Online Investment Analysis Graduate Certificate

Quicklinks: Curriculum • Faculty • Tuition & Financial Aid • Careers

Designed for professionals already working in, or seeking positions in, investment research, risk management, security selection, and portfolio management, the online Graduate Certificate in Investment Analysis at Boston University’s Metropolitan College provides in-depth knowledge of investment strategies, asset valuation, and investment management. Graduates of the program will be prepared to excel at a variety of careers in finance involving analysis and valuation of financial assets as well as risk management.

Students will study the overall investment process as well as the key elements involved, such as asset allocation and security selection. They will obtain basic understanding of debt, equity, and derivatives securities such as options and futures contracts. Students will also learn about services provided by mutual funds and be able to construct portfolios with different risk levels.

The certificate in Investment Analysis provides students with an in-depth understanding of systematic and firm-specific risks, and how to reduce firm-specific risk by combining different securities in a portfolio. Additionally, students will study the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) concept; be able to calculate bond prices, accrued interest, promised yields, and realized yields; and understand active bond portfolio management. Moreover, students will learn how to value a firm using constant growth or multistage dividend discount models, financial statements, and financial ratio analysis.

Students who complete the Graduate Certificate in Investment Analysis will be able to demonstrate:

Understanding of the overall investment process and the key elements involved in the investment process, such as asset allocation and security selection.
Basic understanding of debt, equity, and derivatives securities.
Basic understanding of options and futures contracts.
Basic understanding of the services provided by mutual funds, and the ability to identify sources of information on investment companies.
The ability to construct portfolios of different risk levels, given information about risk free rates and returns on risky assets.
Full understanding of systematic and firm-specific risk, and how one can reduce the amount of firm-specific risk in the portfolio by combining securities with differing patterns of returns.
Insight on the concept and usage of the capital asset pricing model (CAPM).
Experience with the calculation of bond prices including accrued interest, promised yields, and realized yields.
Competence with active bond portfolio management.
Basic understanding of some of the macroeconomic factors that affect security prices.
Familiarity with the roles of fiscal and monetary policy in influencing interest rates and security prices.
The ability to value a firm using either a constant growth or multistage dividend discount model and the price/earnings ratio model; the ability to analyze a firm using the basic financial statements to perform ratio analysis.
The skills to calculate potential profits resulting from various option trading strategies and to formulate portfolio management strategies to modify the risk-return attributes of the portfolio; the skills to calculate option prices in a two-state world (via a simplified binomial model).
Comprehension of market timing, timing performance measures, and the problems that timing causes in performance measurement.

Why Choose BU’s Graduate Certificate in Investment Analysis?

Boston University certificate programs comprise just four courses (16 credits) and provide essential skills and capabilities in high-growth industry areas. Certificate programs also provide a pathway to Metropolitan College management degree programs.
The Investment Analysis certificate is excellent preparation for the internationally recognized Chartered Financial Analyst^® (CFA) Program exams, and shares courses with MET’s MS in Financial Management, which is part of the CFA Institute University Affiliation Program.
The Investment Analysis certificate program offers the flexibility of online, on-campus, or blended study formats, ensuring that students can earn their credential the way that suits them the best.
Learning from expert faculty from MET’s Department of Administrative Sciences, students will gain the insights, critical thinking, and analytical skills needed to solve problems in today’s changing business landscape.
Online certificate programs share courses and instructors with MET’s master’s degree programs in management, ranked #6 among the nation’s Best Online Master's in Business Programs (Excluding MBA) by U.S. News & World Report in 2024.

*Chartered Financial Analyst is a registered trademark owned by CFA Institute.

Career Outlook

Financial Managers

16% increase in jobs through 2032

$156,100 median annual pay in 2023

Economists

6% increase in jobs through 2032

$115,730 median annual pay in 2023

Financial Analysts

8% increase in jobs through 2032

$99,890 median annual pay in 2023

Financial Examiners

20% increase in jobs through 2032

$84,300 median annual pay in 2023

Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents

7% increase in jobs through 2032

$76,900 median annual pay in 2023

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook (visited July 29, 2024)

Tuition & Financial Assistance

Money Matters

Boston University Metropolitan College (MET) offers competitive tuition rates that meet the needs of part-time students seeking an affordable education. These rates are substantially lower than those of the traditional, full-time residential programs yet provide access to the same high-quality BU education. To learn more about current tuition rates, visit the MET website.

Financial Assistance

Comprehensive financial assistance services are available at MET, including scholarships, graduate loans, and payment plans. There is no cost to apply for financial assistance, and you may qualify for a student loan regardless of your income. Learn more.

How Much Does This Program Cost?To learn more about the cost of this program, visit the MET website for a detailed breakdown of tuition and fees.

Curriculum

Boston University’s online Graduate Certificate in Investment Analysis consists of four required courses (16 credits).

Courses

(Four courses/16 credits)

METAD713 Derivative Securities and Markets

Undergraduate Prerequisites: MET AD 630, MET AD 731 - Prereq: MET AD630, MET AD731
Provides an overview of operation, mechanics, and structure of the derivative markets and covers in-depth quantitative valuation of derivative instruments, such as options, futures, and swaps. The course involves risk analysis including risk arbitrage, and risk management. Emphasizes the theory and practice of derivatives-based trading strategies including hedging opportunities for risk mitigation. [4 credits]

METAD717 Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management

Undergraduate Prerequisites: MET AD 731 - Prereq AD 630, AD731
This course develops a framework for understanding the various types of financial decision making faced by financial managers and provides students with analytical tools for evaluating portfolio construction and management problems in a systematic manner. Includes analysis and determination of securities values. Problems of investment policy are approached through studies of portfolio selection methods and the valuation of special classes of securities. It offers quantitative strategies for portfolio diversification and risk management. [4 credits]

