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Trading Schools 34 replies

Trading Schools

  • #1
  • First Post: Feb 22, 2007 8:45am Feb 22, 2007 8:45am
hi traders,
i was just wondering if anyone out there had any info on good universities that offer interesting trading and/or financial market undergraduate programs. i did a few searches of the forums but came up with nothing. i understand that trading isn't something you can learn totally in school but i mine as well study something that interests me. im currently living in Montreal, canada but am willing to relocate. any info would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

NasdaqNinja
  • #2
  • Feb 22, 2007 8:47am Feb 22, 2007 8:47am
I had posted this, in this thread http://www.forexfactory.com/showthre...ont#post195885

Also I see you are in montreal, real close to where i went to college. Hell of a time up by you. St katherines street is awesome!!




Quoting mbqb11
My school (univ of vermont) offered some good investing classes while I was there but the prof was the biggest A*hole so I decided not to take that path(I had him for finance made me want to kill myself).

Some courses we have
Financial Institutions&Markets-Study of level and structure of interest rates and characteristics of financial institutions and markets. Topics include market vs. natural rate of interest, interest rate structure, behavior of interest rates

Security Val & Portfolio MgmtExamination of theories and evidence on the investment decision process including operations of equity securities markets, market efficiency, financial asset prices, and portfolio management.

Options and Futures--Financial derivatives - options, futures and swaps. Topics include: structures of the markets for exchange traded and over-the counter derivatives; identification and exploitation of arbitrage opportunities; use and misuse of derivatives to hedge risk in both financial and product markets.

and some other portfolio mgmt courses that they don't seem to have listed anymore.

My friends friend who went to Tulane, said he took courses there in Forex Market, and the Prof was a retired trader from forex and options.

If you check out the individual school sites you are looking for you can find course lists, and past course lists usually.

Good luck!
Mike

Best of luck,
Mike
  • #3
  • Feb 22, 2007 11:36pm Feb 22, 2007 11:36pm
Google financial engineering. There's a few colleges around the country that have programs in it.
How you act is more important than how you feel.
  • #4
  • Feb 23, 2007 1:35pm Feb 23, 2007 1:35pm
The few general econ and business classes I've taken at my university really helped me out with trading. They may not teach you entry/exit strategies, but they certainly will allow you to better understand how the market works and how the world affects the market and vice versa. With that knowledge, you can strengthen your current strategies to better serve you. The best thing about these courses is that you can find them at any university and they are usually available to non business/econ majors.

Though it might not be directly related to Forex, you should also look into personal financing classes. Almost every university should offer that class (or an equivalent) and it teaches you very important money management skills that every one (traders and non-traders alike) should have to ensure that they know how to properly utilize their money. And more importantly, how not to throw it away unwittingly.
  • #5
  • Feb 23, 2007 2:00pm Feb 23, 2007 2:00pm
Quoting NasdaqNinja
hi traders,
i was just wondering if anyone out there had any info on good universities that offer interesting trading and/or financial market undergraduate programs. i did a few searches of the forums but came up with nothing. i understand that trading isn't something you can learn totally in school but i mine as well study something that interests me. im currently living in Montreal, canada but am willing to relocate. any info would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

NasdaqNinja
Not sure about specific programs but courses that are held in high regard are areas like Computational Finance, Physics, Mathematics and some schools now offer degrees in Capital Markets. The Chartered Financial Analyst program is also held in high regard. Just google some of these terms and see what you come up with.
  • #6
  • Last Post: Feb 28, 2007 2:27pm Feb 28, 2007 2:27pm
Hey Ninja, I'm in Montreal too!

From what I gather most universities do not really tech you how to trade but they might teach you how to invest. Why? What's the difference? Trading is generally short term, looking to exploit patterns or mispricings in the market, investing is generally a longer term buy-and-hold approach. The thing is, most academics believe in the EMH (Efficient Market Hypothesis)...which essentially says you can't beat the market because the market is so efficient that it instantly prices-in all relevant information. So the best you can do is buy-and-hold. This is ridiculous! I don't know why so many academics subscribe to this view.

I have completed Level 1 of the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst)...most of the readings for that were about fundamental analysis. There was a very very short section on technical analysis and they too seemed to be biased against it because of the EMH. There was an even shorter section on the Forex, although parts of it were quite interesting (like the arbitrage pricing models).

I am currently in a grad diploma in management, concentration in finance at McGill University (I did my B.Sc. in mathematics there too). So far I haven't really had many of the finance courses; just one, intro to corporate finance. The professor there was also biased against chartists.

Now HEC ( http://www.hec.ca/ ) might be an exception. I think they might offer courses about trading (in English and French); I know at least they have a "trading lab."

I'm not sure, but I think the more advanced programs that are now being taught at some schools such as mathematical finance would be mostly concerned with modelling markets for the purposes of risk management; not something that would really help you try and make money on the markets but rather save you from losing money.

It seems that if you want to learn about trading, you have to learn it on the job or on the street. Teach yourself and learn from others who are doing it; that's why this is such a great forum.

-mathematician
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