Financial Markets and Trading Training Course

This introductory course will provide participants with a first class and detailed working knowledge of the key financial markets, their purpose, function, main activities and their regulation. It is intended to be part refresher, part educational and part challenging so that all delegates will derive the maximum benefit from it. Feedback and discussion will be actively encouraged throughout the sessions which are intended to be interactive not just reactive and factual.

The primary function is to ensure that by completion, all course delegates will be much better equipped to deal with clients and their ongoing needs and to put into context the services and markets in which they are trading and participating.

The Introduction to Fixed Income training course is an overview of the fixed income securities designed for anyone seeking a solid understanding of fixed income securities and financial markets.

Audiance

All staff who need a working knowledge of Compliance and the Management of Risk

Format of the course

A combination of:

• Facilitated Discussions
• Slide Presentations
• Case Studies
• Examples

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, delegates will be able to:

• Understand the major facets of Compliance and the national and international efforts being made to manage the risk related to it
• Define the ways in which a company and its staff might set up a Compliance Risk Management Framework
• Detail the roles of Compliance Officer and Money Laundering Reporting Officer and how they should be integrated into a business
• Understand some other “hot spots” in Financial Crime – especially as they relate to International Business, Offshore Centres and High-Net-Worth Clients

The Compliance and MLRO Refresher Programme examines the key risk management issues and topics that are of vital importance in today’s highly-regulated environment. As well as being targeted at Compliance Officers, MLROs, MLCOs and other risk management professionals it is also aimed at members of senior management and board members keen to know more about what to expect from the risk control functions within their organisations. The Programme is lectured by subject-matter-expert from the UK.

The key learning objective of the Programme is to equip attendees with sufficient knowledge to assess objectively the adequacy of their organisation’s existing risk management controls and practices and to make appropriate enhancements.

Audience

All staff needing a working knowledge of Corporate Governance for their organisation

Format of the course

A highly-interactive combination of:

• Facilitated Discussions
• Slide Presentations
• Examples
• Exercises
• Case Studies

Audience

• Newly-appointed Personal Lending Managers
• Support staff responsible for gathering and interpreting information for the lending managers
• Staff responsible for the management of bad and doubtful debts who need a working knowledge of the decision-making process which led to the lending being made

Lending to Personal Customers – Consumer Lending – demands a high-level of skill in the assessment of individual lending proposals.

In many cases it has none of the sources of financial information traditionally associated with Corporate Lending – Balance Sheets, Profit & Loss Accounts etc. – and relies more on the trust and rapport built up between the customer and the lender.

By the end of this course lenders to Personal Customers will be able to:

• Understand the process for assessing lending propositions from Personal Customers
• Utilise that process to come to a logical decision to agree to the loan or to decline it with robust reasons
• Manage and control a Personal Lending portfolio to ensure, as far as possible, that all loans are repaid in full. (Remembering that there’s no completely risk-free lending…!)
• Build rapport with customers to (try to!) ensure that all their loans are fully repaid

During the training, will present the issues of financial analysis using the advanced features of Excel.

This course is intended for financial analysts, accountants and all those who want to expand their skills spreadsheet with issues of financial analysis.

Introduction to Structured Products

The purpose of the course is to provide delegates with an introduction to the Structured Products used in investment banking. On completion of the course all delegates will have a working knowledge of the subject and will be able answer

1. What are structured products?
2. Why issue them?
3. How do issuers and investors benefit?
4. How do you structure and price a range of derivative products?
5. What are the risks and costs of producing structured financial products?
6. What are embedded derivatives?
7. What are exotic options?
8. What are the pricing and hedging considerations?

Structured products are investments comprised of multiple components.

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the MATLAB technical computing environment + an introduction to using MATLAB for financial applications. The course is intended for beginning users and those looking for a review. No prior programming experience or knowledge of MATLAB is assumed. Themes of data analysis, visualization, modeling, and programming are explored throughout the course. Topics include:

• Working with the MATLAB user interface
• Entering commands and creating variables
• Analyzing vectors and matrices
• Visualizing vector and matrix data
• Working with data files
• Working with data types
• Automating commands with scripts
• Writing programs with logic and flow control
• Writing functions
• Using the Financial Toolbox for quantitative analysis

kdb+ is an in-memory, column-oriented database and q is its built-in, interpreted vector-based language. In kdb+, tables are columns of vectors and q is used to perform operations on the table data as if it was a list. kdb+ and q are commonly used in high frequency trading and are popular with the major financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan, etc.

