FIN 3150
Capital Markets & Financial Management
Students will learn how the decisions of a company affect shareholder value and what decisions can increase it. To understand the perspectives of shareholders, we will study basic principles of investing: time value of money, valuation of debt and equity securities, discounted cash flow as a foundation for stock prices, the impact of diversification and leverage on portfolio risk, the relationship between risk and expected return in securities markets, and capital market efficiency. We will use these principles to analyze capital investment decisions by estimating cash flows and discounting them at the appropriate cost of capital. We will also study how shareholder value is affected by a firm's financing decisions, such as the choice of using debt or equity capital.
Instructors
Brett Green, Brittany Lewis, Charles Cuny, Deniz Aydin, Dominique Green, Grant Clayton, Isaac Kleshchelski, Jennifer Dlugosz, Jialan Wang, Jian Cai, Koray Sayili, Lubomir (lubo) Litov, Todd Gormley, Todd Milbourn
Reviews
Prof. Sayili is awesome. Super kind and is really invested in his students success. The class isn't too difficult as long as you keep up. He's also extremely accessible outside class and exams are relatively straight forward. Will move deadlines if need be to accommodate. He's been my fav prof at WashU and I'd highly recommend for any FIN course
4/30/2026
Do you know what "Shi" is? If you don't know, take his class. I never saw a rude and sarcastic professor like him before. He is just like trying to imitate the style of classes from Ivy school, but he is a poor and unskilled imitator. He has a high-level educational history, HOWEVER, THAT DOES NOT MEAN HE ALSO HAVE A HIGH-LEVEL TEACHING SKILL.
2/1/2026
Great at lecturing and explains things well. His exams can be difficult but he wants you to succeed in the class and learn. If you do bad on first 2 exams, the final will replace BOTH exams. 1 group project but he splits work up into small assignments. He has a good grading system and I thought I was cooked after the 1st exam but he was helpful.
12/28/2025
Prof. Clayton is incredible! I never thought finance could be made interesting, but he cuts through the monotony well and explains not only the economic theory behind finance but also its very behavioral implications. Fascinating (finance) content led by a very kind, engaging lecturer.
12/4/2025
She's not a bad professor but the lectures do feel a bit awkward and robotic. The material she covered was a little confusing but its easy to understand with some outside of class studying and googling. Doesn't really answer questions in a clear or concise matter. If you're confused you're better off utilizing online resources.
11/11/2025
Gives good lectures and is very nice. Answers questions very well and really cares about students understanding topics and doing well on the class/exams.
10/16/2025
Highly recommend Clayton! He is a really sweet professor and teaches material well. Projects aren't too bad when divided between 3-4 people. Lowkey slacked on the first exam so don't do that. Managed to still get an A from the second one. Lectures can be a bit boring, but that's just the material. Exam schedule is flexible too!
6/5/2025
One midterm (easier) and one final (harder) - both are MCQ. Exams are open book and you can use Excel. Group assignments are tricky but he helps a lot if you go to his office hours (and he holds plenty). His slides are well organized. He is understanding if you have an excuse not to attend. Overall good course and a good prof but not an easy A one.
5/18/2025
You really don't know your grade in the class until the very end since it's curved. The final was pretty difficult and your grade is heavily based on the group assignments (which can be time-consuming), the midterm, and the final. The exams are all MCQs.
5/17/2025
What you learn depends on the effort you put in. Midterm was a remote canvas quiz and final was in-person on canvas. Assignments and exams can unexpectedly be difficult. No partial credit on exams due to MCQ format. Attendance is taken randomly. Make sure to get a solid group for group assignments as it's 30% of your grade.
5/14/2025
One of the best professors I've had so far. The lectures were very clear (also recorded), notes were helpful, group projects felt actually relevant and had very clear guidelines that made them easy to do well on, and the exams were not too bad. Great guy and I hope I can take another class with him in the future.
4/30/2025
2-4 hrs/week
This course is definitely difficult but not impossible. I would pay particular attention to Greens lectures although they’re a little less engaging since he teaches stuff that is more applicable to the exams, whereas Aydin just rambles. The homework’s are easy, the cases are also pretty easy if you have a good group, and exams are difficult. Definitely read the textbook along with practice exams as you need a lot of intuition behind the concepts to be able to apply it on the exams. The final was a lot easier than the two other exams individually.
12/27/2024
4-6 hrs/week
Loved Aydin's lectures although not very applicable. Green just doesn't teach very well. Def just grind through practice tests and use the textbook, or else you'll have a hard time on exams
6/29/2024
2 or less hrs/week
Clayton is a really good professor but the class itself is pretty boring. Easy if you have a strong math background.
6/18/2024
2-4 hrs/week
This is def harder than Sayili, if you can wait till spring to take this class, I would honestly recommend that. Cases are fine, exams were on the harder side. There's weekly online homework that is often long and difficult, but most answered are online.
5/22/2024
2 or less hrs/week
Both (or at least 1) of the tests will be online which is nice. The professor is very passionate and incredibly available. A good class.
5/21/2024
2 or less hrs/week
Both the midterm and final is online, and there are like 3 homework assignments. The tests are pretty hard though, so even though its online you've got to study, but its essentially open everything. The professor cares a lot about you doing well and has plenty of office hours and explains the concepts well.
5/18/2024
Clayton is probably the best professor I've had in Olin. He cares so much about his students and will try to help with anything he can. His lectures can get a bit boring (considering it's a finance class) but he's such a nice guy. He gives lots of handicaps for tests and projects and will try his best to accommodate if something happens.
4/28/2024
One of the best professors I've had at WashU. Extremely caring and kind to his students (and thus not a power-trippy, cold-calling prof like some I've had). Provides ample prep material leading up to exams, and the projects he assigns build real-world skills yet are made easy to follow and complete. Absolutely amazing professor.
4/26/2024
Grant is one of the best professors I have ever had! He is a great teacher, and he cares so much about the students performance and will help above and beyond. Truly a perfect professor. Take Fin 340 with him!
4/22/2024