Think Like a Trader
This one hour masterclass gives you an intuitive, practical toolkit for understanding bonds and interest rates the way seasoned professionals do. If you've ever struggled to feel how these markets actually work — not just memorize definitions — this is built for you.
What you'll learn:
The foundations of debt investingÂ
Understand the core difference between equity and debt — ownership stakes versus loans with predetermined cash flows — and why that distinction drives everything else. Learn how banks package loans into bonds through securitization and sell them to investors.
How interest rates really workÂ
Go inside the Federal Reserve's dual mandate of maximizing employment and stabilizing prices, and see how rate decisions ripple through the economy — why lower rates encourage borrowing and risk-taking while higher rates reward saving and caution.
The U.S. Treasury market and the yield curveÂ
Explore why Treasuries are the most liquid market in the world, how government debt sets term premiums, and what shapes the yield curve across maturities — economic growth, inflation expectations, and fiscal policy.
Bond pricing and interest rate sensitivityÂ
Master the time value of money and present value using a hands-on 5-year bond example. See exactly why bonds trade at a premium when rates fall and a discount when rates rise, and learn to measure risk with DV01 — the dollar value of a one-basis-point move.
Convexity, credit risk, and spreadsÂ
Understand positive versus negative convexity (and why callable bonds and mortgages behave differently), how credit risk separates corporate bonds from Treasuries, and how credit spreads shift with a company's rating. Learn the line between investment-grade and high-yield, and how traders use spreads to express a view on the market.
Intro to DerivativesÂ
See how hedge funds use leverage to invest in bonds, how an interest rate swap can replicate a bond's cash flows without moving cash, and how notional amounts let you take a position on where rates are headed.
Who it's forÂ
Whether aiming for a role in institutional sales & trading, asset management, or a hedge fund, this express class gives you a clear, intuitive grasp of the concepts professionals use every day.
