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The information and materials presented in connection with Northwestern University's School of Continuing Studies Basics and Advanced Futures and Options course(s) are for informational and educational purposes only. The information presented does not constitute trading or other advice regarding the purchase or sale of any futures, options, or other financial products or services.
Basics of Futures Trading - Available Online or In Class TRADE 100-0
In Basics of Futures Trading, students will explore a number of concepts and applications relating to the futures markets and the futures industry, including hedging and speculating. This exploration will provide an excellent opportunity for students to broaden their knowledge and skills regarding various key aspects of these markets and products. The course will be taught by several instructors who possess significant academic as well as trading and industry experience. Students will be able to directly interact with the instructors and will benefit from the viewpoints expressed from both a theoretical/academic as well as a practical trading perspective.
Topics covered will include: History and Development of Futures Exchanges, Electronic Trading, Regulation, Cash Markets and their Relationship to Futures Markets, Unique Nuances of futures contracts, the Business Entities that comprise the Futures Industry, Speculation, Hedging and Managed Futures. Options is taught as a separate course.
The Basics of Futures Trading has three principal goals. The first is to help students develop a sense for the scope, scale, and mechanics of the futures and options markets. The second, within this broader context, is to build a solid understanding of the Exchanges, the players, and key financial instruments. The third is to equip the student with specific tools and skills regarding these financial products that potentially they can apply to their own trading opportunities. br>
For students wishing to take the course in person, please register for SECTION 44.
For students wishing to take the course online, please register for SECTION 50.
*Schedule Notes:
Online section meets live at the above dates and times, but all class sessions are archived. Students are not required to log in during the live class session times.
*Schedule Notes:
Online section meets live at the above dates and times, but all class sessions are archived. Students are not required to log in during the live class session times.
Through an exploration of concepts and theories relating to financial instruments and their marketplaces, Economics of Trading will equip participants with a variety of tools for making value decisions about financial instruments. Topics covered will include macroeconomics, money and banking, financial instruments and their markets, time value of money, security valuation, the pricing of a variety of financial instruments, and an overview of the futures markets. The course has three principal goals: 1. To provide a sense of the scope, scale, and mechanics of the overall economy 2. To help students develop an understanding of financial markets, the players, and the financial instruments 3. To equip participants with specific tools and skills for evaluating the pricing of financial instruments that might be encountered, including what impact - if any - financial news has on the overall market. This will enable participants to recognize possible trading opportunities as they arise.
Course participation will require online or in-class attendance from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM (CST) on all course dates.
For students wishing to take the course in person, please register for SECTION 44.
For students wishing to take the course online, please register for SECTION 50.
Tuition:$795.00
This course is not currently being offered.
Technical Analysis for Futures Markets TRADE 201-0
This course provides a thorough understanding of classical barcharting price pattern analysis. Major U.S. futures markets will be used as the basis of the discussion. The course is designed specifically to impart the skills of constructing and interpreting charts of any freely traded market-futures or equity.
Participants will learn how to read buy and sell signals from the various price formations on the charts. With this knowledge, traders will be able to determine risk/reward parameters and develop strategies to make market decisions in a disciplined and objective manner.
Topics include:
Analysis of volume and open interest
Locating support and resistance
Reversal patterns - Head & Shoulders
Continuation patterns - Symmetrical Triangle
Gap Theory
Minor trend change indicators
Point & Figure charting
Mathematical Models
Fibonacci Numbers & Elliott Waves
Additional Information:
For students wishing to take the course in person, please register for SECTION 44.
For students wishing to take the course online, please register for SECTION 50.
Tuition:$595.00
This course is not currently being offered.
Introduction to Electronic Trading - Available Online or in Class TRADE 202-0
The objective of this class is to provide the basic skills needed to trade futures contracts electronically. Individuals with limited knowledge of futures and electronic trading will benefit from the hands-on approach employed in this class. The third and fourth sessions will allow students to work with data feeds.
By the end of the course, the student: -should have created a rational, clear Trading Plan; -should be at least moderately proficient in executing that plan on the electronic trading platform in simulation; and -should be able to document trading on charts and keep useful records of trading.
*Schedule Notes:
Online section meets live at the above dates and times, but all class sessions are archived. Students are not required to log in during the live class session times.
Option Volatility, "greeks," and Pricing TRADE 203-0
Winning at options means betting with the odds on your side. It's not about predicting the future but, rather, evaluating the present, determining which options are undervalued and which are overvalued, and creating strategies that put the odds in your favor. This options course teaches traders the most sophisticated tools to evaluate market conditions and options at any given point in time, including option pricing models, "greeks," and volatility skews It also gives students the knowledge necessary to understand the peculiarities or "personalities" of the different options contracts. In general, the point of the course is to provide students with fluency in their ability to conceptualize options and volatility, to enable them to grasp the important characteristics of an options market at any given time and identify anomalies and aberrations, and to create optimum options strategies to take advantage of them. Students will learn a variety of strategies and option-trading approaches, as well as how to determine which strategies are appropriate for which conditions.
