Taught by Professor Connel Fullenkamp of Duke University, these 12 lectures introduce the impressive range of financial markets, including stocks, bonds, futures, options, real estate, private equity, and virtual assets, while also looking at the markets for intangible assets, executive talent, and ethical investing. Filled with practical tips, the course is aimed at the ordinary investor.
Understanding the World of Financial Markets
Look before you leap into the market. Investigate stocks, bonds, options, virtual assets, and other financial markets with a seasoned professional.
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Passive Aggressive Critic from
Almost Perfect
Professor Fullenkamp is wonderful. Nevertheless, I would recommend tightening up the collar, losing the bow tie, and buttoning the jacket.
Date published: 2024-11-26
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Thanuja from
Excellent course!
This is an excellent intro course about financial markets. It is easy to digest, well presented course by one of TGC's eminant professors. I have enjoyed this course as a student of investing and will look for other recommended more advanced topics and courses.
Thanks "The Great Courses to put this together!
Date published: 2024-10-30
Rated 5 out of
5
by
the professor from
World Financial Markets A Survey.
This was my first learning experience with Professor Connel Fullenkamp and what a wonderful introduction. The Professor is very professional, smooth in his delivery and captivating in his persona. I thoroughly enjoyed the course and many aspects of the financial world the Professor presented. This is an excellent course for novice investors and even those more advanced in managing investments and their money allocations. Connel does a noble job providing compressed overview of the key areas of investing, such as stocks, bonds, property, and virtual assets. I highly recommend this course as it is definitely worth the investment! I will definitely be seeking the Professors other courses!!
Date published: 2024-09-04
Rated 5 out of
5
by
pat2024 from
Great update on financial markets
The topics he has chosen for this course can help even experienced investors see the new investing environment. My favorite topics were how Private Equity has changed how companies finance growth and, the last lesson, how the financial/banking people monetize individual investors.
And he repeats the lesson that hopefully we all have already learned → If you can't find the product, you are the product. And always ask yourself, how am I paying for this "free" or "discount" service?
Date published: 2024-08-31
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Cousindrew from
Excellent Short Survey
This is at least the fifth course on investments that Prof. Fullenkamp has created for the Great Courses, and, like the others, it succeeds. As noted in the lecture list and by other reviewers, this course is a short survey of the world of financial markets, and while it overlaps in various respects with Prof. Fullenkamp's other TGC courses, it offers fresh insights about current financial products and issues that are in today's news. Although the course is best suited for the novice, I think it still offers value for the more experienced investor. As always, Prof. Fullenkamp deploys his friendly, engaging lecture style, making this course an easy lift. Highly recommended!
Date published: 2024-08-27
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Vano Loco from
Currents in Modern Investing and Markets
Conclusions and Summary:
The professor is well-spoken, with just the right energy, and timely graphics and information. I did have to forgo my style clash with financial wealth advisers donning fine suits, collared shirts, and a bowtie.
Specific summary is:
* Property investments, stocks, index funds, and private equity are most worthy of actionable investigation.
* Extreme caution about bonds, futures, VIX investing, current crypto, options.
* Investigation and research should include CEOs, and intangibles.
Previous offerings by Fullenkamp from TGC are recommended, because this is "above and beyond" introductory. However, any investor managing a personal portfolio will benefit.
This offering is strong value added to "Essentials of Investments" text by Bodie, Kane, Marcus 2021 (which is referenced).
Bodie's "Essentials" does not have information or advice on properties and REITs, VIX investing, ESG, intangibles, CEOs, or crypto.
However, many topics in Bodie's "Essentials" are indeed tracked, and summarized with adjunct actionable perspective.
This is truly informed strategic and tactical market investment advice.
Suggestions:
Fullenkamp's offering correctly emphasizes investor research and investigation.
