General Information
Promotional Video
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Instructor Bio
Fotini Tolias is an Associate Professor, Teaching Stream at Rotman and former Academic Director for the Master of Finance program. Prior to joining the Rotman School of Management, Fotini had a career in financial services, with a focus on debt. She spent over 10 years working in corporate bond origination, on the fixed income trading floor for several large global investment banks. Her mandate focused on meeting the fixed income requirements of both corporate issuers and institutional investors. She also did significant Mergers & Acquisition advisory work including corporate reorganizations and take-out financings.
Target Audience
The course is designed for students who are interested in pursuing careers in finance where bonds or loans are used as a source of capital. This would apply to corporate finance, treasury, equity research or capital markets positions where it is important to understand the fixed income market. The course is also useful for students wishing to gain a deeper understanding of fixed income generally. Key features of this course include the pricing and structuring of debt, understanding the key legal documents that may be involved (corporate), macroeconomic factors that impact the overall interest rate environment and the shape of the yield curve.
Format
Daily sessions from May 5th to May 15th, 2025. Schedule is available from the RO.
Course Mission
The objective of this capital markets course is to link bond theory with market practice using traditional educational cases and current, real-world examples. By the end of the course, students should understand current fixed income markets and issues, how to structure transactions and the relative value of securities across the credit spectrum.
Course Scope
This course describes important fixed income securities and markets. The course will provide an overview of traditional bond and term structure concepts and review bond structures relevant to the different sectors of the fixed income market. The material may be supplemented with guest speakers from the industry.
Evaluation and Grade Breakdown
*Subject to change.
| Component | Weight |
|---|---|
| Individual class participation | 5-10% |
| Group participation exercises in the trading lab – (hands-on real-world problem/case to solve) | 15-20% |
| Mid-Term Exam | 15-20% |
| Group Assignment | 10-15% |
| Final Exam (May 15, 2025) | 35-40% |
Required Resources
A course pack from Harvard Business Publishing containing Notes (supportive of class material and concepts) and Cases. There is no required textbook for this course.