TRADING & FINANCIAL MARKET ANALYSIS 2015 A PRACTICAL EXPIERIENCE IN TRADING, RISK MANAGEMENT AND MARKET ANALYSIS

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1 TRADING & FINANCIAL MARKET ANALYSIS 2015 A PRACTICAL EXPIERIENCE IN TRADING, RISK MANAGEMENT AND MARKET ANALYSIS 1

2 ENGAGING STUDENTS AT THE HEART OF GLOBAL FINANCIAL MARKETS Placed at the forefront of current financial market volatility, Amplify Trading delivers an invaluable opportunity for students to develop a well-respected practical skill-set in today s financial industry and an in-depth understanding of today s financial markets. Building on fifteen years of trading experience, Amplify Trading has now developed a training operation adjacent to its trading arm. Our financial market training is now integral to the graduate programmes of leading investment banks including HSBC, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan as they prepare their new employees for roles with exposure to operations in today s financial markets. Amplify Trading built a reputation of excellence and professionalism within the industry, wining the CFA award for innovation in financial education in 2015 and we continuously strive to Below: Piers Curran, Head of Trading help candidates understand, through practical experience, how financial markets really work. We would now like to explore the potential to extend our practical financial market training to Universities and Business Schools interested in providing their students with a unique industry experience before graduation. This document details a suggested one week intensive training structure, however all trading programmes can be tailored exactly to each institutions needs. Our aim in this programme is to help students bridge the gap between an academic economic understanding of financial markets, and the practical implementation within them. This programme is designed specifically to open opportunities in a wide variety of roles within fund management, trading and investment banking upon completion.

3 INTENSIVE TRAINING AND STRUCTURED OBJECTIVES As students progress through our intensive training using their own trading desks they will meet the following learning objectives whilst they develop a broad range of skills within financial markets. Apply their understanding of global macroeconomics to trade across international financial markets within a live market environment Analyse and understand the significance of breaking financial news for their trading portfolio whilst applying basic econometrics for the purpose of forecasting future trends in economic data Through practical application, develop an in-depth understanding of forwards and futures and their application for risk management practices Understand in detail the fundamental drivers of equity, commodity, currency and fixed income asset classes and develop an appreciation of the inter-dependencies between them Gain first-hand experience in the importance of behavioural finance and trading psychology within an environment of uncertainty and risk Understand through experience the functionality of order driven markets, trading through an exchange in comparison to a quote driven market, trading through a market maker Learn to understand and analyse financial markets by applying advanced technical analysis techniques across asset classes Gain experience using industry leading trading software to back-test trading strategies, use linear regression models and work with Amplify s proprietary trading algorithms See how in reality standard economic theory may not apply within an expected timeframe and the resulting challenge to risk management practices Apply mentoring support and trading advice from experienced traders at Amplify Trading who continuously monitor performance and progression Amplify will work with all students to deliver critical careers advice and support to each candidate to ensure they best leverage this industry renowned experience to its maximum potential. 3

4 Above: Amplify Trading delivering live trading programmes to Business Schools in the UK DELIVERY, STRUCTURE AND PROGRESSION Amplify Trading can convert any computer cluster or lecture theatre (using laptops) at your institution into a fully fledged trading floor where each student will have personal use of their own state of the art trading desk. Live audio feeds will be delivered from our London trading floor, engaging the students in discussions and analysis with industry professionals. As a student goes through our structured programme they will pass through four steps of development. 1.) INITIAL MARKET ANALYSIS For the month leading up to the trading programme we will send students daily market analysis from leading investment banks and hedge funds so they can understand the fundamental drivers of contemporary financial markets and become accustomed to the terminology used. 2.) CLASSES IN THEORY Every day will start with key theory delivered by a senior trader related to the asset class the student will add to their portfolio that day. In this way students will understand in-depth the fundamental drivers behind equity, commodity, currency and fixed income products and the dynamic interdependencies that exist between them. 3.) BUILDING EXPERIENCE After each theory session students will log onto their trading platform to trade live market prices, direct from global exchanges. As they progress through the programme, they will use increased market exposure to develop their own trading style and will be able to reflect on their experiences of managing risk within an uncertain environment. 4.) MULTI-ASSET CLASS EXPOSURE On the last day students will have their trading accounts reset to $100, as they trade across all asset classes in direct competition with each other. It is on this day we focus the theory on the psychological pressures of managing risk within an uncertain environment. We would like to invite the top 5 traders to The City to spend a full day on our trading floor in London with all expenses paid. 4.) CAREER DEVELOPMENT The training is designed to enhance each students competitive advantage in the financial sector so they can add immediate value to any role within the industry. The benefits from this experience are not specific to trading related roles only but relevant to a wide variety of roles within the industry as a whole. Amplify Trading works with many of the largest global financial institutions who all place a high value on the experience and at the end of the programme we will work with students to make sure they can gain maximum leverage from the experience on their CV.

