A Curriculum Built for the Real Financial World
Seven specialised modules covering the full breadth of modern finance — from hedge funds, global macro investing, and capital markets to M&A, wealth management, and the family office. Every module is built on practical skills, not just theory.
Seven Areas of Study
The topics below are areas of study you may encounter during the Residency. Depth of exposure varies with each cohort’s program of work — you may go deep on some areas, touch others lightly, and explore related matters not listed here. This is a map of the territory, not a fixed classroom syllabus.
Hedge Fund Investing
From institutional investment to alternative strategies — becoming the Big Swinger of Wall Street. Talent or luck? Swiss Finance Institute® says knowledge.
This segment focuses on institutional investment in non-traditional products — primarily hedge funds, but also private equity. The hedge fund investment universe has grown significantly over the past two decades. Originally favoured by private banking clients and high-net-worth individuals, the ‘alternative’ and derivative arena has progressively attracted major assets from traditional institutional investors. Professionals entering the investment management field need to be highly knowledgeable about capital markets and to know exactly what they are doing.
The module includes a discussion of well-known hedge fund managers around the world, and the assumed and actual reasons for their successes.
Investing & Trading Fundamentals
- Types of low-yield and high-yield investments and trading ideas
- Arbitrage, highly leveraged, and market-neutral trading strategies
- The shift from fundamental analysis to technical analysis for timing decisions
- Risk management — short and long volatility
- Trading systems — do they work?
- Hedge fund sales — dealing with complex client issues
Case Studies on Select Strategies
- Global Macro & Risk Arbitrage
- Fixed Income Arbitrage
- Managed Futures
- Equity Hedge & Statistical Trading
- Convertible Arbitrage
“I wanted to increase my knowledge of finance by learning from the most knowledgeable people as possible, and I felt that the Swiss Finance Academy represented the best opportunity for me to further educate myself and accomplish my goals.”
— Colter V D · Hedge Fund at Tiger Global ManagementGlobal Capital Markets
Learn international capital markets country by country and asset class by asset class. Make sophisticated, well-researched decisions. Rely on your own judgement.
Capital Markets covers the full landscape of international financial markets. The course equips students to make complex and sophisticated decisions, to thrive in change, and to rely on their own research and judgement.
Economics, Geopolitics & Geography
- How do you judge whether a country or economy is worthy of your money?
- Deciding whether a currency is under- or over-valued
- Where to put money once a currency is selected
- Liquidity issues and transaction costs in cross-border situations
- Sovereign risk, credit ratings, and their severe limitations
- Macro and secular trends: the secret 20-year rule
- Macro-economic fraud: governments ‘defaulting’ and corporations misleading investors
Global Market Dynamics
- The current state of the US, UK, EU, Swiss, Chinese, South American, and other major economies
- Why do investors and traders analyze markets? How do we measure performance?
- Currency fundamentals, infrastructure, government spending, tax policy, capital accumulation and depletion, demographics, growth, inflation and deflation, interest rates
- Human capital and immigration, protectionism, and regulatory environments
- Employment, wages, prices, consumer spending, and the cost of capital
Strategy & Tactics
- Security selection
- Capital allocation with or without diversification
- True diversification — or a bucket open to contagion?
- Cutting losses and timing decisions
- Building up positions
- Stop losses, trailing stops, and other risk-management methods
- Catalyst: it’s a raw deal if it doesn’t have one
Global Macroeconomic Investing
Understanding how macro forces, geopolitics, and monetary policy drive global capital markets and investment decisions.
This segment examines institutional investment in non-traditional sectors — primarily hedge funds and private equity — through a macro lens. Participants learn to read capital markets opportunities and to reason about how investments are positioned and timed on the basis of macro analysis.
Macroeconomic Frameworks
- Do you understand all the repercussions of US monetary policy?
- How do low US interest rates affect the stock markets of countries such as Colombia or Brazil — or the trade balance of Japan?
- How does money flow around the world? Who are the main players?
- How do financial institutions, capital markets, and investors interact to move capital where it is wanted most?
