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Aharon Ofer
Aharon Ofer

FINANCE
Visiting Professor of Finance

Print Overview

Visiting Professor of Finance Aharon Ofer has been a visiting professor of finance at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management since 1983. He is also a full professor in the Graduate School of Business at Tel Aviv University. At Kellogg, Professor Ofer teaches courses in corporate finance.

His research interests are in the areas of investments and corporate finance. He has received grants for research from the Bradley Foundation, Kellogg's Banking Research Center, the Israel Institute of Business Research, and the Pinhas Sapir Center for Development.

Professor Ofer is an author of more than 25 papers published in academic journals, including the Journal of Finance, the Journal of Banking and Finance, the Review of Financial Studies, Decision Science, and The Accounting Review. He also serves as a referee for journals in finance and accounting. He has often presented papers at conferences, especially at meetings of the European, Western, and American Finance Associations. His professional activities include chairing the Finance and Accounting Group at Tel Aviv University as well as its curriculum committee at the School of Business from 1987 - 1991.

Professor Ofer received the Best Teacher Award at Kellogg in 1986 and was named an outstanding member of the faculty of Tel Aviv University, 1988. He is a member of the American Finance Association, Western Finance Association, and European Finance Association.

Print Vita
 
Print Research
Articles
Hagerty, Kathleen, Aharon Ofer and Daniel Siegel. 1993. Managerial Compensation and Incentives to Engage in Shortsighted Behavior.
Chari, V.V., Ravi Jagannathan and Aharon Ofer. 1988. Seasonalities in Security Returns: the Case of Earnings Announcements. Journal of Financial Economics. 21(1): 101-121.
AbstractLink
Breen, William, Ravi Jagannathan and Aharon Ofer. 1986. Correcting for Heteroscedasticity in Tests for Market Timing Ability. Journal of Business. 59(4): 585-598.
AbstractLink

 
Print Teaching
Full-Time / Part-Time MBA
Finance I (FINC-430-0)

This course counts toward the following majors: Analytical Finance, Finance

This course studies the effects of time and uncertainty on decision making. Topics include discounted cash flow valuation, stock and bond valuation, the term structure of interest rates, bond duration, capital budgeting under certainty and uncertainty, portfolio theory, asset pricing models and efficient markets.

The prerequisite for this course is knowledge of probability and statistics through linear regression. This requirement may be satisfied with either (i) prior or concurrent registration in Decision Sciences 434, (ii) sufficient previous course work in statistics. Familiarity with basic financial accounting (Accounting 430) and microeconomics (Managerial Economics 430) is recommended.

To qualify for a Finance I (FINC-430) waiver, you must have passed a comparable course with a grade of A. The type and level of material covered in the course are represented by chapters 1-13 and 23 of the text by Brealey and Myers, Principles of Corporate Finance. You need not request a Finance I waiver to enroll in FINC-440 (Turbo). To help you decide whether you should waive Finance I, take the self-assessment test online at www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/finance/curriculum/finance1waiver.htm.

Finance I/II (FINC-440-0)

This course counts toward the following majors: Analytical Finance, Finance

This course combines the materials of FINC-430 and FINC-441 into an intensive one-quarter course available to One-Year students and first-year students interested in accelerating their studies of finance. Students choosing this option should expect the presentations, readings and other homework to be at least double those of the regular courses. By combining these two courses into one quarter, students are able to take more advanced finance electives during their first year and have the opportunity to include an extra finance elective in their course schedules. Please note that this course carries the weight of one course only. Prerequisites: Knowledge of (a) probability and statistics through linear regression and (b) financial accounting. Requirement (a) may be satisfied with prior or concurrent registration in DECS 434, sufficient previous course work in statistics. Requirement (b) may be satisfied with prior or concurrent registration in ACCT 430 or sufficient previous course work in financial accounting. MECN 430 is recommended.

Finance II (FINC-441-0)

This course counts toward the following majors: Analytical Finance, Finance.

This course is the sequel to FINC-430. The primary objective is to examine the financial decisions of firms with regard to their capital budgeting decisions (which investments to make), dividend decisions and capital structure decisions (how to raise capital). We first examine these decisions in an idealized frictionless world in which the firm cannot change its value by altering its dividend or capital structure policy. We then explore the effect of frictions (e.g. taxes, bankruptcy costs, inefficient or uncompetitive financial markets, or self-interested managers) on the firm's financial decisions and how these decisions can affect a firm's value. Prerequisites: FINC-430. Corequisite: DECS-434 or equivalent. ACCT-430 and MECN-430 are recommended.