Joseph Perfetti | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
Joseph Perfetti BMGT443 Expecting an A Anonymous 06/04/2024	I took this class as a senior but I wish I had taken it sooner. The course material is pretty interesting if you like the analysis aspect of finance. The course is heavily involving, as there are group (same group throughout the year) assignments throughout the semester that weigh heavily as well as a weekly assignment. You better hope you have competent group members. Attendance is necessary and so is every assignment. If you attend every class, submit every assignment, and work well with your group, you'll likely get an A. This is a busy class, however, Perfetti makes his lectures interesting and you will learn a lot in this class. Highly recommend. He doesn't mess around, but he sets the class up for you to do well.
Joseph Perfetti BMGT443 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/17/2024	Most accurate review is the one in 12/14/23. There’s a lot of work to do but this is 400 class so that’s expected. You will need a Bloomberg Certification by the first two weeks and four group projects were you need to present at least once. Best teacher I got so far at UMD and the only reason I didnt get an A is because I forgot about two HW. If you can do everything asked on the syllabus to avoid the final do it. Our avg grade for the final was 4/10 which is worth 10% of all your grade.
Joseph Perfetti BMGT443 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/05/2024	Very useful course and is taught pretty straightforward. Keep every assignment on lockdown and every excused absence sent in a week early as the professor crafted an ironclad syllabus so he doesn't have to deal with students outside of class. Failure to do so will lead to having to take the final. Exams are complete curveballs and are plagued with tricky wording making it deadly to have to take the final.
Joseph Perfetti BMGT443 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/14/2023	The class itself is great. The content is useful and flows logically, and the homeworks are directly related to what you learn. The dcf modelling and analysis makes any other finance class that uses dcfs a breeze because you already have a working model and a pretty deep understanding. As long as you do not miss homeworks you basically guarantee an A. There is sufficient extra credit (6% of your total grade) to bring up any lost points elsewhere which is generally minimal.
Joseph Perfetti BMGT443 Expecting an A Anonymous 08/24/2023	This course was messy and had no clear organization to it. Professor Perfetti is a little bit rude and does not make it feel like a safe space to ask questions. This class required so much writing on a weekly basis. The only upside is that you learn a bunch in this class and you can opt out of the final exam if you come to class and do well on your assignments. Unless you are really into a career in investment banking, look to take another finance elective course.
Joseph Perfetti BMGT443 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/09/2023	I'm getting an A in class, but it's not thanks to Perfetti. This class was the most work I have ever had to do in a college class, and unless you want to go into investment banking there is 0 reason to take this. Find a different finance class. He couldn't care less about his students and doesn't seem to be interested in making sure the students learn anything. If you submit screenshots for an assignment even a minute late you'll get a 0, meanwhile him and the TAs fell a half semester behind on grades. If you're gonna hold students to that standard, hold your TAs to the same standard. The only positive thing about the class is that if you put in the time to do the work (which for most of us was over 10 hours a week) you will get an A. I don't understand how he has such a high rating. Unless you're a finance bro you won't enjoy the class.
Joseph Perfetti BMGT443 Expecting an A Anonymous 04/25/2023	Absolutely no BS professor. No BS work, everything he assigns is for a reason. Absolutely no credit for late work (even just 1 minute late). And if you have a mild cold you're probably going to have to show up to class. But regardless, any finance major should take this class, you'll learn so much and it's probably the best finance class in the Smith School. Don't bother with the textbook. You're probably going to have to dedicate on average 2-4 hours a week working outside of his lectures. Everything I learned is also heavily applicable to the financial world. Take the class!
Joseph Perfetti BMGT443 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/11/2023	I will say the way he structures his class is a 10/10. He makes you show up to every class by taking attendance but you are rewarded with opting out of the final. His homework's were really annoying at first because they could only be completed in the Bloomberg labs on campus but you get the hang of it. Definitely take this class. However, the only down side to this class isn't the class itself but the professor. Perfetti doesn't bother nor care to learn anyones names or faces. He's kind of just there to teach and move on. I know someone that was going through personal troubles and asked for an extension and he basically said no its unfair to give one student additional time. Yikes.
