This is an intermediate course on top-down investing. Conducted in a smaller class setting allows for lots of interaction with the instructor and discussion among participants. The Course will guide you through the systematic process of investing which starts from the big picture. At the end of the Course, you will be able to know where to find the information you need to do your own analysis. The Course also supplies you with specially-created spreadsheets that will aid you in this process.
Course Outline
What is top-down investing?
How is it different from bottom-up stock-picking?
Why is it necessary to do top-down analysis and look at the bigger picture before you start to invest?
What are the benefits of top-down investing?
How to employ the methods of professional fund managers and do your own top-down analysis?
How to make sense of all the economic data that influences the market
Where to find the necessary information to do your own economic analysis to determine the direction of the market
How to determine the earnings trend of the market
What are the economic risks to watch out for that may affect your investment returns
What are the factors that affect stock market valuation
What are the different methods that we can employ to value the market
How to create your own valuation model for the stock market to determine whether it is under or over-valued
What causes one stock market to do better than the other
How to perform country analysis to select the markets with the best returns
What are the risks of specific markets that may affect your investment returns
What is sector rotation strategy
What are the things to look for when analysing different sectors
How to perform sector analysis to select the sector with the best returns
What sectors do well under what circumstances
Which sectors can bring long-term superior investment returns
How to make use of the top-down approach to reduce investment risk
Explaining the concept of investment risk
How to effectively diversify your portfolio so that risks can be reduced without sacrificing returns
How is correlation relevant to risk and how to calculate
How to make use of collective investment instruments like unit trust as part of your portfolio
How to choose the right collective investment instrument
Putting it all together - How to construct a portfolio from the top-down
Speaker's Profile
Lawrence Lee
Lawrence has over 20 years of experience in Investments, Banking and Financial Advisory. He was formerly Vice President, Portfolio Manager in SG Asset Management (part of the Societe Generale Group) where he managed equity portfolios invested in the Asia Pacific region excluding Japan. Funds managed by him includes pension funds as well as unit trust. He also had experience in investment research with a stockbroking firm, doing research on Singapore equities. His investment experience covers a wide range of scenarios including economic booms and recessions, Asian financial crisis and the dotcom bubble. He now provides financial advisory to companies in Singapore and abroad. Lawrence is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and has an MBA from University of Southern Illinois, Carbondale.
