Introduction to Investment Management

Course details

This practical 2 day Introduction to Investment Management course introduces investment Management in an interactive approach of 60:40 short briefings, and teacher led discussion followed by interactive case studies based on the industry and where appropriate, the client. The aim of this course is to give a practical grasp of the key issues and trends in Investment Management and to raise your confidence when dealing with colleagues or customers.

Course Content

Day 1

Introduction – Key clients, Services Offered, How money is made and changes

• Who are the key customers for Investment Managers?
• What services do Investment Managers provide?
• How do they make money?
• Why is the industry changing?

Inside an Investment Management house

• Key players : Counterparties, depositories, regulators
• Investment universe at an Investment Manager: Equities, Fixed Income, Balanced funds, Emerging Markets
• Investing in Alternatives, Multi-Managers and SRI at an Asset Manager

Key financial issues in Investment Management

• Measures of return, market risk & risk-adjusted return
• The importance of correlation
• Financial issues in hedging and derivatives

Case study 1 : risk adjusted returns

Using derivatives in Asset Management

• Main derivatives used at an Asset Manager
• EPM
• Derivatives in ‘UCIT’ funds and Structured Products

Case study 2: using derivatives in 2 funds

Risks for Investors

• Shortfall, Liquidity and Market risk

Case study 3: Investing for Jessica

Regulation

• Basel III, Solvency II, Dodd Frank & Mifid II /EMIR

Case study 4: Performance in 2 Funds

Day 2

Review of day 1

Key roles in an Investment Management house

• Fund Managers
• Sales and marketing
• Back office and middle office
• Compliance and legal
• Support staff: finance and control, audit, HR, IT

Case study 5: Life of a trade

Management Styles

• Direct (discretionary account) / collective (UCITS)
• Traditional / alternative
• Benchmarked / absolute performance
• Active / index performance
• Traditional / quantitative

Case study 6: Style in 4 funds

Equity Asset Management

• The case for Equities
• Top Down/Bottom Up Approaches
• Stock selection basics
• Styles

Case study 7: Lafarge cement

Fixed Income Management

• The case for bonds
• Active management of interest rate and credit risk
• Benchmarked fixed-income management
• Specialised Fixed Income products – Money market, ABS etc.

Case study 8: Risks in 3 bonds

Specialised Asset Management

• Structured products
• Multi Manager funds
• Alternatives (Private Equity, real estate, hedge funds, commodities)
• SRI
• Emerging markets

Case study 9: Holistic case study

Closing discussion (with business speaker if possible)

• Asset Management in 2020
• Wrap up and close

Learning Outcomes

The key learning goals are:

• Understand the Investment Management business
• Know the key assets used to generate returns
• Know the risks for investors
• Understand how Investment Managers use derivatives to generate additional returns