Advanced Financial Risk Analysis Course

Protect client portfolios from market losses by applying risk analysis techniques borrowed from the Intelligence Community, Hedge Funds, and “The Black Swan”

Summary:

Live, Intermediary, 15 hours of CFP CE (details); Colorado Insurance CE applied for and expected

Or, attend a one-hour summary lesson on these advanced risk analysis techniques that can help you detect and avoid the full losses of market downturns.

Course Description:

The course offers advanced risk analysis and financial threat assessments drawing on lessons from the intelligence community, Nassim Taleb’s key book “The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable,” and hedge funds.  Financial markets are increasingly volatile as new technologies, global dependencies, growing hedge fund and derivatives liabilities, and Black Swan threats cause market disruptions.  Risk assessments need to include far more than just alpha, beta, and client risk tolerances.  This course covers all sources of financial threats and risks, and reviews new means of hedging, “anti-Fragile” investments, and portfolio risk reduction.  Black Swan disasters and financial market disruptions are rarely total surprises—there are often indications and warnings, time for critical analysis, portfolio rebalancing and hedging, by those who are trained and diligent.  Students learn to guard against common sources of bias and apply analysis best practices in in assessing both traditional and Black Swan risks, and designing client investment portfolios.  Using software provided, students apply a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis risk & portfolio analysis tool.  This tool is also ideal for conducting investment due diligence and saving a record of your analysis and basis for client recommendations.

Attendance is required, and limited to 30 students.  The course is offered monthly at our state-of-the-art teaching facility in Colorado Springs, or can be taught on site at your location.

Learning Objectives: 

Students completing this course will be able to:

  1. Guard against common sources of bias and apply best practices in analysis in assessing both traditional and Black Swan risks and designing client investment portfolios
  2. Understand hedge fund and other investment risk management practices, and identify those which may be applicable and usable for your clients
  3. Know how to collect information on financial risks, and identify potential Black Swan threats
  4. Accomplish better financial forecasting and planning considering Black Swan risks
  5. Use the Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis risk & portfolio analysis tool provided to students
  6. Design investment portfolios that protect against downside risk

Completing this course will help you protect your client’s investments—and gain more clients:

  • Learn how to provide (and impress) clients with better risk analysis and investment advice:  Lessons from the Intelligence Community, hedge funds, and “The Black Swan.”
  • Markets are increasingly volatile as new technologies, global dependencies, and Black Swan threats cause disruptions.  Hedge fund liabilities keep growing, posing risks of big market disruption.
  • Index funds and buy and hold strategies are less viable and desirable with more big market drops.  This course will show you many ways you can anticipate and hedge against market declines.
  • Risk assessments need to include far more than just stock beta and client risk tolerances.  This course covers all sources of financial risk and provides a multi-criteria assessment tool to help you show clients more sophisticated portfolio selection, “anti-Fragile” investments, rebalancing, and investment risk reduction.
  • Black Swan disasters and financial market disruptions are rarely total surprises—there are indications and warnings, time for critical analysis, portfolio rebalancing and hedging, by those who are trained and diligent.
  • You can offer clients some benefits of hedge fund volatility reduction and higher returns without paying their high fees or risking total loss of hedge fund investment.

CE Credit Details and Itinerary (click to enlarge):

CE_itinerary_imgage

To see details on the class topics and the CFP CE credit areas, click on this diagram.  The course includes class exercises to apply the material and use the risk analysis and portfolio comparison software.

Free membership in Financial Threat Indications & Warning Center:

Graduates are given access one year free membership to a private website, the “Financial Threat Indications & Warning Center,” to continue learning and collaborate with other analysts on how to protect investments against downside risk and profit from market disruptions.

Free risk assessment, portfolio analysis software provided:

software_chartStudents will receive the software (which runs in MS Excel) to run this easy to build and use multi-criteria decision analysis tool (click to enlarge).  It will be taught and used in class exercises to analyze financial risks and uncertainties, and compare performance of different investment options against an array of threats.  Course graduates can use this software in their practice and for briefing clients on the relative financial risks of different portfolio options.

Our course graduates also receive a free one-year membership in A3’s “Financial Threat Indications and Warning Center“, which provides information on pending financial threats and possible measures to protect investments from losses, and how to gain on financial disruptions.