- Catalyst: it’s a raw deal if it doesn’t have one
Fund Structures
- The standard master-feeder structure adopted by many hedge funds
- Offshore feeder fund (Cayman Islands)
- Onshore feeder fund (Delaware or LLC)
- Management company (LLC) structure
Investment Positioning
- Timing and entry/exit decisions
- With what certainty, and over what timeframe, can interest rates be predicted?
- How do rates affect equity, bond, commodity, debt, and other capital markets?
Risk & Portfolio Management
Fund management, risk, and the family office: portfolio management, operational risk, compliance, and the full front-to-back structure of a modern investment organization.
The Family Office Business Model module examines how the industry evolved, the drivers of growth, and the costs, threats, and profit pressures facing investment teams. From making an office and its teams productive to implementing structured decision-making, the course covers the alpha industry and the beta industry, systemic return, and the asset class spectrum.
Fund & Office Management
- How the family office business model evolved, and the drivers of growth
- Taking advantage of economies of scale
- Implementing structured decision-making
- The alpha industry and the beta industry
- The asset class spectrum
- Commingled, pooled, or collective funds
- Industry codes and standards; the Asset Manager Code of Professional Conduct
- Research objectivity standards
- Safeguarding assets
Legal & Regulatory Landscape
- Rules-based versus principles-based compliance
- Operating and maintaining adequate compliance functions and procedures
- Skill, care, and diligence; fiduciary responsibility; prudence; market conduct
- Money laundering; fit and proper
- Chinese walls; geographic differences in regulation
- Offshore domiciles; Global Investment Performance Standards
- Soft dollar standards
Portfolio Operations
- Compliance, operations, and procedure manuals
- The importance of adequate capital
- Stating an investment philosophy and defining a process
- The mathematical relationship between risk and return (CAPM)
- Active or passive management; style tilts and factors
- Implementing the investment process; indexing a fund
- Skills for the front, middle, and back office
- Robust systems and databases; handling derivative instruments
- Straight-through processing (STP)
Mergers & Acquisitions
The complete M&A toolkit — valuation, deal structuring, LBO modeling, private equity, and the corporate finance industries, seen from every angle.
Valuation is one of the core responsibilities of an investment banker. This module provides a rigorous and thorough introduction to the fundamentals of corporate valuation. First, theory is taught and discussed; second, the concepts are applied to company and divisional valuations using case studies and real-life examples. Practical skills, not just theory.
A. Valuation & Firm Value
- Market impact on valuation: absolute and relative stock market performance
- Market statistics; comparables over time; evolution of metrics
- Sum-of-the-parts valuation; economic vs. accounting value
- EVA formulation and its relationship to MVA (market value added)
- Leveraged recapitalization and cost of capital
- EVA/MVA valuation case study: K-Mart to Wal-Mart
- Profitability, earnings, ROE & ROIC
B. Comparables & Comp Selection
- Why we do comps; public vs. private comparables
- Comparables-based valuation; firm value vs. equity value multiples
- Precedent transaction multiples; straight vs. growth-adjusted multiples
- Pro-forma adjustments; reading transaction multiples from company disclosures
- Valuation discounts and premia: bundle of rights, control premiums, marketability discounts
C. Introduction to Private Equity
- The buyout view of the world vs. public equity
- Mechanics of a private equity transaction
- Sources of funding: bank debt, public bonds, rollover equity
- Financial sponsors, equity or mezzanine debt, preferred stock
- Exit value considerations; returns; credit stats; transaction multiples
D. DCF & Intrinsic Valuation
- Discounted cash flow methodology and applications
- Weighted average cost of capital (WACC) construction
- Terminal value: perpetuity growth vs. exit multiple
- Sensitivity and scenario analysis on key DCF drivers
- Bridging equity value to enterprise value
- Common errors in DCF modeling, and how to avoid them
E. Merger Modeling & Accretion/Dilution
- Mechanics of a merger model: sources and uses of funds
- Purchase price allocation and goodwill creation
- Pro-forma income statement combination and adjustments
- Accretion/dilution analysis: EPS impact for the acquirer
- Cash vs. stock and mixed-consideration structures
- Break-even analysis and synergy requirements
F. LBO — Leveraged Buyouts
- Why are leveraged buyouts popular?
