Sustainable & entrepreneurial finance

Summary

This course deals with the role of finance in the transition to a sustainable, low-carbon economy. Students learn how to apply asset allocation techniques to build sustainable portfolios, understand the entrepreneurial ecosystem, and discover the emerging asset class of impact investing.

Content

Keywords

• Venture capital
• Environmental, Social, and Governance Criteria
• Asset allocation
• Finance of green innovation

Learning Prerequisites

Required courses

None

Recommended courses

None

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, the student must be able to:

• Describe all the institutional aspects of the venture capital and impact investment industry
• Give an example of the asymmetric information problem that drives contracting in the venture capital industry
• Apply finance tools and concepts to the world of sustainable finance
• Assess / Evaluate the ESG profile of an investment opportunity
• Justify an ESG compliant investment approach
• Decide how to deal with carbon risk

Transversal skills

• Communicate effectively, being understood, including across different languages and cultures.
• Plan and carry out activities in a way which makes optimal use of available time and other resources.
• Demonstrate the capacity for critical thinking
• Access and evaluate appropriate sources of information.
• Give feedback (critique) in an appropriate fashion.
• Take feedback (critique) and respond in an appropriate manner.

Teaching methods

Lectures, homework, case studies, expert talks, exercises

Expected student activities

• attendance of lectures
• carry out projects
• do exercises
• participate in class discussion

Assessment methods

100% homework / project based (work to be handed in during the semester)

Supervision

Resources

Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI)

No

Bibliography

Berk, Jonathan, and Peter DeMarzo, Corporate Finance: Global Edition, ISBN: 9781292304151, 5th edition (June 11, 2019).

Ressources en bibliothèque

• Corporate Finance / Berk

Moodle Link

• https://go.epfl.ch/FIN-429