Course Catalogue Master Innovative Finance

In this course, student groups work on solving a current and relevant practical problem in finance. The problem is provided by a project owner, typically a financial services company or a faculty member with practical experience. Students will apply complex theoretical concepts to develop a satisfying solution to the given problem.

• Group project work
• Practical problem-solving in finance
• Collaboration with project owners
• Application of theoretical concepts
• Final project report preparation

This course is designed to equip MSc in Innovative Finance students with the skills and knowledge necessary to effectively use modern media communication tools. The course covers a range of communication methods including social media posts, podcasts, video podcasts, pitches, webinars, blogs, vlogs, infographics, and virtual reality presentations. Students will learn the principles behind these communication forms, their appropriate contexts, and how to utilize them to their fullest potential in the finance sector.

Key topics covered in this course include:

• Social media communication
• Podcast creation
• Video podcast production
• Effective pitching
• Webinars
• Blogging and vlogging
• Infographics
• Virtual reality presentations

This seminar is designed for students to autonomously develop a written seminar paper on an academic problem in finance. Each student selects a topic, conducts in-depth research, and writes an individual paper. The course culminates in students presenting their findings at the end of the semester. The specific content is dependent on the chosen topics and the course framework.
Key topics covered are:

• Autonomous seminar paper development
• Individual research projects
• Academic problem-solving in finance
• Presentation of research findings
• Application of first-semester research methods

• This course builds on what you have learnt in Innovative Finance: Data Science and Machine Learning 1.
• Based on a large real-world dataset, we will host our own Kaggle competition, where groups of students will compete against each other in a machine learning contest using financial data.
• The challenge will be different each time, so we might forecast stock returns, classify stocks according to how green they are based on tweets and facebook posts or dynamically put together portfolios of cryptocurrencies that are expected to outperform in subsequent periods.
• The course is structured as a lab, where we tackle all real-world issues related to the current challenge together, but will also run small competitions to get the most out of our data.
• Grading will NOT be based on placement in the contest but focus on contribution to the final output and team work.

This course covers advanced concepts in corporate finance, including cost of capital and capital budgeting, discounted cash flow valuation, financial multiples, payout policy, equity and debt financing, applications of option pricing theory, corporate control and recapitalizations, and enterprise risk management (ERM). The course aims to integrate theoretical knowledge with practical applications to solve real-world financial problems.

• Key topics covered in this course include:
• Cost of capital and capital budgeting
• Discounted cash flow valuation and financial multiples
• Payout policy
• Equity and debt financing
• Applications of option pricing theoryCorporate control and recapitalizations
• Enterprise Risk Management

This course explores the critical aspects of corporate governance, focusing on the roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders, board structures, remuneration policies, and conflicts of interest. Students will examine the unique characteristics of major investors, ESG and impact investing, and the challenges in financial services undertakings. The course also covers the optimal design for corporate governance, including market solutions, soft law, and hard law, alongside empirical investigations, and the role of risk management.

Key topics covered in this course include:

• Role and responsibility of owners
• Practice of right of control
• Board structures and diversity
• Remuneration structures and policies
• Major investors and the investment chain
• Conflicts of interest between stakeholders
• Optimal design for corporate governance
• Empirical investigations of corporate governance
• Role of risk management in corporate governance

Master students have the opportunity to take part in educational journeys to the world’s most important financial centres. Taking place

Master students have the opportunity to take part in educational journeys to the world’s most important financial centres. Taking place

Asset pricing is the process of determining the fair value of financial assets. It involves using various financial theories and models to estimate the price of these assets based on factors like time discounting, future cash flows, interest rates, and risk. By analysing historical data, empirical asset pricing seeks to validate or refine theories about how prices are set, how risks are compensated, and how various factors influence asset prices. Ultimately, it aims to enhance our understanding of financial markets and improve investment strategies.
Key topics covered are:

• Efficient Markets and the Valuation of Assets
• The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM)
• Empirical Validation of the CAPM
• The Arbitrage Pricing Theory
• Multi Factor Models and Anomalies
• Pricing of Alternative Asset Classes
• Predictability in Financial Markets

• This course provides students with the knowledge of relevant methodologies in finance, especially in asset pricing. Students will learn to test market efficiency, estimate and test asset pricing models, and forecast stock returns. The course emphasizes practical implementation using R, based on "Tidy Finance with R".Key topics covered are:Introduction to empirical methods in finance and RMarket efficiency and testing for random walksAsset pricing models and portfolio sortsFama-MacBeth regressionsReturn forecasts and predictabilityIntegrating financial economics concepts with empirical tests