METAD719 Fixed Income Analysis

Prereq: MET AD 630, MET AD 731
This course covers the nature and analysis of fixed income securities and an in-depth examination of some of the particular features of some major classes of fixed income instruments, valuation, sensitivity to risks, and management of fixed income portfolios. [4 credits]

Plus one of the following:

METAD528 Blockchain Finance

Cryptocurrencies and the underlying distributed ledger technology (blockchain), have exploded into public consciousness over the last few years, with many industry practitioners arguing that the blockchain technology has the potential to disrupt business and financial services in the way the Internet disrupted off-line commerce. This course covers digital currencies, blockchains, and related topics in the FinTech area using the analytical tools provided by economics, investments and corporate finance. [4 credits]

METAD561 Financial Analytics

This course presents financial algorithms used in applications of computer science in financial decision analysis, risk management, data mining and market analysis, and other modern business processes. The course covers theoretical background on probabilistic methods used for financial decision making and their application in number of fields such as financial modeling, venture capital decision making, operational risk measurement and investment science. Number of financial applications and algorithms are being presented for portfolio risk analysis, modeling real options, venture capital decision making, etc. The course concludes with algorithms for financial risk assessment and presents the security concepts and challenges of financial information systems. [4 credits]

METAD580 Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Investments

Prerequisites: MET AD 717 or consent of instructor.- A comprehensive investments course introducing important aspects of investing, including environmental, social, and governance issues, and their role in corporate risk management, financial markets, and investments, presented from the viewpoint of market participants and corporate leadership. The course incorporates the mechanics of investing sustainably, with long-term planning on a micro and macro level. Topics will include an introduction and understanding of the ESG market, defining the environmental, social, and governance factors important for investment decision-making, and the importance of corporate engagement and stewardship. The course will also cover ESG analysis, valuation, and integration in portfolio management. [4 credits]

METAD581 Energy Transition: Markets and Regulation

The goal of the course is to give the student a clear, practical understanding of significant pieces of the energy "puzzle" as a guide to understanding how energy is produced and consumed -- as market forces dictate - both in the United States and abroad. Students considering this course can have various backgrounds/knowledge of energy, but most importantly, an interest in understanding the transitions needed to achieve climate-related goals. The student will be challenged to explore energy transition opportunities and decarbonization's imperative through finance, policy, markets, and regulation. [4 credits]

METAD587 Interdisciplinary Methods for Quantitative Finance

This course expands upon the foundations of finance theory with interdisciplinary approaches from statistical physics and machine learning. The course equips the students with the Python tools to tackle a broad range of problems in quantitative financial analysis and combines the study of relevant financial concepts with computational implementations. Students will learn to use packages like Numpy, Pandas, Statsmodels and Scikit, which are commonly used in research and in the industry. Prerequisites: MET AD 685 or PY 355 or equivalent or consent by the instructor. [4 credits]

METAD709 Case Studies in Current Corporate Financial Topics

Undergraduate Prerequisites: MET AD 630, MET AD 731 - Prereq: MET AD630, MET AD731
This course involves utilizing analytical methods for financial forecasting, cost of capital calculation, rate of return analysis, use of derivatives instruments, business growth management, discounted cash flow analysis, corporate valuation, mergers & acquisitions, and evaluation of bankruptcy proceedings. [4 credits]

METAD712 Financial Markets and Institutions

Prereq: MET AD630, MET AD731
Investigation and analysis of organization, structure, and performance of U.S. money and capital markets, and institutions. Examines regulation of the financial industry and the role of financial instruments. [4 credits]

METAD714 Mergers and Acquisitions

Prereq: MET AD630, MET AD731
This course examines the corporate valuation process by which takeovers and other corporate control transactions take place. It includes financial forecasting, based on expectation models, scenario analysis, and due diligence. Of particular interest will be the defensive measures by management against hostile bids, buyout transactions, the relation of takeovers to capital structure changes, and the insider trading in takeover contests. [4 credits]

METAD763 Multinational Finance and Trade

Graduate Prerequisites: (METAD731) - Prereqs: AD 630, AD731
Applies the concepts of corporate finance and risk mitigation to the problems of multinational financial management. Major topics include foreign exchange risk, and construction of hedging strategies using derivative instruments such as forwards, futures, and swaps to reduce multinational corporate risk. Addresses international financial flows and their impact on foreign exchange rates, capital flows, speculation, analysis of alternative foreign investments, analysis of sources and uses of corporate funds abroad, multinational tax and profit. [4 credits]

Admission Information

Faculty

Irena Vodenska

Professor of Finance; Director, Finance Programs; Chair, Administrative Sciences
PhD, Boston University; MBA, Vanderbilt University; MS, BS, University of Belgrade

Jim Stodder

Visiting Professor of the Practice, Administrative Sciences
PhD, Yale University; MSc, University of Essex; BA, Yale University

Ivan Julio

Assistant Professor, Administrative Sciences
PhD, University of New Orleans; MSc, Arizona State University; Licentiate in Economics, National University of Córdoba

San Chee

Assistant Professor, Administrative Sciences
MS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; MS, Boston University

Alexander Becker

Assistant Professor, Administrative Sciences
Coordinator, Finance Programs
PhD, Boston University; Diplom-Physiker, University of Duisburg-Essen

Getting Started

To learn more or to contact an enrollment advisor before you get started, request information using the button below and tell us a little about yourself. Someone will be in touch to answer any questions you may have about the program and detail the next steps in earning your degree. You can also start your application or register for a course at Metropolitan College.

Request Information Have a Metropolitan College enrollment advisor get in touch with you.

Online Investment Analysis Graduate Certificate

Program at a Glance

Why Choose BU’s Graduate Certificate in Investment Analysis?