Aims, content and method of this lecture:

In this course, we learn what it means for companies to "go public", that is, to raise capital by issuing securities (shares, bonds) or crypto-assets (investment token) to a wide investor audience. We also discuss how mutual funds/investment funds, ETFs, SPACs (Special Purpose Acquisition Vehicles) and securitisations work. Furthermore, you will be familiarised with the regulation of brokers and dealers as well as credit rating agencies.

The answers to all these questions are shaped by law, for example by mandated information disclosure, investment fund regulation, and exchange law. We will see how the differences of EU and US legal frameworks may contribute to the difference in number between EU and US listed companies, the transatlantic debate about ESG, the fraud at Wirecard, and Elon Musk's pay. This is going to be fun! In order to explore from various angles, our two-week intensive course is taught by a an experienced practitioner from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and an academic from the EU. The first half of the course offers a basic explanation of financial market actors and their regulation. In this context, we also compare public funding to bank loans, "venture capital" and "private equity", and discuss the actual Initial Public Offering process for listing shares on a stock exchange. In the second half of the course, we deep-dive into the regulation of investment intermediaries, in particular brokers and dealers. The third part will deal with information intermediaries, such as credit rating agencies.

No prior knowledge of capital markets law or finance is required for this course.

Dates: 

• Tuesday, 15.10.16:00 - 20:00, Seminarraum SEM64 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum 6.OG
• Thursday, 17.10.14:00 - 18:00, Seminarraum SEM51 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum 5.OG
• Monday, 21.10.16:00 - 18:00, Seminarraum SEM43 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, 4.OG
• Tuesday, 22.10.16:00 - 20:00, Seminarraum SEM52 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum 5.OG
• Thursday, 24.10.14:00 - 18:00, Seminarraum SEM51 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum 5.OG

Register here: https://ufind.univie.ac.at/en/course.html?lv=030297&semester=2024W