I would suggest that the investment landscape is improving for the better in terms of the new CoPilots and other AI assistants coming available over the 2025 timeframe, and a discussion of them applied to investments information would be very welcome. How to optimally use new AI tools to aid investment research would be welcome information, indeed!
As an investor, when I run Edge CoPilot in conjunction with Schwab or Fidelity portfolio management sites, I currently get better research information than what's available on the investment sites, because the available sources are dramatically increased and categorized. For individual investors, this changes the information game dramatically for the better.
Optimally, AI financial "Pre-trained Transformers" must be available and kept up to date. I have suggested to both Schwab and Fidelity that "Generative" AI CoPilots/assistants that employ the financial pre-training be added to their research sites.
Bottom line, the AI software folks need world-class advice like this offering to capture the investments application domain, and both investors and researchers will dramatically benefit.
Chapter notes:
1. Property and REITs. Excellent perspectives and research on the investment aspects of owning a home.
* Major players Zillow and Redfin are mentioned. INVH and AMH are mentioned as rental market makers.
* The various short-term vacation, hotels, and "data center" REITS are not mentioned. The focus is really residential, and enabling businesses, as an investment.
* "Real Estate" as a wealth management sector diversification (as in "S&P Global BMI") was not discussed.
Business real estate investments (like "data center") REITs, and short term stay arrangement (hotels, web rental business), would have made an interesting additional chapter.
2. Stock market investment strategies, eagle view.
* Stock market operation hypothesis theories, such as "efficient", "weakly efficient", and "semi-strong" are discussed, with a conclusion that over time, most measures of the market improve by about 10% yearly.
* Gill, Buffet, Lynch, and active investment strategies and stock market theories are contrasted with Bogle's Vanguard passive investment style.
* Vanguard Total Market Index Fund is discussed as a great example of passive investing, and that passive index funds usually overachieve.
3. Intangible assets, recognized company and product names, patents, software.
* I liked the characterization of TikTok displacing Facebook and other social, in terms of intangible fragility.
* In terms of intangible value, I (like Peter Lynch did) follow (or try to accompany) my wife, my children, but especially my grandchildren and ask why their consumer decisions were made. Intangible value is frequently assumed by "cookies" and recorded ARPU (average revenue per user) statistics; but "why" really matters.
4. The current bond market is discussed, and reasons and strong cautions that it may not be an optimal or safe value investment.
* Bond yields must be greater than inflation, and Fullencamp shows this is not happening and the future seems worse.
* Fullencamp relates with inflation much higher (due to bad policy, overspending, and fed mechanics dating back to 2009) the bond market may be avoidable. Fullencamp himself is not a buyer. This deep caution is very interesting new news to me.
5. "Attention to a company's CEO is an essential part of investing".
* The good (JP Morgan's Dimon, Apple's Jobs, Whitman, etc.), the bad (BOA/Merrill, Whole Foods, Bed and Bath), the ugly (Zucker Bucks), the "one trick pony's", the "empire builders like Musk, Branson" are mentioned.
* Fullenkamp focuses on "celebrity CEO"'s, and some may be OK. But, who do I trust for CEO information? Politicized news, fake social media? No real help is given. What about CoPilot?
* My gold standard CEOs are Apple's Cook, Microsoft's Nadella, OpenAI's Altman, who mostly seem to fly below the politicized fake news and "celebrity", do not fit the Bill Gates celebrity CEO profile, show up with encouragement at events, and expound a clear vision of the future (like AI integration into an improved daily life).
6. Futures are explained by example and discussed.
* As with bonds, Fullencamp does not recommend futures, a zero-sum game against professionals, for normal investors.
* However, keeping track of futures, like the S&P, Nasdaq, Dow first thing in the morning is a likely indicator of the individual investing day.
7. The VIX "FUD" (fear, uncertainty, doubt) is introduced. I followed up guidebook notes, was happy to find two investible research candidates VIXY and VXX, but many of the alternates are not available via Schwab or Fidelity.
