David Haushalter
Associate Professor of Finance, Academic Director
Department Finance
Office Address 339 Business Building
Phone Number
814-863-7969
Email Address
gdh12@psu.edu
David Haushalter
Associate Professor of Finance, Academic Director
Department Finance
Office Address 339 Business Building
Phone Number
814-863-7969
Email Address
gdh12@psu.edu
David Haushalter joined Smeal in 2004. Prior to joining Smeal he was an educational and corporate research associate with Susquehanna International Group and an assistant professor of finance at the University of Oregon. He has also taught at the University of Virginia, Darden School of Business. David was an equity options trader before pursuing his Ph.D. at Purdue University.
Expertise
Professor Haushalter's research focuses on corporate finance, particularly corporate risk management. Current projects examine the interaction between finance and environmental risks.
Education
Ph D, Finance, Purdue University, 1996
Courses Taught
FIN 414 – FIN TRADING AND APPL (3)
The focus of this course is the application of financial theory and technology to the practice of financial trading. The first half of the class examines tools for constructing and evaluating trading strategies. After a short review of probability and statistics, attention turns to the analysis of models for valuing options, credit default swaps, and other financial instruments. Emphasis is placed on the assumptions underlying these models and the application of these models in the real-world. This discussion includes approaches for estimating volatility and the use of the models when underlying assumptions do not hold. The first half of the course concludes with a discussion of value-at-risk and tools for evaluating performance. The analysis of these topics highlights commonly used measures of performance and the potential pitfalls using these measures.The second half of the class examines trading strategies commonly used be hedge funds. Strategies discussed include merger arbitrage, relative value, momentum, index arbitrage, and other quantitative based strategies. Students also study accounting based and fundamentally based trading strategies. Application of these strategies in both the equity and fixed income markets is examined. Attention is also paid to the impact of trading on market prices and other aspects of market microstructure.Throughout the second half of the course, students participate in a project in which they form into teams of fund managers who analyze market data with the purpose of constructing and managing a portfolio that applies various trading strategies. The fund is managed using market simulation software that allows students to execute all trades using real-time market prices and allows them to go long or short equity, commodity, fixed income, and foreign exchange instruments, as well as derivative securities. Upon completion of the project, students make a pitch to a group of potential investors (the class) in which they summarize the themes underlying their strategies, provide performance metrics for their fund, and discuss their primary trading strategies if they were to continue as fund managers.The course pedagogy is lectures, case assignments, trading and valuation simulations, and a trading project. The class will make extensive use of Bloomberg, Reuters, trading software, basic programming languages for financial software, and other technology available.
FIN 531 – Financial Mgmt (3)
FIN 597 – Special Topics (1.5)
FIN 601 – Ph D Dis Full-Time
NO DESCRIPTION.
FIN 596 – Individual Studies (1)
Creative projects, including nonthesis research, which are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses.
FIN 571 – Strategic Financial Management (2)
Comprehensive course in corporate finance and the strategic implications of various financial decisions.
FIN 597B – Corporate Finance 1
PhD seminar in corporate finance
FIN 496 – Independent Studies (variable)
Creative projects, including research and design, which are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses.
FIN 610 – Thesis Research Off Campus (variable)
FIN 497D – Trading Room Intern (1)
Students work with financial databases in the Smeal Trading Room helping develop educational materials and assisting users.
FIN 494H – Finance Senior Honors Thesis (variable)
Supervised student activities on research projects identified on an individual or small-group basis.
FIN 405 – Advanced Financial Management (3)
An examination of the development and application of decision rules for major long-term financial and investment problems of the firm.
FIN 597D – Trading Room Intern (1)
Students work with financial databases in the Smeal Trading Room helping develop educational materials and assisting users.
FIN 497A – Trading Room Intern (3)
This course focuses on financial modeling and analysis of trading strategies. Bloomberg, Reuters, Excel and trading simulations are used extensively.
B A 574 – Business Research (variable)
A project paper, comparable in quality and scope of work to a graduate thesis, on problems of a company.