A Foundation in Global Markets

Learn from the perspective of macro trader

This is not your standard finance or economics course. Each class will give a nod to some common theories taught in textbooks, but will rely heavily on actual case studies to illustrate how markets behave in real life.

There will be ten classes total, with the final two classes uploaded in May.

Reviews from Students

5 star rating

Perfect for traders. Wish I had this when I was starting ...

Cyrus Younessi

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5 star rating

Federal Reserve

Hamid Shafiezadeh

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5 star rating

Foreign Exchange

Ying Nip

Excellent.

Excellent.

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5 star rating

Review

Simar Atwal

Amazing job in all lessons! Thank you Joseph :)

Amazing job in all lessons! Thank you Joseph :)

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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. The entire class is available for free as a preview.

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.

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.

Agency MBS

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.

Foreign Exchange

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.

Global Dollar System

The dollar is unique in that it is the currency of the United States, but also widely used throughout the world. This course sketches out the reach of the dollar, offers reasons why the dollar is so dominant, and discusses its implications. The global dollar system makes the Fed the de facto central bank of the world, and directly transmits Fed policy throughout the world. Case studies: 2008 Fed Swap Lines, Dollar strength and inflation, Eurodollar Banking.

Equities

Equities are the most popular asset, but also the most difficult to understand. This course gives an overview of the market, discusses traditional valuation theories, and notes that equities can behave very differently in practice. Case studies: Target Date Funds, the Index Effect, Corporate Stock buybacks, Relief Rallies, Tesla Stock split.

Credit

A wide range of borrowers raise money through the market by issuing debt. This course walks through the corporate credit, municipal, and asset backed securities market. We discuss spreads, ratings, default and recovery, and market indicators. Case studies: Fallen Angels, Fed Corporate Credit Facility, Private Label MBS.

Global Central Banks

Central banks are each gods of the market, so it is important to study each of the major central banks. They can also be predictable, which creates investment opportunities. This course discusses the mandates and tools of ECB, BOJ, and PBOC. Case Studies: Draghi's "Whatever it takes", Yield Curve Control, RMB Shock Devaluation, BOE Pension Crisis.

Money

Money is demand. When there is more money then there more demand for real goods and services, but also financial assets. We discuss the different types of money, how money is created, and how it flows. Case studies: Quantitative Easing, Post-GFC Credit Crunch, Covid Fiscal Stimulus, 2006 Real Estate Boom, Eurodollar Banking.

Instructor

Principal Joseph Wang

Joseph is the CIO of Monetary Macro LLC, author of Central Banking 101, and operator of Fedguy.com. Earlier in his career he was a senior trader on the Federal Reserve's Open Markets Desk, a credit analyst at S&P Ratings, and an attorney in New York. Through his career he has had the opportunity to study the financial system from the outside as a market participant, but also from its very center on the Desk. His work aims shed light on what often appears to be an opaque system, and to bridge the gap between academia and practice when it comes to financial markets.


Joseph holds a B.A. in Economics from Northwestern University, a J.D. from Columbia Law School, and an MSc. in Financial Economics from Oxford University.