Courses

An investor’s impossible dream: how to know what financial instrument to buy—and how to buy before it goes up and sell before it goes down. While we live and operate in a world of uncertainty, there is a professional way of managing that uncertainty to reduce the risk to something less than a gamble. In this introductory course on investing, we will examine how various methods and theories have evolved since the first financial instruments were traded. Specific topics we will cover include stocks and bonds (stock picking vs. bond investing, duration vs. maturity); venture capital (how it works, valuations, and due diligence methodologies); the capital asset pricing model and the Sortino ratio; and new forms of assets such as cryptocurrencies. By the end of the course, students will have exposure to methods of calculating risk and evaluating investments as well as critiquing financial articles and conversing with investment professionals. Students will also understand venture capital term sheets and structures from the investment viewpoint.