5 SYSTEMS, RISK MANAGEMENT AND SUPPORT Above left, Amplify s trading platform. Above right, Amplify s live news service TRADING PLATFORM All our students are set up with the institutional trading software that is used throughout all top level trading floors around the globe. They view in real time the assets in their trading portfolio, with prices, orders and fills being updated by the microsecond. The direct market access trading platform (above) with level two visibility allows over 100 technical analysis functions to be applied. Students will be introduced to quantitative trading methods to back-test their strategies and will be shown how to incorporate our series of proprietary trading algorithms and analysis software to better assess price opportunity. NEWS AND ANALYSIS When training with Amplify, students learn how to assess and understand the changing fundamental news flow. In order to take full advantage of that knowledge it is important to get that news fast. They will all receive access to live, up to the second market news and analysis, as soon as it breaks. Also, they will receive daily our strategy reports from our team of analysts to help provide further insight into the products they trade. MARKET BREIFINGS AND DATA REVIEWS At the start of US trading session, after the theory for that day has been delivered, they will be invited by our Head of Trading, Piers Curran, to join a market briefing discussion to prepare for economic data throughout the day. They will be immersed in continuous market debate with our experienced traders assessing economic data as it gets released, providing an invaluable practical market experience.

6 TESTIMONIALS OF WORK Institutional Feedback Truly a highlight of training. The facilitators were incredibly prepared and the interface advanced. This was simply the best and most important part of training. Kellie Burke, Bank of America Merrill Lynch VP, Global Markets Learning I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Amplify Trading over the past two years Jasmine Quartey-Owoo HSBC Bank Plc, Graduate Recruitment and Development Our partnership with Will and Amplify Trading is an absolutely fantastic experience with extremely high value added to Leeds. Amplify's unique training programme is an excellent add-on to our well-known masters programmes and the students are absolutely loving it! Dr Kostas Bozos, Director of Post Graduate and Accounting & Finance, Leeds University Business School Amplify Trading and William de Lucy have been an active member of the MSc Oil and Gas trading Management team. William has been consulted during the design and development of the Trading and Management Module where he provided the development team with an insightful advice. The cooperation and the experience have been very positive and innovative as William has always inspired students attending those Oil and Gas trading practice sessions. to Working with the University of Stirling Amplify Trading s practical approach to financial market training has been awarded the Global 2015 Award for Innovation in Education.

7 Testimonials of work Individual Feedback Jiajun Tan Student at Imperial College before moving to Citigroup It s Jiajun here hope you are well! At this moment in time I have received 4 internship offers for Sales and Trading from 4 major banks, and I would like to thank you and the team for giving me the best possible start into the financial world. To be perfectly honest with you, I really could not have done it without Amplify. Of the 4 banks I have decided to pick Citi ahead of HSBC, RBS and Deutsche Bank (Hong Kong), due to its size scope and its London location, do you think I ve made the right decision? James Parkin Graduated in law before moving to Deutsche Bank It has been a huge pleasure working with you and learning from you. I now have a far greater understanding of the fundamental data which moves the market, as well as the key technical levels that traders use to determine their buy and sell decisions. I am also delighted to say that I have accepted a position at Deutsche Bank as Vice President, Legal Counsel supporting Global Prime Finance and Global Markets Equities. My knowledge of trading the futures markets, combined with my legal training puts me in an excellent position to succeed in this role. Yana Pankratova CASS Business School PhD before moving to HSBC I joined Amplify to fulfil my long term dream to become a trader and study markets. Throughout the intense program I learned how to understand what fundamental factors drive price activity, gain good competency in technical analysis and I applied the risk management techniques taught. Following the internship program, I started trading on the live markets, focussing on fixed income products the German Bund and US Treasury Bonds. I hope to use this invaluable experience to secure my desired role to trade for major investment bank.