Joseph Perfetti BMGT443 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/14/2022	This guy is great. Everyone is a senior and everyone just wants to graduate so the class is made to be super doable. Honestly it is a decent amount of work and I feel really overwhelmed about the homeworks sometimes but the second I go to office hours the TA's help me immedietaly and it gets done in the next hour. Honestly so many people were stressed about this class and missed class and thought that they wouldn't get a good grade but everyone ends up opting out of the final (another great feature an automatic 10%) and gets an A in the class. Really easy class first one on my transcript and definitely a good requirement for finance majors
Joseph Perfetti BMGT443 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/12/2021	Perfetti is an extremely knowledge professor, but can be intimating to some students. He expects a lot from his students but not anything that is too complicated. Everything is outlined on the syllabus and if you don't follow it exactly you have the potential to get your grade lower or receive no credit on assignments. He teaches the Bloomberg software which is very confusing (but extremely useful) so listening to lecture really helps complete assignments and understand what is going on in the class. There is a lot of extra credit to make up from a bad grade on like 3 different assignments. Group project also account for 50% of your grade, so you should hope you get put in a good group were everyone does their fair share
Joseph Perfetti BMGT443 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/11/2019	Professor Perfetti has tons of industry experience and really know what he's talking about. His lecture is what I think, without a doubt, the best finance course in Smith, and I've learned from him a lot. However, he is very strict on assignment rules and he can be harsh in grading, given the fact that the course is very easy, and an overwhelming proportion of students got an "A" from his class. His rules on final exam opt out is truly awesome and make my life in finals week much easier. However, he admits that people “hate” him for that as well. Since some grading on cases and projects are just totally by LUCK. Yes, by luck! Apart from the Bloomberg challenge, there is a group case that asks you to pick two companies to outperform S&P500 in 2.5 months, otherwise you’re gonna to be deducted by 2.5 points. Our team missed both. Seriously if I can predict the future by this why I’m I even in this university? I should be sitting in JPMorgan or Morgan Stanley, or even writing a book to tell people which stock they should invest, and everybody who knows this will become rich. It is totally ridiculous. I would say be very careful in picking a team/selecting your teammates since unreliable teammates will result you unable to be opt out from the tedious final exam that will be potentially destroying your final grade. This is a course you can really learn a lot about finance but you can also get end up with a bad grade easily if you have made some careless mistakes. But I still gotta say, Perfetti is a great lecturer and BMGT443 is a perfect course for those who are interested in finance, it will definitely exceed your expectations.
Joseph Perfetti BMGT443 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/25/2015	Perfetti is great professor, with tons of knowledge and experience. However, in order to enjoy this course, you really need to enjoy finance. If you do, this will be one of the best classes you'll ever take!!! The material covered is this course is very really world, interest, and very useful, even for other classes. You'll also learn some high-level Excel modeling and how to use Bloomberg. There are a lot of assignments, some individual, some in group, but there are not very hard, and the grading is pretty lenient. The exams are also all take-home, and done online. Overall, this was one of the best classes I ever took, and an A is very easily attainable. I highly recommend this class to everyone!!!
Joseph Perfetti BMGT443 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/14/2014	Let me preface this by saying that you need to really enjoy finance to appreciate Perfetti and this course. I can say that this was the one of the best classes I've taken in the business school. Perfetti is a great lecturer and does a great job of simplifying complex material, and making it interesting. I learned a ton, which sadly I can't say for many of my other courses. This class did require a good amount of work, but everything I got out of it was worth it. Also grading is fairly lenient.