• Crypto InvestmentsSmart ContractsTokenonomicsCrypto ExchangesDecentralized FinanceIntroduction into the FinTech Landscape

Financial markets law today is largely shaped by international standards and European legal requirements. In this course, all students will gain fundamental knowledge of the internationally relevant rules governing financial markets. Furthermore, each student will have the opportunity to acquire in-depth knowledge in a specific area of financial mar-kets law. The subjects to choose from include current topics such as payment digitalisation and the regulation of stable-coins.
The scope of the course includes:

• general aspects of financial markets regulation and supervision
• banking regulation
• payment services
• capital markets
• crypto regulation

• Introduction to Private Wealth Management, Estate and Succession planning
• Structuring and Governance of Wealth and Wealth Management Structures
• International Wealth Tax Management of UHNWI with Wealth Structures
• The Liechtenstein Wealth Management Centre and other Wealth Management Hubs: BM, BS, CH, SG
• International asset protection, family office and next generation issues
• Onboarding of Private Clients (UHNWI) with Wealth Structures: Input Statements by banks & trustees
• Case studies on International Wealth Management: Input Statements by banks & trustees
• CFA level III: Topics in Private Wealth Management

• Introduction to taxation of individuals and legal entities in selected jurisdictions: FL, AT, CH, DE
• Application of Double Tax Treaties, Exchange of Information and Mandatory Disclosure Obligations
• National and international taxation of Wealth Structures incl. their Settlors and Beneficiaries
• International Tax Planning and Investment Hubs: CH, FL, HK, IRL, LU, SG
• International Wealth Tax Management of UHNWI with Wealth Structures
• Onboarding of Private Clients (UHNWI) with Wealth Structures: Input Statements by banks & trustees
• Case studies on International Tax Planning of Private Clients (UHNWI) with Wealth Structures and Investments in Participations, Private Equity, Financial Instruments, Real Estate and Tangible Assets
• CFA level III: Topics in Private Wealth Management

• Introduction to International and European Tax Policy and Tax Standards
• Principles of national and international taxation of individuals
• Introduction to taxation of individuals and legal entities in selected jurisdictions: FL, AT, CH, DE
• Application of International Double Tax Treaties to individuals and legal entities
• Application of Exchange of Information and Mandatory Disclosure Obligations under EU-DAC 6
• International Tax Planning, Investment and Wealth Management Hubs: BM, BS, CH, HK, IRL, LU, SG
• Input Statements by Liechtenstein financial service providers
• Case studies: International Tax Planning of individuals and legal entities incl. MNE (Apple, Nike)

All aspects that have to be considered for writing a successful exposé and master thesis, like e.g. the fulfillment of formal requirements, the development of a research project and the correct choice of methodology for answering the research question.

Research Methods covers the fundamentals of qualitative and experimental research methods commonly applied in economics and finance. The course focusses on methods to address research questions for which archival data is not available or suitable. Students will be able to differentiate between quantitative and qualitative research approaches and reflect upon respective advantages and disadvantages.

Key topics covered are:

• Behavioural finance, prospect theory, and risk patterns in light of financial decision-making
• Differentiation between qualitative and quantitative methods
• Design of experiments
• Design of surveys
• Design of interviews
• Critical evaluation of causal inferences based on qualitative methods

Risk Management provides an introduction to concepts and methods for modern financial risk management and to the ideas behind its regulation.
Key topics covered are:

• Introduction to risk management
• Risk measures: volatility, correlations, copulas, value at risk, expected shortfall
• Risk-neutral vs. real-world distributions
• Stress testing
• Market, credit, operational, liquidity, and model risk
• Rating agencies and credit ratings

In Sustainable Finance, students will learn about the corporate sustainability, its measurement and applications in corporate finance and asset pricing. The course will be taught based on contemporary academic studies. Students are required to explain inferences from different methodological approaches in this research field. Practical impli-cations of theoretical and empirical studies are being discussed. The course topics change from semester to semes-ter, but the course usually addresses the following topics:

• Current and past developments in sustainable finance
• Definition, measurement and critical evaluation of corporate sustainability
• ESG data, data providers and materiality
• Regulatory frameworks and initiatives
• Research methods in sustainable finance
• Sustainable financial products