8. Options are discussed, and options strategy, with much needed warnings and caveats.
* "Derivative Income" from underlying ownership of various passive indexes, where the value added by the ETF or Fund is options trading on the owned index by professional traders, is not discussed.
9. Private equity is discussed, and investor access is discussed.
* I am amazed that Fidelity is private. The many reasons why are discussed.
* Private investor access is via venture capital groups like KKR, major banks, that specialize in private equity funding. Note that PEX ETF is a "fund of funds" for private venture funds, including KKR, so the investment list there is a wealth of venture capital opportunities.
* "crowdfunding" sites can be investigated via Wikipedia and CoPilot.
10. ESG is very skeptically discussed.
* Manifestations are random results of various unstandardized proprietary ESG rating groups, 50% increase in fund management fees, and "greenwashing", "pinkwashing", and "purplewashing". Various MIT, Harvard, and other studies underline problematic issues.
* To accomplish ESG goals, Fullenkamp's recommendations are to engage via social media, consider that ESG bonds have a measurable stated outcome, do your homework as an individual investor, and be skeptical of current ratings.
11. Virtual assets are discussed.
* Fullencamp considers crypto with unbacked unregulated exchanges "unattractive".
* Crypto backed "stablecoins", have mixed reviews depending on backing. International finance is a known good application.
* Non-fungible tokens for social media art group collectors are also currently "unattractive" for normal investors but are attractive in the digital art world. Tokens long term could displace "stablecoins" for international and all financial market exchanges.
* Blockchain distributed ledgers would vastly improve property title, deeds, property transactions.
* Blockchain distributed ledger "smart contracts" with no broker or lawyer or banker, may in fact be a good idea and a strong regulation candidate.
* As with the early personal computer market, "Decentralized Finance" is a developing "faster better" tools, whose major players and regulations are also under development.
12. Market for markets discusses the major changes to investment markets in the last 20 years.
* Very good discussion of the current "free" and "fast" electronic trading environment.
* The dramatic changes in how money is made on exchanges is detailed.
* One take-away is to always use "Limit Orders". Who knew?
Date published: 2024-08-22
Rated 4 out of
5
by
EngineerinVA from
Creates Awareness of Various Markets
The point of this course is not how to make money in the stock market. Rather, the point of this course is appreciating the wide diversity of available markets including the real estate market, the bond market, the futures market, digital currencies, etc. Dr. Fullenkamp devotes one lecture to each of the 12 markets he has selected.
This course provides a good awareness of the various financial markets. However, due to the large number of such markets and the small number of lectures, it can provide only the highest level of coverage. For more depth, the student must look to other resources. One such resource is The Great Courses (TGC) lecture by Dr. Fullenkamp entitled Understanding Investments.
This course is useful for someone just starting to consider investments; it would not be as useful for someone who has an MBA.
Dr. Fullenkamp is a good lecturer. His speaking style (tone, pace, etc.) connect with the student. The examples and illustrations that he uses are helpful.
The course guide is typical of TGC course guides. It is written in narrative format as opposed to bullet format or outline format. It averages about seven pages per lecture, which is about TGC average. It has some useful graphics. It has no appendices but it does include a few suggested reading references at the end of each lecture.
As of 2024, the course is available only in video streaming and DVD. Although there are some useful graphics, one can generally follow the lectures in audio-only mode such as while driving or exercising.
The course was published in 2024.
Date published: 2024-08-19
Overview
About
Connel Fullenkamp is a Professor of the Practice of Economics at Duke University. He received his PhD in Economics from Harvard University. He has won multiple teaching awards during his career, including Duke’s highest honor for undergraduate teaching. He also does consulting work for the International Monetary Fund Institute for Capacity Development, training government officials around the world. He has published more than 20 articles in academic journals, and his op-eds have appeared in Newsweek and The New York Times.
