CIRM CURRICULUM
Knowledge Through Experience
The CIRM curriculum recognizes that world events and the demands of everyday practice often defeat theoretical discussions and controlled experiments. Our distinctive program accepts the challenge of exposing capital to investment risk realizing that few, if any, methodologies trump "hands-on" experience when it comes to internalizing the disparate functions critical to managing financial assets.
Offered as a three-course sequence, CIRM’s curriculum is open to MBA and MSF candidates. Students are organized into teams that function as investment advisory firms competing to manage "live-money" portfolios.
- Phase I provides students with a practical understanding of the investment management business. Topics include investment research theory and methods, portfolio management strategies, financial accounting software, trading and settlement procedures, ethics, sales and marketing, and regulatory compliance. Students will participate in several field trips to money management firms, trading floors, and custody providers.
- During Phase II, teams prepare investment proposals aimed at earning the opportunity to manage "real" money. An extensive guest lecture series from noted investment professionals and an in depth analysis of the existing CIRM portfolios round out the classroom instructions.CIRM’s Board Of Advisors awards investment mandates to those teams demonstrating superior competency.
- Selected teams implement and account for their respective investment programs during Phase III. Students gain practical experience by responding to actual client requirements, generating financial statements and communications that keep CIRM’s Board Of Advisors abreast of performance.
The Center For Investment Research And Management Awards are bestowed on the teams that are awarded management mandates during Phase II.