Joseph Perfetti BMGT443 Expecting a B AcctFin2014 01/09/2014	This was an okay class, if you like the material and you enjoy the "finance personality." A lot of the class is spent listening to Professor Perfetti emphasize how smart he is, and how important it is to be smart like him. I went to about half the classes, and usually showed up late. In spite of that, I would have gotten an A but my group was dinged 6 points for failing to submit a spreadsheet with our final paper. The exams were both take-home and all of the homeworks are pretty much the same and exactly what we did in class; in order to do badly, you have to really try (as I did). So, again, if you enjoy stock stuff, think valuation is interesting, want to learn some high-level Excel modeling, or just really enjoy being in a room full of Finance people, take this class. If none of these apply to you (and besides the Excel practice, none of them applied to me), I suggest finding a different Finance elective.
Joseph Perfetti BMGT443 Expecting an A sukhenkoy1990 05/23/2013	Professor Perfetti is one of the best Finance professors in the business school. He is extremely knowledgeable in the subject matter and does a great job of presenting the material in an easy-to-understand manner. His classes are very practical and give you great experience in valuing real-world companies using a valuation model that you create in class. The class is pretty easy to get an A in as long as you do all of the work that is assigned to you. The midterm threw some people off as it was slightly more difficult than many were probably expecting, but it was pretty fair if you took the time to read the multiple choice questions carefully. The homework assignments are all easy, and Professor Perfetti provides videos on how to do all of the homework assignments properly. The group valuation project just gives you experience valuing a real-world company in a group setting using the valuation model that you construct in Excel, while the StockTrak assignment is really a hit or miss. The final exam is take-home and is also pretty easy. Overall, this is probably the most practical Finance class offered in the business school as it gives you great experience in valuing real-world companies using McKinsey's economic format and DCF. If possible, try to take this class with Perfetti.
Joseph Perfetti BMGT443 Anonymous 12/23/2012	Perfetti is one of the better professors I have had at UMD. He gets down to business and doesn't mess around or waste anyone's time. Don't leave the final group project until the last second or else it will be the bane of your existence if you try to balance it with finals.
Joseph Perfetti BMGT443 Anonymous 12/20/2012	Perfetti is awesome. He really knows what he is talking about and knows how to explain everything to make it understandable to undergrads. The course is about valuing companies and throughout the year you will go about building a model. The course consists of attendance, homeworks, stock portfolio, a midterm, a final, and a final project. Everything is take home and open notes which makes it really easy. There is no excuse to not get an A in the class. Attendance is pretty self-explanatory. The homeworks are relatively easy and for almost all of them, he posts videos that if you follow step by step you will do well on the homework. The midterm and final are like longer homeworks with some multiple choice questions thrown in. They are relatively easy too since you have a lot of time to do them and they're open notes and open book. The other parts of the class are the stock portfolio and the final project which is an analysis and valuation of a company that you choose in an industry he chooses. The stock portfolio is hit or miss since it seems to be mostly luck. You're graded against your classmates in this. The final project is a complete analysis and valuation of a company and he tells you everything that needs to be included in it. This class is very easy and interesting. Perfetti is one of the best professors in the business school and finance department by far.
Joseph Perfetti BMGT443 Expecting an A Anonymous 09/23/2012	Perfetti is THE man. Despite the fact that the teaches at UMD and Wharton while concurrently owning a management consulting firm, he still shows up to class in a polo, jeans, and sneakers. The goal of this class is to teach you the DCF as viewed by consultants, as well as a few bits about multiples and economic profit valuations. Each lecture consists of you going over one small part of the valuation. Grades consist of periodic homework assignments, a midterm, a final, attendance, stocktrack performance (i.e. a stock portfolio), and final group project (a formal valuation of some company). All assignments, including exams, are take-home. He gives at least 2 points of extra credit during the semester. He grades leniently, and getting an A is very easy. Perfetti really knows this subject in and out, and he drills important concepts into your head better than most professors. Probably the most important course for a finance major.
Joseph Perfetti BMGT443 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/22/2011	Good course, really teaches you something that matters. I should have gotten the A in the class, but I missed 4 classes (each miss after the first takes 2 pts off your final grade). Show up to all the classes and make sure to do the homeworks and keep up to date. This is not a class you can teach yourself. Go to class and pay attention, Perfetti will get you there.
Joseph Perfetti BMGT443 Expecting an A dhyun3 05/14/2009	Best Finance course you probably ever take at Smith school. he knows what he's talking about.I felt like I am actually learning something.

