Fundamentals of Investments and Trading Securities

This applied course intends to impart the basic theoretical framework about investment and trading in the financial markets. Along-side the students are expected to participate in a stimulating real-time portfolio investment game that faithfully and realistically mimics the market and thereby exposes the participants to the choices/trade-offs faced by professional traders and investment companies. Thanks to the competitive pressure of the game, students learn the fundamentals of investment decision making, as well as the analysis of the information. The course follows a consistent and chronological pedagogy, including the description of history and anatomy of financial markets and a unified treatment of the three prime financial asset classes, viz. stocks, bonds, derivatives. Topics are organized in a way that makes them easy to apply-covering both fundamental and technical analysis. Throughout the course, actual trading of securities will be explained along with the use of indicators analyzing price action, pattern recognition, and technical analysis tools.

1. Understand/analyze real-time data of key macroeconomic variables and interpret their influence on financial markets.
2. Assess various investment strategies based on the application of fundamental and technical analyses tools (and behavioral finance).

Those interested in making money using financial investments

No required textbook (Recommended; Bodie, Kane & Marcus. “Investments,” 10th Ed. McGraw Hill)

Manish Sharma

Besides delving in government think tank and management consulting, Dr. Sharma has spent more than 10 years doing macro-economic research and teaching, at premier institutions such as Jawaharlal Nehru University, University of Tokyo and London School of Economics. Till April 2012, he worked at the Tokyo headquarter of Daiwa Capital Markets, as Director in the Corporate Finance Department. Thereafter he has delved in full time academics teaching Finance and Economics at some of the renowned business schools in Asia, including Doshisha Business School.

Dr. Sharma runs an investment Advisory. He had worked as a newscaster with NHK World Radio Japan for 13 years and advises a number of alternative investment ventures. In 2006 he co-founded a rural primary education initiative in India. He has published in top-notch academic journals, edited books and newspapers.
He holds a Ph.D. in financial economics.