NCI Courses

The history of financial markets, key periods of disruption (1929, 2007 etc), the ‘flow’ model of the economy, fundamental challenges of finance/ investments, frameworks for financial analysis, time, and risk, six principles of finance

The history of money, define its functions, methods of payment and the future of money, the measurement of money using the monetary aggregates, relationship of money to inflation, interest rates and economic growth. The coming and going of the gold standard. Market and funding liquidity. The importance of price stability. Overview of ECB stability mechanisms.

The history and role of financial institutions. Monetary policy and the role of central banks. The role and structure of financial markets. Overview of financial instruments. The role and risk of leverage. Characteristics of financial instruments. The need for standardisation of contracts. Underlying instruments vs derivatives. Overview of futures, options, swaps asset backed securities, collateralised debt obligations. Primary vs secondary markets. OTC and ECN’s. Characteristics of well-run markets

Assets as cashflows. The concept of present value. The time value of money in practice. Discount factors in theory and practice. The perpetuity and the annuity. Compounding. Relationship with inflation. Present value under certainty and uncertainty.

Fairly deep dive into both schools of thought. Cognitive biases (e.g., loss aversion, anchoring, framing, over-confidence, herding). Efficiency vs inefficiency. Strong form, semi-strong, weak. Relevance to passive vs active investing. EMH and the 2007 financial crisis. Presentation of key arguments from both sides (e.g., Fama, Thaler, Kahneman)

Overview of the market/industry for riskless/fixed income securities. The sales of bonds, primary and secondary markets. Approaches to valuation of such securities. Sovereign vs corporate bonds. Valuation of coupon bonds, pure discount bonds and consols. Types of risk associated with bonds and measurement of risk. Bond prices and yields. Role of such securities in the sub-prime crisis. Analysing bond markets/maturities/interest rate spreads. Interpreting yield curves as a predictor of macroeconomic performance. Use of bond markets by corporations of locking in rates. Role of Rating agencies.

Interest rate spreads in more detail. Link between credit risk, bond ratings and bond yields. More detailed discussion on how yields/spreads determine future economic activity. Expectation Hypothesis, Liquidity Premium Theory, Preferred Habitat Theory. More detailed discussion on bond ratings. Study of long-term interest vs short term interest rates. Comparison of yields on US Treasury vs other instruments.

Overview of the market/industry for riskless/fixed income securities. The sales of bonds, primary and secondary markets. Approaches to valuation of such securities. Sovereign vs corporate bonds. Valuation of coupon bonds, pure discount bonds and consols. Types of risk associated with bonds and measurement of risk. Bond prices and yields. Role of such securities in the sub-prime crisis. Analysing bond markets/maturities/interest rate spreads. Interpreting yield curves as a predictor of macroeconomic performance. Use of bond markets by corporations of locking in rates. Role of Rating agencies.

Portfolio overview. Adapting mathematical models with application to combining assets. Combining risky and riskless assets. Measuring expected risk and return of portfolios. Overview of the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM)

Overview of HFT systems, data analytics, quant trading. Key components of HFT system. Cryptocurrencies, Mobile Money.

Regulatory and pragmatic effects of technology and digitisation, and the future of financial markets. Potential for market manipulation, short selling, etc. Overview of some key regulations.