Alternative Investments
Program:
First Offered:
Typical Enrollment:
Credits:
Type:
Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Finance
Fall Term 2017
~25
3
Elective
The course is an introduction to alternative assets and -investments. Broadly structured into three parts focusing on Venture Capital, Private Equity and Hedge Funds, it covers the most important individual alternative asset categories and investment strategies. Besides receiving a general introduction to the industry as well as its players and economics, students are exposed to a variety of technical concepts used in the alternative asset industry used for performance- and risk measurement or valuation. Wherever applicable, it incorporates material from the CAIA curriculum.
Selection of Covered Topics
Alternative Asset Markets
- Markets, Players and Economics
Venture Capital & Startup Investing
- Startup Economics, Venture Valuation
Private Equity Markets
- LBOs PE Real Estate, PE Fund Economics
Fund Performance Measurement
- NAVs, PMEs, IRRs, Fund Multiples etc.
Hedge Funds Trading Strategies
- Event, Macro, FI, Relative Value, Activism etc.
Hedge Fund Risk & Return Management
- Downside Volatility, Treynor & Sortino Ratios, VaR etc.
Textbook(s):
'Private Equity as an Asset Class'
By Fraser Sampson. Wiley.
​
'Handbook of Hedge Funds'
By L'Habitant. Wiley.

Excel
Modeling
Course
Simple Exercises in MS Excel, specifically for VC & PE (Fund) Valuation and Hedge Fund Return and Risk Measurement
Description of Sample Slides
Lecture:
Subchapter:
​
Class 2: Introduction to Alternatives
Subchapter: Investors and the Need for Alpha
​
This sample lecture is a general introduction into alternative investments. Besides a market overview, the chapter uses the example of four major institutional investors (ADIA, Yale Endowment, Blackrock and CalPERS) and their multi-asset portfolio models to introduce the economics in alternative asset markets.
​
A particular emphasis is placed on active- and absolute return investment approaches and on the inability of a '60/40' stock and bond portfolio to satisfy the risk- and return- needs of the institutional investors.
See Sample Slides Below




Click to Enlarge
This course contains multiple original findings, data sets and support material from my research.
​
For the Venture Capital part I use:
-
Original Certificates of Incorporation (CoIs) containing the contractual rules between VC investors and startups
​
For the Private Equity part I use:
-
Original case studies on LBOs, using detailed information on all restructuring activities, cash in- and outflows, and legal documents collected across different research projects of mine
-
Limited Partnership Agreements (LPAs) to exemplify Limited Partnership structures and the dynamics between GPs and LPs in private equity, as e.g. compensation structures
For the Hedge Fund part I use:
-
Original research regarding hedge fund activism strategies, particularly bondholder activism
​
The original documents are used to familiarize students with industry standards and practice, while the data points and findings are used to complement textbook knowledge and add (empirical) depth to anecdotal evidence and case studies.
See Sample Slides Below




Click to Enlarge
The slides are part of a subchapter of Class 6 (Private Equity Economics) and contain the in-depth LBO case study on the Warner Music LBO by Thomas H. Lee, Bain Capital and Providence Equity Partners. All case information originates from my research.