Session 1 - Securities Industry Overview- What is the financial services industry
- Who are the industry's principal players
- How has the securities industry changed in recent years
- What are some of the reasons for these changes
- The types of securities firms
- The principal organizational units of the modern securities firm
- The role of registered representatives, financial planners and investment advisors
- Other industry support: the rating agencies
At the end of this session and upon completion of the assigned readings, you should be able to: Identify the principal players in the financial industry; Describe the changes occurring in the securities industry; Distinguish among the types of securities firms and their operations | Session 2- How the capital markets provide for the financing needs of corporations and governments
- The basic functions of the investment banker
- The registration process
- The distribution process
- Basic common stock terminology
- Rights of the common shareholders
- Why investors buy common stocks
At the end of this session and upon completion of the assigned readings, you should be able to: Understand the role of corporations: why and how they get started, the corporate charter and authorized and issued stock; Understand the basic rights of common stockholders; Understand the primary market and the role of raising capital; Outline the principal functions of the investment banker; List the chief provisions of federal law as it pertains to the distribution of securities to the public |
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Session 3- Preferred shares and their role in corporate finance
- Basic preferred stock terminology
- How corporations use rights and warrants
- American depository receipts
- Basic mathematics of stocks
- The distinction between the role of stocks and bonds in corporate finance
- Looking closely at the corporation
At the end of this session and upon completion of the assigned readings, you should be able to: Distinguish between Common and Preferred Shares and list the principal features of preferred shares; Distinguish among rights, warrants and other common stock equivalents | Session 4- How and why government bonds are issued
- The types of government bonds
- How and why corporate bonds are issued
- The types of corporate bonds
- How bonds are retired
- Trading bonds
- Factors that influence the value of bonds
At the end of this session and upon completion of the assigned readings, you should be able to: List and distinguish the various types of corporate bonds; Identify the basic risks faced by a bondholder; Compute the current yield and the yield to maturity on a bond; List and distinguish the various types of government bonds |
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Session 5- The role of bonds and notes in municipal financing
- The kinds of municipal bonds
- The tax treatment of municipal bonds
- The primary and secondary markets for municipal bonds
- Risk and rewards of municipal bond investing
At the end of this session and upon completion of the assigned readings, you should be able to: Distinguish among the various types of municipal bonds and their principal features; Measure the value for an individual investor of the tax-free interest income on a municipal bond | Session 6- The exchanges as marketplaces
- The role of the exchange members
- The role of the exchange specialists
- The types of buy/sell orders for securities
- Order execution by size
- The basic distinction and front office vs. back office
- Operational departments
At the end of this session and upon completion of the assigned readings, you should be able to: Explain the role of exchange members; List the various types of buy and sell orders; Discuss the various techniques for the execution of large blocks of stocks; Sketch the principal duties of the major operational areas of a typical brokerage firm |
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Session 7- Selling short
- The over-the-counter market vs. the exchange markets
- The role of the broker/dealer in the OTC markets
- Kind of OTC market quotes
- How the OTC dealers communicate their quotes
- The OTC national market system
- The third and fourth markets
- Regulation of market activity
At the end of this session and upon completion of the assigned readings, you should be able to: Discuss the strategy of short selling; Outline the role of the market maker in the OTC market; Distinguish among the various types of OTC quotes and how the market makers communicate | Session 8- Stock options
- Call options
- Underlying stock
- Utilizing call options for leverage
- Intrinsic values and time values
- How call options are created
At the end of this session and upon completion of the assigned readings, you should be able to: Describe call options and distinguish them from stocks; Distinguish between options and futures and their respective uses; Appreciate several of the different uses for call options, including leverage; Determine a call option's intrinsic value and time value; Understand the financial news listings for options prices; Appreciate how call options are created |
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Session 9- The concept of
- Types of investment companies
- Investment objectives of investment companies
- How mutual funds are priced
- The redemption and exchange of mutual funds
- The taxation of mutual funds (the
- Alternate forms of investment companies
- - real estate investment trusts
- - variable annuities
- Review for final exam
At the end of this session and upon completion of the assigned readings, you should be able to: Distinguish among the various types of investment companies; Cite how mutual funds are priced and evaluated; List some other forms of "packaged" securities such as real estate investment trusts and variable annuities | Session 10 - Final Exam |
Schedule Note
