Advanced Public InvestingNo prerequisite CPE Credits: 16 2 Days 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., both days View current training schedule Course Description
Advanced Public Investing will provide participants a solid understanding of complex investment concepts of risk, return, portfolio strategies, and security analysis. This is an advanced course and participants will be expected to have a solid foundation in fixed-income securities and their characteristics, investment economics, and passive and active investment strategies. It is strongly recommended that participants attend the GFOA Investing Public Funds seminar before attending this Advanced Public Investing seminar.
Topics Covered
- Risk concepts and metrics. Maturity and weighted average maturity are often used as measures of market risk for a security and portfolio. Neither gives adequate information to make fully informed investment decisions. The course will explain the concepts and uses of duration, convexity, yield value of a 32nd, and standard deviation.
- Measures of return. Yield and average yield are often the measures of return reported for a security and a portfolio. The course will show how total return is calculated and how it can be used to measure the effectiveness of the investment program.
- Benchmarking portfolio performance. Participants will learn how benchmarks will be discussed and how benchmarks assist in measuring investment performance as well as making and evaluating investment decisions.
- Active portfolio management strategies. In contrast to passive portfolio management, active portfolio management is a dynamic investing approach that attempts to identify opportunities that enable the portfolio to achieve a return greater than that of the market. This course will explore a number of these strategies: duration management, yield curve placement, sector weighting decisions, individual security selection, and timing.
- Options-adjusted spread (OAS) analysis. The universe of securities contains innumerable fixed-income investments with various options structures that affect a security’s potential return. Participants will learn to use OAS to evaluate securities with embedded options (callable securities).
- Electronic tools for portfolio management. The Bloomberg Professional System is a powerful tool that provides real-time information to investors, allowing them to manage their portfolios. Participants will use this tool throughout the training to apply some of the advanced concepts taught in the course.
A laptop computer is recommended for this seminar.
Learning Objectives Those who successfully complete the seminar should be able to: - Identify and use important risk concepts and metrics, including: duration, convexity, yield value of a 32nd, and standard deviation.
- Calculate measures of return, including: yield, average yield, and total return.
- Use portfolio benchmarks to make and evaluate investment decisions.
- Determine which active portfolio strategy (e.g., laddered, barbells, and bullet portfolios) is appropriate in different interest rate scenarios.
- Perform options-adjusted spread analysis.
- Use electronic tools for portfolio management.
- Apply principles learned in the course in a simulation exercise that constructs a portfolio based on given market information.
Recommended Reading Investing Public Funds
Elected Officials Guide: Investing
Treasury Management Newsletter – GFOA monthly subscription newsletter
Registration FeesGFOA member: $580 Nonmember: $790 View current training schedule
|
