Financial Mathematics – Spring 2012

 

The course will cover material from ACTEX Study Manual SOA Exam FM  (2010 Edition) by Hassett, Ratliff, Steeby and Garcia.  We will observe the following schedule as closely as possible:

 

Dates              Text Modules                        

 

1/9-1/13           Module 1:  Interest Rates and Time Value of Money

 

1/18, 1/20        Module 2:  Annuities

 

1/23-1/27         Module 2:  Annuities

 

1/30-2/3           Module 3:  Loan Repayment

                        February 2nd is deadline to register for March 2012 Exam P

 

2/6-2/10           Module 4:  Bonds                                            

 

2/13-2/17         Module 5:  Yield Rate of an Investment

Module 6:  Term Structure of Interest Rates

 

2/20-2/24         Module 7:  Asset Liability Management, Duration and Immunization                                                                  

2/27-3/2           Module 8:  Review of Derivatives Markets, Chapter 1                                               

                        MIDTERM EXAM ON WEDNESDAY, 3/2                                     

 

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3/12-3/16         Module 9:  Review of Derivatives Markets, Chapter 2                                               

                       

3/19-3/23         Module 10:  Review of Derivatives Markets, Chapter 3

 

3/26-3/30         Module 11:  Review of Derivatives Markets, Chapter 4                                 

                        March 29th is deadline to register for May 2012 Exam P

 

4/2, 4/4            Module 12:  Review of Derivatives Markets, Chapter 5                                             

                       

4/9, 4/11          Module 13:  Review of Derivatives Markets, Chapter 7

                        Module 14:  Review of Derivatives Markets, Chapter 8                     

 

4/16-4/20         Module 15:  Supplemental Material on Currency Forward Contracts                            

                        Take Practice FM Exams

 

4/23-4/27         Take Practice FM Exams                                

                        April 23rd is deadline to register for June 2012 Exam FM

 

COMPREHENSIVE FINAL EXAM IS 4:00 p.m. TO 6:00 p.m., TUESDAY, MAY 1st