New York UniversityStern School of BusinessDepartment of FinanceFall 1998B40.3124.10 Professor Martin GruberInvestment PhilosophiesCourse DescriptionThis course is designed to expose participants to a wide range of investment philosophiesso as to give them a sense of what drives investors in each philosophy, how they attemptto put these philosophies into practice and what determines ultimate success. Theobjective is to provide an unbiased forum for the presentation of different investmentstyles, while supplying the tools and the empirical evidence of participants to make theirown judgements about their relative value.Rationale for the CourseFew investors beat the market consistently. There seem to be a few commondenominators, at least on the surface, among these successful investors. They use verydifferent investment strategies and subscribe to very different, and at times, contradictoryviews of how markets work and what leads to success. Some attest to the efficacy ofcharts and technical indicators, while others claim that fundamentals hold the key. Evenwithin these broad groups, there are disagreements. Among those who subscribe tofundamentals, for instance, are both 'value investors', who trace their lineage back toBenjamin Graham, and 'growth investors'.The coexistence of these investment philosophies in the market place raises severalimportant issues:• What are the themes that underlie each of these investment philosophies? What arethe differences in the way investors in each of these camps view the way the marketworks?• How do investors in each group, or at least the most successful among them, go aboutputting their philosophies into practice?• What are the characteristics that most define success in each philosophy? Is itresearch or is it timing? Is it patience or speed?• Is there any characteristic that investors who are successful share with each other,irrespective of investment of investment philosophy? What is more important,consistency or flexibility?This course will be successful if it provides you with the information that will allow youto make your own judgement on the investment philosophy that seems to best fit yourspecific goals, views of how markets work and your strengths. In some of the cases, thiscourse will cement an existing investment philosophy, in others, it will help sort outuncertainties and come up with a new philosophy.Course MaterialThere will be a reading packet available in the book store containing background readingon each of the different investment philosophies you will be seeing in the coming weeks.Course GradingCourse grading will be based on two factors:1. 30% - The start of each class you will hand in a double spaced, one page(maximum)discussion of the previous weeks presentation. This should include a briefsummary of what was said and your reaction to the material. You should hand in 8discussions from among the 13 speakers.2. 70% - A final examination.An OptionInstead of 2 above, you can prepare a report. The report should be an examination of aninvestment philosophy (one discussed in class, or your own). At a minimum the papershould contain an analytical discussion of why the philosophy should work and shouldalso contain some empirical evidence on the philosophy. I expect the paper to be of 10 to20 pages (maximum) in length.Should you choose this option, the paper must be handed in (and signed off by me), bythe date of the final examination or you must take the final. No exception.InstructorMartin GruberOffice Hours:Monday: 1:00 – 2:00 and 4:15 – 6:15Wednesday: 4:15 – 5:15By AppointmentPhone: (212) 998-0333Office: MEC 9-88Secretary: Stacey Sperling – Phone: