- Docente: Davide La Torre
- Credits: 6
- SSD: SECS-S/06
- Language: Italian
- Teaching Mode: In-person learning (entirely or partially)
- Campus: Forli
- Corso: First cycle degree programme (L) in Economics and business (cod. 9202)
-
from Feb 12, 2026 to May 22, 2026
Learning outcomes
The goal is to provide either the basic skills or elements of some more advanced topics in financial mathematics with a problem solving approach and to develop the skills to build a spreadsheet of the solutions. At the end of the course the student is able to: - solve the problems of financial evaluation under certainty; - create spreadsheets that implement these solutions; - recognize some hedging and optimizations problems of financial choices.
Course contents
Mathematical review: Exponentials, logarithms, geometric sums, quadratic equations. Capitalization and discounting: Simple, compound, and continuous capitalization; equivalent rates; force of interest. Capitalization laws: Accumulation factors, separability, and force of interest. Integrals and financial applications: Indefinite and definite integrals; accumulation with variable force of interest. Discount regimes: Simple, commercial, and compound discounting. Financial annuities: Immediate, due, perpetual, and continuous annuities. Investment evaluation: Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR). Numerical methods: Bisection, Newton-Raphson, and secant methods for root finding. Financial duration: Macaulay duration, modified duration, and immunization. Term structure of interest rates: Spot rates, forward rates, bootstrap, and bond pricing. Portfolio theory: Markowitz portfolios, expected return, risk, and diversification.
Readings/Bibliography
Lecture notes and slides available on Virtuale.
Office hours
See the website of Davide La Torre