INTRODUCTION TO FUNDAMENTAL INVESTING

UGBA 198 at UC Berkeley: Wednesday 6-8 PM PT, Cheit Hall C110

Fall 2024 Applications Are Now Open! 

Emails regarding enrollment and scheduling will be sent towards the end of the semester!

Intro to Fundamental Investing

Should I invest? Where do I start? What’s a good investment?

This 2 unit Decal will help you familiarize yourself with investing, or help those of you who have traded learn more about the markets. From laying groundwork for financial terms to understanding whole business operations, this course teaches you how to analyze good / bad businesses, and ultimately, form your own investment theses!

Lecturers

  • Arnav Garg '27

    Co-Facilitator | Computer Science

  • Eugene Pan '25

    Co-Facilitator | Economics and Data Science

  • Minh Phan '25

    Co-Facilitator | Business Admin and Data Science

 Syllabus

  • None. This class is an introduction to the space and, as such, no background knowledge is assumed.

  • From laying a groundwork of financial terms to explaining how they operate together, this course covers everything you’ll need to know to start investing. Initially, we’ll explain the core terms of finance, then, using our basic understanding, venture into fundamental and comparable analysis. By the middle of the course, you’ll be able to analyze the fundamentals of a business, understand its financial statements and form a contrarian viewpoint on its future growth. Lectures will then focus on idea generation, finding an informational edge, and putting everything together to form a cohesive stock pitch. Lastly, we provide an extra lecture on personal finance and tips for recruiting. The final project will be a group stock pitch on a company of each group’s choice. This class is for students who are unfamiliar with investing or who may have traded in the past and want to learn more. Our approach is holistic and lends itself to a discussion-oriented lecture style. Students of all backgrounds are welcomed.

  • By the end of the course students will understand:

    • The importance of investing

    • Principles of fundamental investing

    • General workings of the financial world

    • How to pitch a stock

    • Different investment strategies

    • Different approaches to active and passive investing

    • Career paths in finance

  • Wednesday 6 - 8pm PT @ Cheit Hall C110

Fall 2023 Course Schedule:

September 6

What is Investing? Introduction to the Finance Landscape

September 13

Developing a Contrarian Viewpoint

September 20

The 3 Financial Statements

September 27

What makes a Good Business?

October 4

Analyzing the Competitive Landscape and Developing a Narrative

October 11

Valuation & Metrics Part 1

October 18

Valuation & Metrics Part 2 and Case Introduction

October 25

Midterm Case Study Presentation

November 1

Discounted Cash Flow Analysis

November 8

Idea Generation & Finding an Informational Edge

November 15

Careers in Finance & Tips for Personal Finance; Setting up a PA

November 29

Final Stock Pitch