Global Markets and Investing Playbook
In this full-day interactive training, we’re giving you an insider’s guide to understanding how the world’s biggest investors and the global markets actually work. This Masterclass demystifies the entire financial ecosystem by breaking down the biggest players, unpacking their business models, and exploring the core asset classes every investor needs to know. We provide a clear framework as to how various institutions operate, interact with each other, and participate in the financial markets.
This class is ideal not only for early professionals just starting their careers, but also for individuals within these institutions who want a greater understanding of the big picture. We give participants a comprehensive overview of investment theory and practice by combining foundational knowledge with real-world case studies. Quite simply, there’s no other offering like this out there.
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Throughout the program, participants will:
✏️ Establish a quantitative understanding of discounting and compounding principles
✏️ Develop working definitions for the two primary asset classes (debt & equity) as well as the most commonly used instruments
✏️ Examine how various investor types allocate capital across the lifecycle of a company’s development
✏️ Study the mechanics of leverage and learn how to “size risk” in the fixed income markets
✏️ Progress from cash markets to basic derivative structures
✏️ Gain exposure to basic pricing concepts and survey a range of investment strategies across asset classes
By the end of the day, participants will have:
A comprehensive understanding of the investing landscape and the different players A practical framework for portfolio construction and risk management The ability to analyze market-moving events and translate them into actionable insights A clear view of the various career pathways within the world’s most powerful institutions
Outline
Part I (morning session) | The financial ecosystem: who/what/why?
Understanding the players, the roles, and the rules
- What is an institutional investor? Learn working definitions for both the “buy side” and “sell side” of the finance industry
- Who are the players? Explore the spectrum of investor types, from hedgers to speculators, “real money” to “fast money”, and from traditional investment managers to the “alts”
- What are the roles? Identify the most influential market participants, explain their business models, understand their objectives, and pinpoint their risks
- The three primary divisions of an Investment Bank explained vis-a-vis the lifecycle of a deal
- Traditional investment managers: e.g., pension funds, insurance companies, private wealth managers, RIAs, family offices, sovereign wealth funds, etc.
- Alternative asset managers (the “alts”): e.g., hedge funds across a variety of strategies (equity long/short, relative value, macro, pod shops, and more), private equity, private credit, etc
- What are the rules? Understand why these institutions invest, how they generate returns, what their objectives are, and what careers inside these organizations look like
Part II (afternoon session) | From basic theory to practical investment strategies
Understanding the game
- Interactive case study: how do global events ripple across asset classes?
- The Asset Classes: Debt vs. Equity basics
- Debt analysis
- Central bank policy & economic data: understanding the signals that move markets
- Interest rates and bond math basics: a crash course in government debt and yield curve construction
- Risk-taking 101: understanding the stakes of investing in debt
- Leverage and Derivatives 101: from futures to swaps and options
- Credit Markets: corporate bonds and credit default swaps
- Currencies, Commodities, and DeFi: the intuition behind their valuations
- Equities analysis
- Lifecycle of investing in a company
- Comparables analysis
- DCF analysis
- Debt analysis
Requirements:
- Computer with wifi connection and Zoom
- Microsoft Excel (Windows Excel preferred; Mac Excel acceptable)
- Adobe Acrobat or similar PDF reader
Not what you're looking for?
Contact us about classes you would like to see or semi-custom content for your firm.
FAQ
Who is this course for?
This course is for anyone who is either interviewing for an entry level Investment Banking or Private Equity role or for anyone who has landed an IBD or PE offer and wants to get desk-ready.
Note: if you are a current practitioner, this will largely be review from new hire training. Stay tuned for our advanced courses!
Is this a financial modeling course?
No, we will have a separate class JUST for financial modeling and Excel. However, you will get a TON of hand-on modeling experience in this course, building your own DCF and LBO models complete with debt schedules and free cash flow sweeps.
You’ll also learn all the accounting concepts necessary to build a 3-statement model.
Can I use a Mac?
Yes. BUT…
You’ll be using a PC when you’re on the job. When it comes to the Excel sections of the course, the closer you can get to Windows Excel, the better off you’ll be.
You can purchase software like Parallels and Windows Excel to run Windows Excel on your Mac, which will be an upgrade from Mac Excel. This is not a requirement, though.
What makes your courses different from your competitors?
Quite a lot actually. First, Kristen here taught these concepts on site at banks all over Wall Street. She has iterated and refined her explanation of concepts over the course of 15 years. She has an OCD level of detail when it comes to making sure the visuals and examples are fun and engaging. Jen’s is a natural born story teller and teacher, a skill that is quite rare among those on Wall Street. The two of us were VERY focused on creating engaging videos that goes way beyond droning over a PowerPoint presentation. Additionally, through our podcast, we have conversations all the time with thought leaders in the industry, and through our community on social media which is made up of 300k people and counting, we are constantly hearing from YOU about what questions you are being asked in real time. In fact, the exact content of this course was tailored to all of YOU who shared the questions you were asked. To us, this course is our masterpiece, something that is the culmination of literally 25 years of learning and teaching.
I’ve never seen Succession or The Industry. Will I find the course boring?
Not at all! The stories are there as just that: stories.
Sure, you might be more excited about the material if you’ve seen the shows, but it’s absolutely NOT essential.
If you want the cliff notes version, you can listen to our podcast series (start with our episode on Succession season 1 here) that gets into the finance of these shows 🙂
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