Alternative Investments (Hammer)
Faculty
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| Sarah Hammer Adjunct Professor of Law sarah_hammer@outlook.com |
Additional Information
Skills Training
Other Professional Skills:
Grading
6% Participation,
94% Exam
No
Class meets in person.
Course Continuity
Students are encouraged to stay home if you are ill or experience flu-like symptoms. If you miss a class for any reason, it is still your responsibility to make up the work missed.
I offer the following to students who miss class due to illness:
- Class sessions are regularly recorded. If you are absent due to illness or some other unavoidable circumstance, email me and I can send you an email with instructions for accessing the recording for the class session(s) you missed.
Meeting Times/Location
R 4:30PM - 6:20PM
Silverman Hall 240B
Category
Upper-Level
Credits
2.0
Alternative investments are generally considered to be financial investments that are not within the traditional asset classes of stocks, bonds, and cash. These investments may have low correlation with traditional financial investments and be relatively illiquid, involving higher transaction costs. For example, private equity, private credit, venture capital, and hedge funds are all considered to be alternative investments. Other specific investments include real estate, energy, digital infrastructure, and commodities. This class will provide an essential foundation in alternative investments, including an understanding of investment business models, fund structure and regulation, fundraising and the universe of limited partners, analysis of risk and return, deal structure and negotiation, industry activities and trends, and transformative new technologies.
Students will have the unique opportunity to learn about alternative investing through a cross-disciplinary lens at the intersection of finance and law. Prominent guest speakers will join the class from industry, law, and public policy. Regular attendance and class participation are required and comprise 6% of the grade. Students will each be assigned to moderate a class discussion. Students will also be required to attend class and participate in general class discussion. Students will take an exam following completion of the course, which will comprise 94% of their grade.
Guest lecturers scheduled for this class include a partner from a major national law firm to speak on fund structure, a chief investment officer of one of the largest pension funds to speak on about the perspective of limited partners, the chief executive officer of an $80 real estate private equity firm to speak about real estate investing, the chief legal officer of a major hedge fund to speak about governance, and a partner from one of the largest private equity firms to speak on infrastructure investing. Classes with guest lecturers will also include traditional instruction and students will have the opportunity to assist with moderating discussion.
Business and Corporate Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of business and corporate law; Perform legal analysis in the context of business and corporate law; Communicate effectively on topics related to business and corporate law; Demonstrate an understanding of the interconnection between the world of business and finance and that of business and corporate law, and how they affect other areas of law and society.
Textbooks
"Mastering Private Equity Set" by Prahl and Zeisberger |