Trailer
01: The Property Market
Start the course with one of the oldest forms of investment: property. Weigh the pros and cons of buying a home, not just as a residence but as an asset that will grow in value. Consider such strategies as purchasing rental properties versus REITs, “flipping,” and tapping home equity. Assess the return on holding a house for a decade or more compared with a similar investment in stocks.
27 min
02: The Stock Market
Evaluate two approaches to investing in the stock market: stock picking, which can verge on high-risk gambling as in the notorious GameStop “short squeeze” in 2021, and the safer strategy of buying and holding a diversified portfolio of index funds. Learn how the efficient market hypothesis sheds light on investor behavior by modeling the flow of information about individual companies.
26 min
03: The Market for Intangibles
Brand names, patents, secret formulas, logos—these and other entities are known as intangible assets, and they can add greatly to a company’s value. This not only applies to prestige brands, but also to firms such as Walmart that are exceptionally well-run, which counts as an intangible asset. Keep this all-important concept in mind whenever you are gauging the strengths and weaknesses of a company.
26 min
04: The Bond Market
The age-old strategy of holding bonds as a hedge against declining stock prices appeared to go haywire in the decade and a half following the 2008 Financial Crisis. What went wrong and why? Investigate the function of bonds and their link to fiscal policy. Look at alternatives to the traditional bond market that combine relatively low risk with returns that are greater than the rate of inflation.
25 min
05: The Market for Talent
CEO compensation can be shocking, but the millions paid to a top-notch chief executive can generate billions to the economy, not to mention a tidy return to stockholders. That’s why understanding a company’s CEO is as important as mastering its balance sheet. Study the starters and nonstarters among CEOs—and look at CEO types, such as the thin-skinned founder, the one-trick pony, and the empire builder.
25 min
06: The Futures Market
The futures market has a practical function of allowing a company to lock in a price for a vital commodity or asset to be used later, for example, natural gas. It also has a speculative side, enabling investors to hedge their portfolios against market downturns or to simply gamble on price fluctuations. Learn when it makes sense for an individual investor to venture into this risky market.
23 min
07: The Market for Fear
Warren Buffett said, “Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.” But how do you measure fear? Financial economists have come up with volatility indexes that measure the tendency of stocks to vary in price over time. The VIX index is based on the S&P 500 and captures the “fear factor” in the market. Discover how to use VIX to help manage your investments.
25 min
08: The Options Market
Options give the holder the right to buy or sell a particular asset at a fixed price on or before a certain date. Unlike futures contracts (discussed in Lecture 6), options don’t commit the holder to actually buy or sell anything. What could go wrong? Lots, as you learn in this lecture, which contrasts well-planned options trading with the “throw-of-the-dice” approach that often leads to disaster.
24 min
09: The Private Equity Market
Companies typically start out private and go through a period of growth before potentially going public through an initial public offering (IPO)—though not all firms take this path. Many companies remain private or are taken private through buyouts. This process is central to the private equity market, a thriving sector of the economy that largely excludes individual private investors.
24 min
10: The Market for Good Behavior
We would all like companies to act responsibly, but how effective are ESG (environmental, social, and governance) financial instruments, which are designed to reward good behavior and punish bad? Delve into this relatively new array of securities that often have conflicting standards and goals. Compare ESG mutual funds with ESG bonds. The latter may be better targeted for doing good.
27 min
11: The Virtual Assets Market
Venture into the brave, new world of virtual assets: cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and the distributed ledger databases that make them possible—the best-known being blockchain technology. Learn how they work and weigh the advantages and risks of these revolutionary financial instruments. Consider whether the time is right for you to jump into the market.
26 min
12: The Market for Markets
“There’s no free lunch,” which for the stock market means that everyone on Wall Street must get paid one way or another, especially in the era of brokerless trades and other freebies. Analyze the hidden fees in today’s computerized market. A notable source is high-frequency trading, which skims a fraction of a cent from each share traded, affecting even passive investors.
30 min