Joseph Perfetti
BMGT443

Expecting an A
Anonymous
06/04/2024

I took this class as a senior but I wish I had taken it sooner. The course material is pretty interesting if you like the analysis aspect of finance. The course is heavily involving, as there are group (same group throughout the year) assignments throughout the semester that weigh heavily as well as a weekly assignment. You better hope you have competent group members. Attendance is necessary and so is every assignment. If you attend every class, submit every assignment, and work well with your group, you'll likely get an A. This is a busy class, however, Perfetti makes his lectures interesting and you will learn a lot in this class. Highly recommend. He doesn't mess around, but he sets the class up for you to do well.

Joseph Perfetti
BMGT443

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
05/17/2024

Most accurate review is the one in 12/14/23. There’s a lot of work to do but this is 400 class so that’s expected. You will need a Bloomberg Certification by the first two weeks and four group projects were you need to present at least once. Best teacher I got so far at UMD and the only reason I didnt get an A is because I forgot about two HW. If you can do everything asked on the syllabus to avoid the final do it. Our avg grade for the final was 4/10 which is worth 10% of all your grade.

Joseph Perfetti
BMGT443

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
05/05/2024

Very useful course and is taught pretty straightforward. Keep every assignment on lockdown and every excused absence sent in a week early as the professor crafted an ironclad syllabus so he doesn't have to deal with students outside of class. Failure to do so will lead to having to take the final. Exams are complete curveballs and are plagued with tricky wording making it deadly to have to take the final.

Joseph Perfetti
BMGT443

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/14/2023

The class itself is great. The content is useful and flows logically, and the homeworks are directly related to what you learn. The dcf modelling and analysis makes any other finance class that uses dcfs a breeze because you already have a working model and a pretty deep understanding. As long as you do not miss homeworks you basically guarantee an A. There is sufficient extra credit (6% of your total grade) to bring up any lost points elsewhere which is generally minimal.

Joseph Perfetti
BMGT443

Expecting an A
Anonymous
08/24/2023

This course was messy and had no clear organization to it. Professor Perfetti is a little bit rude and does not make it feel like a safe space to ask questions. This class required so much writing on a weekly basis. The only upside is that you learn a bunch in this class and you can opt out of the final exam if you come to class and do well on your assignments. Unless you are really into a career in investment banking, look to take another finance elective course.

Joseph Perfetti
BMGT443

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
05/09/2023

I'm getting an A in class, but it's not thanks to Perfetti. This class was the most work I have ever had to do in a college class, and unless you want to go into investment banking there is 0 reason to take this. Find a different finance class. He couldn't care less about his students and doesn't seem to be interested in making sure the students learn anything. If you submit screenshots for an assignment even a minute late you'll get a 0, meanwhile him and the TAs fell a half semester behind on grades. If you're gonna hold students to that standard, hold your TAs to the same standard. The only positive thing about the class is that if you put in the time to do the work (which for most of us was over 10 hours a week) you will get an A. I don't understand how he has such a high rating. Unless you're a finance bro you won't enjoy the class.

Joseph Perfetti
BMGT443

Expecting an A
Anonymous
04/25/2023

Absolutely no BS professor. No BS work, everything he assigns is for a reason. Absolutely no credit for late work (even just 1 minute late). And if you have a mild cold you're probably going to have to show up to class. But regardless, any finance major should take this class, you'll learn so much and it's probably the best finance class in the Smith School. Don't bother with the textbook. You're probably going to have to dedicate on average 2-4 hours a week working outside of his lectures. Everything I learned is also heavily applicable to the financial world. Take the class!

Joseph Perfetti
BMGT443

Expecting an A
Anonymous
01/11/2023

I will say the way he structures his class is a 10/10. He makes you show up to every class by taking attendance but you are rewarded with opting out of the final. His homework's were really annoying at first because they could only be completed in the Bloomberg labs on campus but you get the hang of it. Definitely take this class. However, the only down side to this class isn't the class itself but the professor. Perfetti doesn't bother nor care to learn anyones names or faces. He's kind of just there to teach and move on. I know someone that was going through personal troubles and asked for an extension and he basically said no its unfair to give one student additional time. Yikes.

