Bachelor of Commerce Honours in FINANCIAL ANALYSIS AND PORTFOLIO
MANAGEMENT [CH022ECO09-January Intake] [CH023ECO09- June Intake]
Programme outline:
The Honours programme aims to prepare students to participate as highly competent professionals in the financial sector of the economy. To this purpose the programme is comprised of a range of modules which include studies in economic principles of finance‚ analysis and interpretation of financial statements‚ statistical methods in finance‚ equity valuation‚ futures and derivatives‚ fixed income securities‚ portfolio management and securities legislation.
The programme is structured such that the graduate should be able to analyse financial situations at an executive level; to manage financial portfolios; to utilise advanced quantitative methods to make financial decisions based on financial forecasts; and to interact between different professions to form financial strategies.
Duration: This is a 12 to 18- month programme with intakes in January and June.
Prescribed curriculum/ structure: The curriculum consists of eight courses (14 NQF credits each) and an Honours research report (30 NQF credits). A total of 142 credits must be obtained. Each course is modularised for 4-6 weeks, with classes presented after hours. The Honours research report (ECO4106F/ECO4106Z) is restricted to between 8,000 and 10,000 words and is generally commenced once the coursework has been completed. Exemption from this requirement to enable students to complete the programme requirements within 12 months is at the discretion of the convener.
All courses listed below are compulsory.
ECO4105Z/ECO4125Z Economics
ECO4104Z/ ECO4124Z Financial
Modelling and Statistics Module
ECO4109Z/ ECO4129Z Accounting for Portfolio Managers
ECO4108Z/ ECO4128Z Futures Options Derivatives
ECO4102Z/ ECO4122Z Portfolio Optimisation
ECO4103Z/ ECO4123Z Fixed Income Security Analysis
ECO4101Z/ ECO4121Z Corporate Finance and Equity Valuation
ECO4100Z/ ECO4120Z Security
Legislation
ECO4106Z/ECO4126F Honours Long Essay
Assessment:
To qualify for the Honours degree, students must attain at least 50% for each course.
Readmission rules:
Students are allowed to re-register once for a maximum of 2 courses. Students who fail to meet the re-admission requirements will be deregistered from the programme. Students that receive a subminimum of 40% for the Honours research report will be allowed to revise and resubmit their report for re-examination within 4 weeks of receipt of their grade. The revised research report will be eligible for a maximum grade of 50%. No supplementary examinations are awarded. Students with a deferred examination will be required to write the first available deferred examination offered. These deferred examinations will generally be offered in the subsequent semester. Deferred examinations for the courses of the January intake will be offered in January/February the following year. Students failing to write the first available deferred exam will be classified as AB for that exam.
Enrolment in the programme may not be extended beyond 2 years.
Distinction Rule: The degree may be awarded in “the first class” if a student has an overall average of at least 75% at first attempt, and if the candidate obtains not less than 70% for both the coursework component and the Honours research report.
Entrance requirements:
A minimum requirement to be considered for admission is a bachelor’s degree from a recognized university with an average of at least 60% in the major subjects. Students must have completed at least a first-year semester (18 credits) course in each of statistics (STA1000 or equivalent) and mathematics (MAM1010 or equivalent) with a final grade of at least 60% for each course.
Applicants who have completed more advanced courses in mathematics or statistics may be exempted from this requirement at the discretion of the convener. Applicants who do not meet these entry requirements may be considered for admission at the discretion of the convener and the Head of Department. In all such cases, applicants will need to demonstrate appropriate numerical ability.
For more Information: CommercePG
Handbook 2018
Last updated : 29 May 2019