投資家なのに財政学追試なんて...
６月も慌ただしく過ぎ気がつけばもう７月、イギリスMBAも佳境にさしかかっています。６月は４つのアサインメントの締切りと、ファイナンスの追試の準備に追われ学校とフラットの往復のみの生活。そして残すはサマー・プロジェクトのみになりました。
今回の記事はその内のファイナンスの追試について。ファイナンスの試験は１月のクリスマス・ホリデー明けにあり、見事に山がはずれ再試験に。実際のところ、よく理解できていなかったので復習する機会ができて良かったと前向きに捉えています。使用したテキストは「Principles of Corporate Finance 10E」で、日本語翻訳版の「コーポレートファイナンス（上・下）第8版」を併用して勉強しました。ただ翻訳版はほぼ直訳に近いので意味不明の箇所が散見され、文系のファイナンスが苦手な人にも分かるようにもう少し丁寧な解説があれば良いと感じました。
MBAではアカウンティング、ファイナンスが鬼門で時間をかけた割には良い結果が出ずに苦労しましたが、最終的には無事にパスすることができ卒業に一歩近付きました。実際のビジネスでどれくらい活用できるのかはまだ分かりませんが、少なくとも以前よりは投資等の意思決定に自信が持てるようになったと感じています。
Finance Exam
Thanks to a resits finance exam, I have a chance to study finance seriously and properly. When I took the finance exam in January I could not prepare well due to suffering from jetlag - it's a 12 hour flight from Japan and there is an 8 hour time difference. Before studying Finance as part of the MBA programme, I did not have confidence in my decision-making for investments in assets outside of Japan, as the variation of instruments vary greatly, and the rules differ slightly. Therefore I relied heavily on the opinions of relationship managers who were working at investment banks, and tried to find reasonable explanations. However, in hindsight I can see that their perspectives were sometimes biased by their institutions’ operation strategies, which at times tended to affect negatively the outcomes of investments.
During preparation for the exam in June, I had to revise a large number of formulas and definitions, many of which seemed irrelevant to daily life. The process was tough as I had worked in finance more than fifteen years ago, and my way of thinking was slightly different to the usual Japanese style. However, due to being given a second chance to study and prepare, my understanding has become better compared to the first time.
After preparation for the exam I realized finance is quite helpful for future asset value evaluation, especially when examining pension plans and asset returns of a portfolio. A study of finance also delivered investment appraisal such as the time-value of money and the assessment and control of risk. At the same time, studying finance is significant for diversified investment, insurance and corporate finance. In addition, it offered essential knowledge for Fund Management, which I have chosen as one of my elective modules.
As a result, taking in what I have learnt from the Fund Management module, I will be able to judge which investment has a future value and/or which relationship manager has the capability to evaluate future value in asset allocation by my own examination, instead of relying primarily on intuition, investment experience, and assessments of third parties.
写真 上３枚、ランカスター大学正面入口近くの池周辺 下、学生寮（左の建物）周辺の眺め
６月も慌ただしく過ぎ気がつけばもう７月、イギリスMBAも佳境にさしかかっています。６月は４つのアサインメントの締切りと、ファイナンスの追試の準備に追われ学校とフラットの往復のみの生活。そして残すはサマー・プロジェクトのみになりました。
今回の記事はその内のファイナンスの追試について。ファイナンスの試験は１月のクリスマス・ホリデー明けにあり、見事に山がはずれ再試験に。実際のところ、よく理解できていなかったので復習する機会ができて良かったと前向きに捉えています。使用したテキストは「Principles of Corporate Finance 10E」で、日本語翻訳版の「コーポレートファイナンス（上・下）第8版」を併用して勉強しました。ただ翻訳版はほぼ直訳に近いので意味不明の箇所が散見され、文系のファイナンスが苦手な人にも分かるようにもう少し丁寧な解説があれば良いと感じました。
MBAではアカウンティング、ファイナンスが鬼門で時間をかけた割には良い結果が出ずに苦労しましたが、最終的には無事にパスすることができ卒業に一歩近付きました。実際のビジネスでどれくらい活用できるのかはまだ分かりませんが、少なくとも以前よりは投資等の意思決定に自信が持てるようになったと感じています。
Finance Exam
Thanks to a resits finance exam, I have a chance to study finance seriously and properly. When I took the finance exam in January I could not prepare well due to suffering from jetlag - it's a 12 hour flight from Japan and there is an 8 hour time difference. Before studying Finance as part of the MBA programme, I did not have confidence in my decision-making for investments in assets outside of Japan, as the variation of instruments vary greatly, and the rules differ slightly. Therefore I relied heavily on the opinions of relationship managers who were working at investment banks, and tried to find reasonable explanations. However, in hindsight I can see that their perspectives were sometimes biased by their institutions’ operation strategies, which at times tended to affect negatively the outcomes of investments.
During preparation for the exam in June, I had to revise a large number of formulas and definitions, many of which seemed irrelevant to daily life. The process was tough as I had worked in finance more than fifteen years ago, and my way of thinking was slightly different to the usual Japanese style. However, due to being given a second chance to study and prepare, my understanding has become better compared to the first time.
After preparation for the exam I realized finance is quite helpful for future asset value evaluation, especially when examining pension plans and asset returns of a portfolio. A study of finance also delivered investment appraisal such as the time-value of money and the assessment and control of risk. At the same time, studying finance is significant for diversified investment, insurance and corporate finance. In addition, it offered essential knowledge for Fund Management, which I have chosen as one of my elective modules.
As a result, taking in what I have learnt from the Fund Management module, I will be able to judge which investment has a future value and/or which relationship manager has the capability to evaluate future value in asset allocation by my own examination, instead of relying primarily on intuition, investment experience, and assessments of third parties.
写真 上３枚、ランカスター大学正面入口近くの池周辺 下、学生寮（左の建物）周辺の眺め
今年Lancaster MBAに入学予定の馬越と申します。
Lancasterに来てから折に触れてブログを拝見しているのですが、コースの大変さが伝わってきてはたして自分がこれを乗り越えられるのか今から戦々恐々としています。一方で、旅行記は写真がどれも素敵ですね。私も留学中にガイドブックにはないイギリスの良さが伝わるような写真をアップしようと思っています。
まだLancasterにいらっしゃるようであればぜひコースについてのお話を聞かせてください。
Yuji Bakoshi
コメントありがとうございます。あと一ヶ月程はランカスターに滞在予定なので、可能な限りコースについての情報を共有したいと思います。詳細は頂いたメールアドレスの方にご連絡させて頂きます。