Capital Markets & Digital Assets (DBA641)

DBA641 Capital Markets & Digital Assets prepares senior executives and financial leaders for applied research in capital markets, wealth management and digital assets. As financial markets evolve with the rise of digital assets, tokenisation and AI-driven trading, leaders in finance need the capacity to generate research that informs strategy, regulation and investment decisions. The course covers primary and secondary markets, asset pricing, family offices and wealth management, alternative assets (art, collectibles, digital assets), FinTech, DeFi, sustainable finance, and AI in finance. Candidates explore both established and emerging asset classes, examining how research evidence can guide portfolio construction, risk management and regulatory frameworks. Students are expected to design and conduct rigorous research that yields actionable insights for financial strategy and regulation. The course is designed for investment professionals, wealth managers, regulators and senior financial executives seeking to advance both scholarship and practice in capital markets.

• Capital markets fundamentals and market microstructure
• Asset pricing theory, evidence and frontiers
• Wealth management and family offices
• Alternative assets and private markets
• Crypto assets, tokens, stablecoins and DeFi
• CBDCs, NFTs, RWA tokenisation and the convergence of TradFi and DeFi
• FinTech and the transformation of financial intermediation
• Sustainable finance, ESG and climate transition finance
• AI and algorithmic trading in capital markets
• Risk management and performance benchmarking
• Methodological approaches for capital markets research
• Designing an applied research project in capital markets and digital assets

• Analyse theoretical and practitioner thinking on capital markets, wealth management and digital assets as to how they shape contemporary investment, regulatory and policy decisions
• Synthesise the academic and practitioner literature in a chosen sub-area (primary/secondary markets, asset pricing, wealth management, alternative assets, digital assets) to identify novel, meaningful, and industry-relevant research questions
• Develop an applied research project in capital markets, wealth management or digital assets that addresses a real challenge for senior executives, regulators or boards
• Assess the conceptual novelty, theoretical foundation, and practical significance of a research question
• Design a methodologically rigorous and feasible applied research study in capital markets, wealth management or digital assets
• Defend the positioning of research findings such that they advance both finance scholarship and investment / wealth management practice