Joseph Perfetti
BMGT443

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/14/2022

This guy is great. Everyone is a senior and everyone just wants to graduate so the class is made to be super doable. Honestly it is a decent amount of work and I feel really overwhelmed about the homeworks sometimes but the second I go to office hours the TA's help me immedietaly and it gets done in the next hour. Honestly so many people were stressed about this class and missed class and thought that they wouldn't get a good grade but everyone ends up opting out of the final (another great feature an automatic 10%) and gets an A in the class. Really easy class first one on my transcript and definitely a good requirement for finance majors

Joseph Perfetti
BMGT443

Expecting an A
Anonymous
01/12/2021

Perfetti is an extremely knowledge professor, but can be intimating to some students. He expects a lot from his students but not anything that is too complicated. Everything is outlined on the syllabus and if you don't follow it exactly you have the potential to get your grade lower or receive no credit on assignments. He teaches the Bloomberg software which is very confusing (but extremely useful) so listening to lecture really helps complete assignments and understand what is going on in the class. There is a lot of extra credit to make up from a bad grade on like 3 different assignments. Group project also account for 50% of your grade, so you should hope you get put in a good group were everyone does their fair share

Joseph Perfetti
BMGT443

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/11/2019

Professor Perfetti has tons of industry experience and really know what he's talking about. His lecture is what I think, without a doubt, the best finance course in Smith, and I've learned from him a lot. However, he is very strict on assignment rules and he can be harsh in grading, given the fact that the course is very easy, and an overwhelming proportion of students got an "A" from his class. His rules on final exam opt out is truly awesome and make my life in finals week much easier. *However*, he admits that people “hate” him for that as well. Since some grading on cases and projects are just totally by LUCK. Yes, by luck! Apart from the Bloomberg challenge, there is a group case that asks you to pick two companies to outperform S&P500 in 2.5 months, otherwise you’re gonna to be deducted by 2.5 points. Our team missed both. Seriously if I can predict the future by this why I’m I even in this university? I should be sitting in JPMorgan or Morgan Stanley, or even writing a book to tell people which stock they should invest, and everybody who knows this will become rich. It is totally ridiculous. I would say be very careful in picking a team/selecting your teammates since unreliable teammates will result you unable to be opt out from the tedious final exam that will be potentially destroying your final grade. This is a course you can really learn a lot about finance but you can also get end up with a bad grade easily if you have made some careless mistakes. But I still gotta say, Perfetti is a great lecturer and BMGT443 is a perfect course for those who are interested in finance, it will definitely exceed your expectations.

Joseph Perfetti
BMGT443

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/25/2015

Perfetti is great professor, with tons of knowledge and experience. However, in order to enjoy this course, you really need to enjoy finance. If you do, this will be one of the best classes you'll ever take!!! The material covered is this course is very really world, interest, and very useful, even for other classes. You'll also learn some high-level Excel modeling and how to use Bloomberg. There are a lot of assignments, some individual, some in group, but there are not very hard, and the grading is pretty lenient. The exams are also all take-home, and done online. Overall, this was one of the best classes I ever took, and an A is very easily attainable. I highly recommend this class to everyone!!!

Joseph Perfetti
BMGT443

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/14/2014

Let me preface this by saying that you need to really enjoy finance to appreciate Perfetti and this course. I can say that this was the one of the best classes I've taken in the business school. Perfetti is a great lecturer and does a great job of simplifying complex material, and making it interesting. I learned a ton, which sadly I can't say for many of my other courses. This class did require a good amount of work, but everything I got out of it was worth it. Also grading is fairly lenient.

Joseph Perfetti
BMGT443

Expecting a B
AcctFin2014
01/09/2014

This was an okay class, if you like the material and you enjoy the "finance personality." A lot of the class is spent listening to Professor Perfetti emphasize how smart he is, and how important it is to be smart like him. I went to about half the classes, and usually showed up late. In spite of that, I would have gotten an A but my group was dinged 6 points for failing to submit a spreadsheet with our final paper. The exams were both take-home and all of the homeworks are pretty much the same and exactly what we did in class; in order to do badly, you have to really try (as I did). So, again, if you enjoy stock stuff, think valuation is interesting, want to learn some high-level Excel modeling, or just really enjoy being in a room full of Finance people, take this class. If none of these apply to you (and besides the Excel practice, none of them applied to me), I suggest finding a different Finance elective.