A basic understanding of options is required.
Tuition:$595.00
This course is not currently being offered.
Introduction to Derivative Instruments and U.S. Financial Markets - Available Online or In Class TRADE 204-0
This course covers a wide range of topics involving the debt and equity markets, macroeconomic factors, Federal Reserve policy issues, and derivative products.
Topics Include:
The Business Cycle: Inflation, Employment, the Budget, the Dollar, the Role of Market Expectations
Economic Reports: Role and Interpretation of Key Government Releases
Policy Drivers: The Federal Reserve Bank, Mechanics of Fed Policy, the Federal Funds Rate, U.S. Banks and Financial Institutions
Term Structure of Interest Rates
Debt Markets, Equity Markets, and Trading Instruments
Derivatives: Futures & Options Contracts
Treasury Markets & Products - Trading features of key products, cash/futures relationships, role of arbitrage, basis relationships, trading strategies.
Stock Index Markets & Products - Trading features of major index products, design and calculation of indexes, pricing of futures products, arbitrage, hedging strategies.
Tuition:$595.00
This course is not currently being offered.
Introduction to Options Strategies - Available Online or In Class TRADE 205-0
Options are contracts which give the holder the right - but not the obligation - to buy or sell a security at a set price for a set period of time. They can be used to protect, or hedge, an existing investment. There are many options strategies available to investors and this course will concentrate on retail strategies designed for individual users of U.S. contracts. Markets discussed may include stock, stock option, stock indices, ETF's, LEAPSİ, treasuries, metals, commodities.
Note: Not covered will be institutional markets such as Eurodollars and Natural Gas, and foreign contracts. Emphasis will be on the structure of strategies and the theory behind when and how to use them.
*Schedule Notes:
Online section meets live at the above dates and times, but all class sessions are archived. Students are not required to log in during the live class session times.
A trader who is Poised to Perform is a professional who has acquired the capacity to consistently execute trades per plan, accept the unpredictability of the markets by adhering to a probabilistic edge, and can access a physiological state of coherence i.e., "the zone" that supports timely and even keeled decision-making while under psychological pressure. This course will introduce a success framework for both novice and experienced traders that organizes a daily trading regimen into a system of strategic actions that help you become Poised to Perform. You will learn how to: Devise and shape a pre-trade routine (P) Understand why and how to observe market movement (O) Strategically initiate trades per specified plan (I) Stay focused mentally and remain emotionally even keel (S) Exit trades with proper risk management parameters predefined (E) Document your daily performance by a concise method of scorekeeping (D) Following this foundational overview of the POISED system, the curriculum builds in segments beginning with a trader personality assessment, followed by an experiential overview of a psychophysiological feedback system* that helps traders remain Poised to Perform prior to and during active trading. Each student will be encouraged to actively participate in classroom dialogue on topics targeting their trade research, trade plan ideas, trade execution strategies, documenting methods, and emotional regulation practices. They will be guided to create a strategic visual map that organizes what often lies hidden as "good intentions" into a defined and executable trading plan. The overall goal is to have the student leave the course with a customized framework that can be applied the very next day of trading. * (classroom participants will experience a direct connection to a biofeedback tool whereby web-based participants will be in a view-only mode.)
*Schedule Notes:
Online section meets live at the above dates and times, but all class sessions are archived. Students are not required to log in during the live class session times.
Basics of Hedging Using Futures and Options TRADE 207-0
In Basics of Hedging Using Futures and Options, students will examine the use of exchange-traded derivative contracts to offset risk in the underlying cash market. Topics discussed will include the history and role of the exchange, the difference between the cash market and the futures market, futures contract specifications and settlement procedures, trade clearing and the margining process, as well as an introduction to price risk management. The course content will offer students the opportunity to broaden their knowledge and understanding of how these contracts are used by a major contingent of the marketplace to mitigate risk exposure. The course will be taught by two instructors who have both an instructional background teaching these topics to industry groups as well as several years of practical experience managing price risk on behalf of clients. Students will be able to directly interact with the instructors and benefit from their combined theoretical/academic as well as practical hedging experience.
Additional Information:
For students wishing to take the course in person, please register for SECTION 44. For students wishing to take the course online, please register for SECTION 50. This course is pass/fail.
*Schedule Notes:
Online section meets live at the above dates and times, but all class sessions are archived. Students are not required to log in during the live class session times.
