Postgraduate Module Descriptor

LAWM112: Financial Markets Law and Regulation

This module descriptor refers to the 2019/0 academic year.

Module Aims

The underlying aim of this module is to identify and explore the fundamental principles of financial regulation relating to the selling of financial instruments and investment products as identified by statute (thus excluding deposit-taking banking business). The module covers international, EU and UK regulatory initiatives. Among the regulatory fields which are covered are: conduct of business, financial promotion and investor protection more generally; market abuse; issues of securities; and capital maintenance.

The more detailed aims of this module are therefore for you:

1: to analyse the principles of the law of finance as they relate to the overlap between norms of financial regulation and norms of substantive law;

2: to analyse the law governing the creation of contracts in high-volume financial markets between traders and between traders and retail customers;

3. to analyse the liabilities of financial institutions for wrongs and breaches of fiduciary duty in financial transactions;

4: to analyse the efficacy of the regulations in the FCA Handbook in the context of investment business;

5: to explore the policies underpinning the reforms to EU and UK regulatory structures in the wake of the financial crisis of 2007-09 and thereafter; and

6: to develop a critical understanding of standard market practice and the issues with transacting in compliance with financial regulation.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here - you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills	1. Demonstrate detailed knowledge of principles of financial regulation and of the substantive law relating to investment contracts 2. Evaluate critically the effectiveness of financial regulation in the context of investment business 3. Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of principles of common law and equity in relation to investment business
Discipline-Specific Skills	4. Apply principles of the common law and equity to factual problems 5. Analyse critically the nature and objectives of the law in relation to investment business
Personal and Key Skills	6. Analyse issues arising from the inter-action of principles of substantive law and financial regulation in a specific commercial context 7. Exercise critical judgment in relation to commercial issues

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

Section 1: Sources of financial regulation

Section 2: The Financial Conduct Authority regime under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000

Section 3: Conduct of Business regulation

Section 4: Issues in the creation of contracts

Section 5: The nature of financial contracts

Section 6: The liability of financial institutions at common law

Section 7: The liability of financial institutions in equity

Section 8: Taking security and recovering property in financial contracts

Section 9: The nature of investment entities

Section 10: Communal investment schemes

Section 11: Unit trusts and collective investment schemes

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
33	267

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	33 hours	11 x 3 hour seminars. Lecturer-led, three-hour seminars (total of 11). Students will be expected to make at least one presentation during the course.
Guided Independent Study	150 hours	Preparation for seminars
Guided Independent Study	8 hours	Preparation for and writing of formative essay
Guided independent study	109 hours	Preparation for and writing of summative essays

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).

Journal articles, case law and statutes available through the ordinary legal databases. FCA financial regulation all available free on-line via www.fca.gov.uk.