Joseph Perfetti
BMGT443

Expecting an A
sukhenkoy1990
05/23/2013

Professor Perfetti is one of the best Finance professors in the business school. He is extremely knowledgeable in the subject matter and does a great job of presenting the material in an easy-to-understand manner. His classes are very practical and give you great experience in valuing real-world companies using a valuation model that you create in class. The class is pretty easy to get an A in as long as you do all of the work that is assigned to you. The midterm threw some people off as it was slightly more difficult than many were probably expecting, but it was pretty fair if you took the time to read the multiple choice questions carefully. The homework assignments are all easy, and Professor Perfetti provides videos on how to do all of the homework assignments properly. The group valuation project just gives you experience valuing a real-world company in a group setting using the valuation model that you construct in Excel, while the StockTrak assignment is really a hit or miss. The final exam is take-home and is also pretty easy. Overall, this is probably the most practical Finance class offered in the business school as it gives you great experience in valuing real-world companies using McKinsey's economic format and DCF. If possible, try to take this class with Perfetti.

Joseph Perfetti
BMGT443

Anonymous
12/23/2012

Perfetti is one of the better professors I have had at UMD. He gets down to business and doesn't mess around or waste anyone's time. Don't leave the final group project until the last second or else it will be the bane of your existence if you try to balance it with finals.

Joseph Perfetti
BMGT443

Anonymous
12/20/2012

Perfetti is awesome. He really knows what he is talking about and knows how to explain everything to make it understandable to undergrads. The course is about valuing companies and throughout the year you will go about building a model. The course consists of attendance, homeworks, stock portfolio, a midterm, a final, and a final project. Everything is take home and open notes which makes it really easy. There is no excuse to not get an A in the class. Attendance is pretty self-explanatory. The homeworks are relatively easy and for almost all of them, he posts videos that if you follow step by step you will do well on the homework. The midterm and final are like longer homeworks with some multiple choice questions thrown in. They are relatively easy too since you have a lot of time to do them and they're open notes and open book. The other parts of the class are the stock portfolio and the final project which is an analysis and valuation of a company that you choose in an industry he chooses. The stock portfolio is hit or miss since it seems to be mostly luck. You're graded against your classmates in this. The final project is a complete analysis and valuation of a company and he tells you everything that needs to be included in it. This class is very easy and interesting. Perfetti is one of the best professors in the business school and finance department by far.

Joseph Perfetti
BMGT443

Expecting an A
Anonymous
09/23/2012

Perfetti is THE man. Despite the fact that the teaches at UMD and Wharton while concurrently owning a management consulting firm, he still shows up to class in a polo, jeans, and sneakers. The goal of this class is to teach you the DCF as viewed by consultants, as well as a few bits about multiples and economic profit valuations. Each lecture consists of you going over one small part of the valuation. Grades consist of periodic homework assignments, a midterm, a final, attendance, stocktrack performance (i.e. a stock portfolio), and final group project (a formal valuation of some company). All assignments, including exams, are take-home. He gives at least 2 points of extra credit during the semester. He grades leniently, and getting an A is very easy. Perfetti really knows this subject in and out, and he drills important concepts into your head better than most professors. Probably the most important course for a finance major.

Joseph Perfetti
BMGT443

Expecting a B
Anonymous
05/22/2011

Good course, really teaches you something that matters. I should have gotten the A in the class, but I missed 4 classes (each miss after the first takes 2 pts off your final grade). Show up to all the classes and make sure to do the homeworks and keep up to date. This is not a class you can teach yourself. Go to class and pay attention, Perfetti will get you there.

Joseph Perfetti
BMGT443

Expecting an A
dhyun3
05/14/2009

Best Finance course you probably ever take at Smith school. he knows what he's talking about.I felt like I am actually learning something.