PREREQUISITES
Whilst there are no specific linguistic prerequisites students are asked to meet, they are nevertheless reminded, in consideration of the objectives and content of the course, that their English proficiency should be at least B2 (following the CEPR, “Common European Framework of Reference”).
COURSE OBJECTIVES
This course is designed to introduce students to the study of Italian and European securities regulation. The course will be taught entirely in English in order to enable students to familiarize themselves with the English legal nomenclature which is used to address the subject and to make them aware of the meaning of the relevant legal references. By the end of the course, students will be equipped with the adequate linguistic ability to confidently approach and deal with the critical analysis of some of the essential Italian/European securities regulation issues. In addition, students, through the study of official legal documents, will be invited to explore some of the aspects related to securities regulation in practice.
COURSE CONTENT
After a preliminary introduction to the main features of European and Italian securities regulation, the course will focus on the following:
1 Role and functions of financial markets
2. The composite EU and domestic legal framework
3. Elements, participants and infrastructures of capital markets
4. Securities, financial products, financial instruments, investment contracts
5. Issuers: shareholding, organization, and corporate governance
6. IPOs and tender offers
7. Intermediaries
8. Investment services
9. Undertakings for collective investment and other investment schemes; the collective management of assets
10. Market infrastructures: primary and secondary markets
11. Alternative trading venues
12. Elements of market abuse and insider trading.
TEACHING
The course consists of 36 hours of frontal classes where students will be asked to participate and discuss the relevant issues. In this respect, students should consider reading the material carefully before attending the relevant class (following the instructions set out in the Course Syllabus): this is to maximize the level of their participation and to enable them to critically elaborate the various issues pertaining to each of the classes.
In order to make students more comfortable with their command of English legal writing, they will be asked to give brief talks on specific and previously agreed legal issues.
ASSESSMENT
Assessment is based on a mid-term written exam and a final oral exam which will consist of a number of questions (totalling three at least) about the program covered during the course (except for that covered by the mid-term exam), in accordance with the course reading material.