How to get start in investment analysis and portfolio management

The demand for a financial professional specialising in investment analysis and portfolio management is on the rise. This is because the world markets are getting interlinked and global trading and investment is now just a click away. Another factor which enhances the demand is that the developed world is in a financial crisis because of bad financial policies - the world needs good finance professionals. Here's an introduction to an investment analysis and portfolio management course.

About the investment course

The student becomes familiar with the theory of practical application of investment management. They learn how to value securities, they understand how capital markets function, what makes for the best portfolio mix in different economic scenarios, investor psychology, how to evaluate portfolio performance and measure risks. The type of investments covered is stocks, fixed income securities, derivative instruments among others. The course also requires training in statistics as regression analysis, correlation and covariance have to be performed often. The student must also know how to work a spreadsheet software like MSExcel. Course details The current investment environment is explained. Changes in investment theories and principles, and practices of valuation are learned. The thrust is on maintaining a global perspective. Theory principles and practices of portfolio management, including investment process, asset allocation, portfolio mix and portfolio evaluation, are taught. The student learns how to analyse fixed-income securities, shares, derivatives, options, future contracts, and other asset classes. Different investment strategies and the risk-reward concept are also understood. After, learning the theory, the student is required to build mock portfolios which are linked to
real-world investments and the portfolio’s performance is tracked. Losses and gains are measured and the student gets real-world hands-on knowledge of what could be the result of their analysis and investment decisions. Outcomes The student learns theoretical concepts and how to apply them in a real-world scenario. They learn how to evaluate different global financial instruments and pick the best for their client. They learn how to evaluate risks and returns on investments. They understand how investments at times when the economy is going through a bad patch – they also learn how not to be exuberant when the going is good. They learn and apply different valuation models to a variety of investment options and compare the potential investments by making a best case - worst case scenarios and “what - if” analyses.

Final word

There’s huge demand for skilled finance professionals specialising in investment analysis and portfolio management. The economic bust in developed nations, which hold most of the world’s money, has scarred many investments. It is now time for repair and reinvestment in financial instruments which are genuine, original and not part of a bubble.