In this instructor-led, live training, participants will learn how to create a time series data application using kdb+ and q.

By the end of this training, participants will be able to:

• Understand the difference between a row-oriented database and a column-oriented database
• Select data, write scripts and create functions to carry out advanced analytics
• Analyze time series data such as stock and commodity exchange data
• Use kdb+'s in-memory capabilities to store, analyze, process and retrieve large data sets at high speed
• Think of functions and data at a higher level than the standard function(arguments) approach common in non-vector languages
• Explore other time-sensitive applications for kdb+, including energy trading, telecommunications, sensor data, log data, and machine and network usage monitoring

Audience

• Developers
• Database engineers
• Data scientists
• Data analysts

Format of the course

• Part lecture, part discussion, exercises and heavy hands-on practice

In this instructor-led, live training, participants will learn how to apply machine learning techniques and tools for solving real-world problems in the banking industry. R will be used as the programming language.

Participants first learn the key principles, then put their knowledge into practice by building their own machine learning models and using them to complete a number of live projects.

Audience

• Developers
• Data scientists
• Banking professionals with a technical background

Format of the course

• Part lecture, part discussion, exercises and heavy hands-on practice

Machine Learning is a branch of Artificial Intelligence wherein computers have the ability to learn without being explicitly programmed. Python is a programming language famous for its clear syntax and readability. It offers an excellent collection of well-tested libraries and techniques for developing machine learning applications.

In this instructor-led, live training, participants will learn how to apply machine learning techniques and tools for solving real-world problems in the banking industry.

Participants first learn the key principles, then put their knowledge into practice by building their own machine learning models and using them to complete a number of team projects.

Audience

• Developers
• Data scientists

Format of the course

• Part lecture, part discussion, exercises and heavy hands-on practice

Python is a programming language that has gained huge popularity in the financial industry. Adopted by the largest investment banks and hedge funds, it is being used to build a wide range of financial applications ranging from core trading programs to risk management systems.

In this instructor-led, live training, participants will learn how to use Python to develop practical applications for solving a number of specific finance related problems.

By the end of this training, participants will be able to:

• Understand the fundamentals of the Python programming language
• Download, install and maintain the best development tools for creating financial applications in Python
• Select and utilize the most suitable Python packages and programming techniques to organize, visualize, and analyze financial data from various sources (CSV, Excel, databases, web, etc.)
• Build applications that solve problems related to asset allocation, risk analysis, investment performance and more
• Troubleshoot, integrate, deploy, and optimize a Python application

Audience

• Developers
• Analysts
• Quants

Format of the course

• Part lecture, part discussion, exercises and heavy hands-on practice

Note

• This training aims to provide solutions for some of the principle problems faced by finance professionals. However, if you have a particular topic, tool or technique that you wish to append or elaborate further on, please please contact us to arrange.

R is a popular programming language in the financial industry. It is used in financial applications ranging from core trading programs to risk management systems.

In this instructor-led, live training, participants will learn how to use R to develop practical applications for solving a number of specific finance related problems.

By the end of this training, participants will be able to:

• Understand the fundamentals of the R programming language
• Select and utilize R packages and techniques to organize, visualize, and analyze financial data from various sources (CSV, Excel, databases, web, etc.)
• Build applications that solve problems related to asset allocation, risk analysis, investment performance and more
• Troubleshoot, integrate deploy and optimize an R application

Audience

• Developers
• Analysts
• Quants

Format of the course

• Part lecture, part discussion, exercises and heavy hands-on practice

Note

• This training aims to provide solutions for some of the principle problems faced by finance professionals. However, if you have a particular topic, tool or technique that you wish to append or elaborate further on, please please contact us to arrange.