- Debt capacity factors and structural issues
- Structural enhancements: derivatives, senior convertibles, seller notes
- Relative value analysis; LBO debt market characteristics
- Primary and secondary debt markets; historical and future trends in terms
- Hybrid IDS (income deposit securities)
- European and US market convergence; the Basel III Accord
- Shareholders vs. bondholders dilemma case study: RJR Nabisco
G. Corporate Finance Industries
- Investment banking: IPOs, bake-offs, road-shows, the prospectus, the green-shoe option
- Venture capital, private equity, and commercial banking coverage
Wealth Management & Legacy
From the UHNW client relationship to succession planning, tax structuring, and building enduring multi-generational family wealth.
The Wealth Management (CWM) and Family Office & Legacy Development (FOL) modules are designed around the needs of ultra-high-net-worth clients. The curriculum covers everything from asset allocation and alternative investments through to offshore domiciles, socially responsible investment, and the governance structures required for enduring family wealth.
Wealth Management
- Alternative asset classes — real estate, commodities, collectibles
- How these assets performed during different stages of the economic cycle
- Debate: the best alternative asset class for the next ten years, and why
- Effects of diversification across asset classes
- Gold, interest rates, and CPI — historical correlations
- Junk bonds and high yield — spreads, duration, convexity
- High-yield bonds in market sell-offs, and shorting strategies
- The role of governance in family offices and legacy strategy
Family Office & Legacy Development
- Devising a legacy strategy for a successful entrepreneur
- Commodities team project — commodities and CPI correlations
- Socially responsible investment (SRI)
- Shariah-compliant investment structures
- The use of derivatives, structured products, and hedge funds
- Counterparty credit risk exposure; trading practices of hedge funds; hedge fund fees
- Commitment periods (lock-ups); side letters; selecting a maximum fund size
- Imposing redemption terms (gates); types of hedge funds
- Offshore products; offshore feeder fund structures; wrap funds
- Structuring solutions for clients; understanding the prospectus
Hands-On Instruction
Faculty members work directly with participants through case studies, model-building exercises, and negotiation simulations — bridging the gap between academic theory and the practical demands of the financial industry.
Projects — Thorough Research
Projects require thorough research of the related subject matter. Many uncertainties call for careful analysis and creative problem-solving. Projects are based on firm valuations, public offerings, M&A transactions, equity research, and competitive analysis for strategy consulting.
EvaluationAssessed on thoroughness of research, quality of analysis, creativity of recommendations, and quality of written deliverables.
Valuation Projects
Teams create detailed valuation models and prepare written recommendations before entering negotiations with the counter-parties. Projects combine corporate finance and competitive strategy: research, competitive strategy, analysis, sensitivity analysis, and implementation strategy.
Topics IncludeMergers and acquisitions, public offerings, restructuring transactions, equity and industry analysis.
Negotiation Simulations
Complex and very practical problem-solving experiences. Participants may work on a distressed debt negotiation or a specific hedge fund strategy, or on a research project based on the government and municipal bond markets. Simulations are exciting, memorable, and valuable learning experiences.
FormatSimulations culminate in summary lessons from faculty members, who serve as the counter-party or ask questions to protect the interests of various debt and equity stakeholders.
Financial Modeling: Practical Skills, Not Just Theory
As part of the M&A program, participants build a financial model for a hypothetical client, perform sensitivity analysis, conduct M&A accretion and dilution analysis, and work through related question papers. Template spreadsheets and question papers are distributed at the appropriate time. The focus is on the practical application of theory and on the presentation of conclusions.
Excel Training
Techniques and shortcuts used by investment bankers.
DCF Modeling
An integrated financial model for discounted cash flow and economic value.
Capital Analysis
Enhancing a model for working capital analysis and sensitivity analysis.
LBO Modeling
Refining models for IPO, M&A, LBO, distressed deals, and hedge fund trades.
COMPS
Building an integrated comparables model alongside DCF and economic value.
Pitch Book
Creating a professional full-colour pitch book and preparing a presentation for a hypothetical corporate client.