Introducing the City - Evening

The market is constanty changing and in response to these changes, the content of Introducing the City continues to evolve. While the evening subject titles remain broadly similar to previous years, the ground they will cover reflects the many developments since our last programme.

This year’s eight evenings will address the evolution of alternative trading platforms in stock markets and the rising importance of algorithmic trading in equities. It will examine, for example, the complexities of co-location, of synthetic CDOs and of Basel III. It will approach the markets as much from the perspective of the derivative instruments as from their cash or underlying counterparts. But it will continue to explain in simple terms the critical differences between debt and equity, and it will focus on the various markets from the distinct viewpoints of the investor and the issuer.

It will refer to the impact of regulatory changes, actual and contemplated on insurance, as well as on banking; it will address real-time developments in credit markets and in M&A and of course it will continue to offer plentiful opportunities for the exchange of opinions and the sharing of experience. As a result, we are confident that the sessions will attract as diverse a range of participants as ever, and we look forward to welcoming you to the British Bankers' Association for a stimulating and instructive programme.

16-Oct-2012 -- 04-Dec-2012LondonGBP£1499
British Bankers' Association5:30pm - 8:30pm Instructional Method:
Group-Live
Instructor(s): [ Martin H.C. Russell, DL FCT; ] Tue Level: Basic

CPE CREDITS
20.0
Newcomers to the financial services industry, traders, sales people, back office professionals, staff assistants, compliance staff, auditors, IT professionals, executive recruitment professionals, government, professional services and charities.
No advance preparation required.
Students will be able to:
  • Describe links between the City, government, and the individual consumer
  • Explain how macro-economic events affect the financial markets
  • Describe ways in which a borrower can obtain funding from the money markets
  • Understand the stock markets and the wholesale issuance and trading of shares
  • Discuss how derivative products are used to manage and create risk in financial and commodities markets
  • Describe London's involvement in the international insurance and risk transfer markets
  • Explain what investment banks do and their role in mergers and acquisitions
  • Compare fund and wealth management and assess what blend of asset classes is best
None.
Why You Should Attend
Introducing the City is a comprehensive introduction to the City of London, one of the world’s leading financial centres. The course provides a convenient solution for those who wish to understand more about the City and international finance. Each evening provides participants with a different topic area, including the latest trends, terminology and critical issues. Don’t expect to leave the course as a trader – we won’t be doing a lot of mathematical equations! What we will be doing is giving you a deeper understanding of why the markets work in the way they do and who are the critical parties involved in various transactions.
Evening One - The Functions of the City
    As a provider of wholesale finance to commerce and to others; as a recipient of retail and wholesale surpluses; as a risk identification and risk transfer facility; as an opportunity for profit generation. Some fundamental aspects that are common to all markets - yield curve and accounting methodologies. The major participants, and the influence of government over it all. Current issues in regulation including the changing structure of investment banks.

Evening Two - The Short-Term Markets
    Domestic and international money markets, and the products that are traded. Roles of Debt Management Office and Bank of England. The foreign exchange markets, spot and forward, and their use for providing certainty and for speculative purposes. Money market funds, exchange-traded funds; derivatives of the underlying products including non-deliverable forwards and EONIA.

Evening Three - Commodities
    Physical markets: the typical supply chain: stocks, warehousing and delivery. Exchange and OTC trading; margining and clearing houses. Underlying and derivative products of energy, weather, softs, industrial and precious metals, and carbon trading. Shipping and freight markets.

Evening Four - Debt Capital Markets
    The nature of loans of all types. Bank loans, bilateral and syndicated; secondary loan trading and collateralized debt obligations. The public and private bond markets: issuers and investors, trading methods and settlement. Bonds for investors, and the asymmetrical nature of bond cashflows. Concept of yield to maturity. Bond derivatives and interest rate swaps. Credit default swaps.

Evening Five - Equity Capital Markets
    Shares and how they differ from bonds. Ownership rights and responsibilities. How shares are traded-grey market, official list, secondary markets. Block trading. Alternative Trading Mechanisms and Multilateral Trading Facilities. Initial and further public offerings, and the listing process. The benefits and drawbacks of equity capital. De-listing and its reasons. Private equity as an alternative. Cash and equity options and indices.

Evening Six - Corporate Finance
    How the balance sheet of a company is structured, for competitive advantage. Mergers and Acquisitions - the anatomy of buyouts, takeovers, disposals and what they all mean to the parties concerned. How M&A is the driver for so much else in investment banking. Company valuation methodologies and defence to hostile bids.

Evening Seven - Insurance and Risk Management Techniques
    Categories of risk and how risk arises. The decision tree; whether to accept risk, to mitigate or to transfer it, and the various means available. Lloyd's insurance market; how it is structured and what it provides by way of insurance and reinsurance. The dependence of insurers on investment returns. Solvency 2 and other challenges to the insurance market. The dependence of other financial markets on insurance as risk taker.

Evening Eight - Investment Management
    The fund management business; investment aims, mandates and benchmarking. Passive and active asset management styles and themes. Socially responsible investing. Use of derivatives for portfolio rebalancing. Pension fund specifics, liability-driven investing. Roles and responsibilities of trustees, nominees, advisers and consultants. Hedge funds and their key charateristics, and differences from traditional or 'long-only' investors. Prime brokerage.

Clients who register for this course will receive a complimentary 4-month subscription to FT.com. The Financial Times is the world's most respected financial newspaper, providing a broad assessment on finance, business and the industrial sector. The move to the electronic version follows an ongoing review of our environmental responsibilities as a global business and as part of the Pearson group. FT.com also has features that are not available in hard copy, such as: Special Reports, Alphaville, editor blogs, education sections and much more! Subscriptions will start within 6-8 weeks of the start of class and are limited to one subscription per client. (Please note: as of May 1, 2011, the electronic subscription replaces the hard-copy 3-month Financial Times subscription.) Refreshments will be provided each evening. Each participant will receive a complimentary copy of the Financial Times Guide to Using the Financial Pages.

Lunch is included for all students taking day classes.