Course Category

SESSION ONE

Capital Markets

• Why do capital markets exist? Capital markets exist because issuers have needs and investors seek opportunities. This session will explore the markets for securities where companies and individuals can go to raise funds and invest funds.

Selected topics for discussion include:

• The size of the markets
• Financial Intermediaries
• Money and Capital markets
• The structure of the markets
• Private and Public
• The major Instruments
• Rating Agencies and their roles
• New Instruments
• Reading the Financial Times

SESSION TWO

• The foreign exchange (FX) market is the most active daily market in terms of trading volume.
• Understand the workings of the FX markets and how currency trading can be profitable for you.
• Learn to identify core FX products, explore the relationship between FX and short-term interest rates, interpret the factors that determine exchange rates and calculate spot and forward rates.

SESSION SEVEN

• Last year the Securities Exchange Commission amended Rule 344; it now reads: there are two analysts on Wall Street: a fundamental analyst who follows companies and has a designation called the Charter Financial Analyst (CFA); and a technical analyst who follows stocks and has a designation called the Charter Market Technician (CMT). Come hear more about the CMT and learn how you can become an officially recognized technician.

SESSION FIVE

• What is a derivative? An instrument whose value is derived from that of an underlying security or commodity. Come explore the exciting world of derivatives. Learn how derivatives can be used to manage price risk, to trade and to speculate in both the financial and commodities markets
• Topics for discussion include: the types of derivatives and their uses, exchange traded and OTC derivatives, new products including credit derivatives and current trends in the marketplace.

SESSION SIX

• Whether you're a portfolio manager, a human resource specialist, or a CEO, in order to succeed in your work you need to have a fundamental understanding of how the economy is behaving.
• How has it performed recently? Where does the economy stand today? And, most important for those in the investment and general business community, where is the economy headed from here? Knowing how to locate, read and analyze key economic indicators has become crucial for anyone who wants to stay far ahead of the business curve.

Regulation and Corporate Governance

• Any market professional will tell you that it is impossible to do business on Wall Street without an understanding of the regulations that guide its daily activities. This program will provide a complete review of the regulatory structure, institutions and rules upon which Wall Street operates.
• As part of this review corporate governance regulations will be examined. Participants will explore the evolution of corporate governance regulations in a post-Enron environment – from simple listing requirements to all-encompassing regulations designed to protect corporations from themselves.

SESSION THREE

• Learn more about the exciting field of investment banking.
• Learn more about the exciting field of investment banking.
• Investment bankers provide a wide array of services to global clients in all industry sectors. These services include: advising on corporate strategy and structure, equity and debt capital raising, sophisticated risk management, research, and market-making in cash securities and derivative instruments around the world. Most investment banks also participate in proprietary investing and trading.
• Corporate finance is an eclectic discipline that calls on accounting, economics, finance, derivatives, and other financial tools. It is one of the most profitable areas for an investment firm and leads to very high levels of compensation on the Street.
• An in-depth overview of the art and science of portfolio design and portfolio management. Learn how investors set objectives and then utilize a combination of strategic asset allocation, tactical asset allocation, security selection, and derivative instruments to achieve those objectives. We will also discuss performance measurement and reporting as well as current issues in the securities markets.

Indexes

• When asking about how the market is doing, it is usually the performance of an index that the answer reflects, rather than the market as a whole. Gain insights with this brief introduction to the index business.

SESSION FOUR

• Today more than 50% of Americans own stocks and yet many are unaware of the risks and pitfalls of stock ownership.
• Focus on both the equity (stock) markets as well as the fixed income (bond) markets, will review the process of taking a company public, analyzing a stock’s value, and the processes and strategies for trading over-the-counter and on an exchange.
• Consider some of the dynamic changes to market structure that are unfolding in the financial pages every day – and what these changes might mean to the future of trading.
• Most people fail to realize that the bond market dwarfs the stock market when measured by volume. With this in mind, the structure of these markets will be explored, and the fixed income products available to retail investors and institutions will be discussed, and the role these products and markets play in the capital markets today.

Prize and Cocktail Reception

• Following the final session there will be a Cocktail Reception at which time the winner of the Market Trading Competition will be presented with their prize!