DePaul University Offers Managed Futures Course in Fall Quarter

Mark Shore, Adjunct Professor of managed futures at DePaul University’s Kellstadt Graduate School of Business in Chicago and Founder of Shore Capital Management, a managed futures consulting & research firm, notes increased interest in managed futures for the last several years.

“Assets under management in managed futures have increased nearly 60% since 2008, according to BarclayHedge.” As Shore notes, individual & institutional investors and the graduate students are trying to understand managed futures, a topic often found unfamiliar to many, but the demand to understand it is growing quickly.”

To help explain the managed futures message, Shore announced DePaul University will once again offer a graduate level managed futures course in September.

Does the recent market volatility increase the interest to understand managed futures?  “The abnormal market volatility in recent years has a number of investors increasingly questioning the core principles behind a diversified investment portfolio, he said. “What’s needed is a greater understanding of dynamic correlation and tail risk.”

Below is a description of the course:
This course is designed from a practitioner’s perspective to give students exposure to the managed futures industry within alternative investments by discussing various aspects and terminology of this asset class.

Managed Futures includes the trading of commodities, financial futures and foreign exchange (also falls into the global macro category) and is one of the fastest growing asset classes and yet the investment management community is just beginning to understand it.

There is a growing demand by the investment industry for practitioners who understand this product as the need to reduce non-correlation risk and reduction of tail risk increases.

Portions of the course will introduce various metrics used for evaluating trading models and evaluating investment managers known as Commodity Trading Advisors (CTA). 

The course will discuss some trading strategies utilized and current topics/ macro economics as they relate to the lessons of the course.

The students will learn to express their positive or negative views of fund managers and trading models to senior management, an investment committee or investors, thus utilizing the concepts of asset allocation and due diligence.

Copyright ©2012 Mark Shore. Contact the author for permission for republication at [email protected] Mark Shore has more than 20 years of experience in the futures markets and managed futures, publishes research, consults on alternative investments and conducts educational workshops. www.shorecapmgmt.com

Mark Shore is also an Adjunct Professor at DePaul University’s Kellstadt Graduate School of Business in Chicago where he teaches a managed futures / global macro course and an Adjunct at the New York Institute of Finance. Mark is a contributing writer to Reuters HedgeWorld and the CBOE Futures Exchange.

Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.  There is risk of loss when investing in futures and options.  Always review a complete CTA disclosure document before investing in any Managed Futures program.  Managed futures can be a volatile and risky investment; only use appropriate risk capital; this investment is not for everyone.  The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and are only for educational purposes. Please talk to your financial advisor before making any investment decisions.