This important unit provides the fundamental concepts of modelling volatility, with the main goal being to analyse and understand the stylised facts of asset returns. We learned to apply econometric methods capable of modelling financial data, and discussed some of the potential pitfalls of these techniques, and their potential solutions. The concepts were a bit challenging at times, but the coordinator and tutors delivered the material clearly and effectively. They explained the statistical theory behind the models, which helped students understand both the logic and the purpose of the work, as well as how to actually do the modelling using Rstudio.

The lectures were very good. The lecturer tries to keep things engaging and shows real-world application of the content he is teaching. Managing without the lectures is unrealistic, they were crucial in gaining understanding for the unit. The lectures were held in-person, livestreamed and recorded. They were almost entirely theory-based, and rarely used R, which was mainly covered in the workshops and tutorials.

The tutorials and workshops were engaging and interesting but not as vital to attend as the seminars. They both included relevant questions and helped prepare for assessments, so attendance is still recommended. The earlier tutorials are definitely important, as group allocations occur and information on assessments is given. Both also include questions that reflect those seen in both the assignments and the final exam.

The assessments were difficult and time consuming but in no way unfair for the unit. They are not assignments that can be completed the night before, and require adequate time to be completed to a good standard. Similar questions were given in the tutorials, and derivations required in assignment 2 were demonstrated in the seminar. Overall, the assignments were useful in seeing how the content learnt can be applied in the financial world, and were challenging but enjoyable and fair for the difficulty of the unit.

The exam was based on all weeks content, closed book, calculator allowed. This semester, the exam had a significant time difficulty, with majority of students missing questions. The content in the exam was generally fair, but the time constraint did not allow adequate time to solve each question. With that said, there were still large portions of the exam that were completely doable if you were on top of the content throughout the semester. Again, like the assessments, significant revision is required to be able to perform well in this unit and exam.

An interesting unit that can be challenging at times, but various resources are provided to make yourself comfortable with the content. Keep on top of the content as the semester goes on. The content, especially at the end of the semester really builds on top of each other and if you don't know the previous content students can easily become very lost, resulting in a loss in the value obtained from attending lectures and tutorials. Also ensure that you are happy with your group for assignments, as over 25% of your mark will be dependent on how you are able to perform within this group.