Capital Markets Courses - Essentials
A capital market, in simple terms, is a place for investing money in exchange for stock or bond issues. There are two main divisions in the capital market: primary markets and secondary markets. In the former, bonds and shares are purchased via a process referred to as underwriting, while in the latter existing securities are sold and bought among traders.
The main stock exchanges or financial centres for capital markets are located in New York, London and Hong Kong, and the main actors who purchase on capital markets include pension funds, hedge funds and sovereign wealth funds.
Prospects for professionals with knowledge of capital markets
One of the main advantages of possessing a sound understanding of capital markets is that the knowledge can be applied across a variety of transaction methods and areas, such as governments raising funds on capital markets, companies exchanging securities in capital markets and individuals trading in capital markets. As a result, financial professionals with expertise in capital markets can work for a range of different public and private sector organisations. Typically, their role will involve advising their company or clients in terms of when they should invest, what they should invest in and when they should sell.
At the same time, financial and treasury professionals working for large corporations can also benefit from capital markets courses and learning how they can raise finance for their organisation by issuing bonds and shares.
Some major skills learned in capital markets courses:
- Mathematical & financial analysis skills
- The ability to read & understand financial statements
- An understanding of how stock exchanges work
- Legal and regulatory knowledge
- Consumer behaviour analysis skills
- Business communication & presentation skills
Taking capital markets courses and related areas can be a great way for professionals operating in this highly dynamic - and often highly stressful - to interact with their peers and gain new insights
Capital markets courses
Capital markets and investments are a crucial part of the broader finance sector. While they are sometimes touched upon as part of financial accounting courses, in many cases they are the core focus of short courses offered by financial training providers. They are also covered in a number of professional qualifications offered my membership bodies such as the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI).
Many professionals register for the open and scheduled courses to update their licenses to practice as traders or brokers.
Some important concepts covered in these courses are:
- Valuation of equities and debts
- Evaluation of financial alternatives
- Constructing diverse portfolios
- Portfolio theories
- Asset pricing models and evaluation
- Behavioural finance and technical analyses
- Derivatives and essentials
- Securities trading and pricing
Career prospects for professionals
Professionals looking to pursue careers in capital markets trading can look into careers as market analysts, trade professionals, brokers, market agents, financial analysts, chartered accountants, supply chain analysts and business consultants. The knowledge can also prove useful for roles in financial management, corporate treasury and corporate or financial law.
