Class 1: Market Participants
Each market participant operates under different motivations and constraints. Some of them invest to meet regulatory requirements, some to hedge their portfolio, and some are not even trying to make money. This course walks through a few major market participants and offers examples of market participants investing for reasons that have nothing to do with "fundamentals." Prices don't always mean what you think they mean.
Class 2: Federal Reserve
The Fed is easily the most influential market participant in the world. The words of a Fed chair can send markets to the moon, or into despair. But the Fed is a rationale actor whose actions can be understood and predicted. This course goes over the Fed's dual mandate, the tools it uses to carry out its task, and describes their impact on the real and financial economy. Case studies: "Higher for Longer," Reverse Wealth Effect, Taper Tantrum, Corporate Credit Facility.
Class 3: Treasury Market
The Treasury market is the world's single most important market. It determines the risk free rate in U.S. dollars, which directly impacts all asset prices. This course goes through the mechanicals of the Treasury market from product types, drivers of supply and demand, and common market interpretations of the yield curve. Case studies: March 2020 Treasury Market, TIPS implied breakevens, safe haven bids.
Class 4: Agency MBS [Early February]
The Agency MBS market is often through of as "Treasury adjacent" because it is credit risk free and also very liquid. This course walks through the process through which Agency MBS are created, discusses special characteristics like prepayment risk, and outlines how MBS prices feed through to the real economy. Case studies: 2022 QT, Convexity Hedging, 2020 mREIT Implosion.
Class 5: Foreign Exchange [February]
The FX market is a major asset class and one that directly impacts the financial and real economy. Global investors take into account FX changes when making investments, and real economy actors react to changes in their import and export prices. This class describes a number of academic and investor perspectives on what drive FX, and pays special note to the large role the government plays in influencing FX prices. Case studies: East Asian Currency Crisis, Sri Lanka Balance of Payments Crisis, Swiss Un-Peg 2015, the Safe Haven Yen.
More classes to come!