Course Outline

The Finance Camp’s ambitious goal is to establish a baseline understanding of the history and evolution of U.S. financial markets in one week, while gaining hands on trading experience in the major investment vehicles used by professionals.

Each student will be required to have opened a parental approved custodial account at Charles Schwab to facilitate funding of their trading accounts prior to the beginning of camp. Additional disclosures and approvals by parents will required to begin the course. There is no financial cost to attend this camp.

The origin and history of Wall Street – early trading methods, what was a ticker tape? Black Monday crash of 1929. The top 10 major financial events in the past century. Why did they happen?

Open outcry trading floors evolution to electronic trading.

What is a stock, a bond? And where can I buy them?

What are all those index’s they talk about on CNBC?

What is the difference between a trader and investor?

Are farmers involved in finance? And what are commodity exchanges for?

Who are some of the famous Wall Street investors and what did they do?

Are the financial markets and the real world connected and how?

Each Student will receive a $500 contribution to their trading account.

Movie highlights from “Trading Places” with Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd. Discussion to follow.

What is the study of economics and is the global economic world really connected? What is Forex?

Where do investors find good investment ideas?

How do we perform research on a company and what is a research mosaic?

How to visit a company and what are you looking for?

Where to find and how to read a company’s financial statement and balance sheet?

Once we make an investment, how do we track it?

What are market and limit orders when buying a stock?

Student’s will execute their first stock trade in the markets.

Financial math 101. Calculating % returns and making big numbers simple.

Watch highlights from the original 1987 movie “Wall Street with Michael Douglas and Charlie Sheen, followed by discussion.

What are put and call options and how do I use them in investment strategies?

How to value and option.

Why are earnings releases so important and how do they influence stock prices?

What is margin debt? and should I use margin borrowing in my investing strategy?

What is the world of interest rates and why do they matter to investors?

Understanding earnings and growth expectations versus reality.

What caused the financial collapse of 2008 and what are MBS securities?

Watch highlights from the movie “The Big Short” followed by discussion.

Is real estate a good investment and how will I ever buy a house?

What is commercial real estate?

What are hedge funds, ETF’s and mutual funds?

What are mergers and acquisitions?

How and why do companies go bankrupt?

What is a private equity fund and why does everyone in Aspen talk about them?

Watch highlights from Michael Moore’s movie “Capitalism, A Love Story”

What does it mean to have a diversified portfolio?

What careers are available in the world of finance and investing?

What are brokers and investment bankers, what do they do?

What are the top schools and top firms for financial careers?

History of cryto currencies and should you care about them?

Review of prior material covered and open questions.

Final exam of course material. Students with a 75% passing grade will receive $750 in additional funding by end of day.