8 STRUCTURED PRACTICAL TRAINING IN FINANCIAL MARKETS Each session starts with key theory delivered before students move to their trading desks to apply in live market prices the theory and practices learned. Every trading decision is monitored and reviewed in order to provide the student with daily feedback on their progression and developing understanding of financial markets. MONDAY: EQUITIES 08:00-16:30 OBJECTIVE: To understand what factors drive today s financial markets and to become familiar with the trading platform. To implement risk limits and basic technical analysis trading across a variety of equity indices and understanding the international divergence between them. 08:00-11:00 Introduction to financial markets; Futures, forwards and derivatives 11:30-13:00 Overview of the credit crunch; Current market conditions Tech analysis - support/resistance/trends, candlestick analysis; Trading economic data 14:00-16:30 Introduction to the functionality of the trading systems Students trade global equity indices TUESDAY: FOREIGN EXCHANGE 08:00-16:30 OBJECTIVE: To understand currency market valuations based on national economic variations including sovereign ratings, trade balances, economic growth and monetary policy. Trade major currency pairs as well as non USD currency crosses. 08:00-11:00 Monday trading review; The banking system, money supply and money demand; Exchange rates and international macroeconomics 11:30-13:00 Tech analysis: Charting techniques; Trailing stops and OCO s 14:00-16:30 Students trade major FX currency pairs and non USD currency crosses WEDNESDAY: COMMODITIES 08:00-16:30 OBJECTIVE: To apply a practical understanding of price discovery in energy and metal markets. To apply forward strategies to understand future delivery price drivers including geopolitics, weather patterns and changing supply fundamentals such as US shale gas production. 08:00-11:00 Tuesday trading review; Commodity focus hard and soft, the role of Gold; 11:30-13:00 Outlook for world oil review; contemporary global commodity drivers; commodity prices and the impact on correlated assets; Technical Analysis : Fibonacci retracement, MACD and Pivot Points 14:00-16:30 Trading Crude oil for the Wednesday DOE supply and demand data release. THURSDAY: FIXED INCOME 08:00-16:30 OBJECTIVE: To apply bond theory taught across different duration of German government bonds and US Treasuries. Trade across the yield curve and understand the effect of contemporary monetary policy on fixed income valuations. To apply more advanced technical analysis tools. 08:00-11:00 Wednesday trading review; Fixed Income products and markets; The secondary market; The auction process; European sovereign debt crisis; Bond rating and rating agencies 11:30-13:00 Arbitrage and the changing correlation between financial assets; Trading strategy and algorithm analysis 14:00-16:30 Trading US Treasuries and German Government bonds FRIDAY: MULIT-ASSET TRADING 08:00-16:30 OBJECTIVE: To trade all assets simultaneously keeping to all risk management protocols set. To understand in-depth the behavioural pressures on trading decisions as accounts are reset to $100, and students trade in direct competition with each other. 08:00-11:00 Thursday trading review; Risk management and performance measurement 11:30-13:00 Trading Psychology ; Prospect theory, herd mentality, investor bias and personality profiling test 14:00-16:30 Trading all assets in final trading competition

9 A TRADING EXPERIENCE WITH AMPLIFY TRADING Our one week trading placement programme provides an unprecedented experience for students or recent graduates to develop skills recognised throughout the industry, receiving a clear competitive advantage within the field of finance on graduation. Through the creation of a professional trading environment in which the students apply the key theory taught, we can help students meet the increasing demand in experience expected of them by many of our largest fund management and investment banking clients. The structure suggested is expected to be tailored to your institution s exact needs and requirements. For example you may prefer the lectures and trading sessions to be split or you may prefer the sessions to run alongside a current module to be delivered over a number of weeks. Should your institution wish to have a demonstration day to see exactly how the trading platform may work and how the sessions may be structure we would be happy to provide a trial. Yours sincerely, William de Lucy Managing Director Below: Amplify Trading, all students linked directly to the trading floor in The City