Advanced Investment Strategies

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This course provides an introduction to modern investment techniques used by institutional asset managers. We begin with strategic and tactical asset allocation, examining the "top-down" approaches that asset managers use to allocate capital across different asset classes. The focus then shifts to "bottom-up" investing and the active pursuit of “alpha”. But unlike fundamental investing, where investors analyze individual companies to find alpha, our focus is on investment strategies shown to deliver incremental returns, such as buying high-momentum stocks and shorting low-momentum stocks. Students will review the most common strategies employed by quantitative investment managers and gain hands-on experience with the backtesting techniques that practitioners use to evaluate potential investment strategies. The course concludes with an in-depth look at advanced risk management techniques, including how to structure portfolios effectively, manage risk exposures, and adapt dynamically to changing market conditions.