Alternative Investment Strategies

This course is designed for beginners as well as advanced students and personal investors who recognize the importance of diversifying their investment portfolios and who have a desire to understand the risk and rewards of various trading styles in several asset classes. Instruction provides an overview of commodity futures and options, computer trading models, managed futures, commodity pools, diamonds, physical gold, and bitcoins. Topics include a history of futures and the exchanges; mathematical expectations behind many popular investing beliefs and "conventional wisdoms;" behavioral and emotional aspects of investing; orders, including entry and exit strategies, risk management, and measurement; income tax considerations; asset allocation and correlation and non-correlation studies; and an overview of trading data providers and trading software. Guest lectures given by experienced traders and financial professionals expound upon the various subjects covered.