MFIN 8813 Fundamentals of Wealth Management

The course is a rigorous introduction to the practice of managing portfolios for private wealth clients. An emphasis is put on the difference between theoretical assumptions and real-life constraints in managing portfolios for individual and institutional (endowments, foundations, pensions) funds. The course discusses various sources of investment returns, beyond traditional stock/bond allocations. The course will review the due diligence and selection process that is used to hire third party managers for portions of the portfolio. This will be connected with the process of performance evaluation. The course will also cover topics that are outside the mechanics of portfolio management, but are central to private wealth management. These include tax management, retirement planning, education planning, insurance planning and estate planning.