Competence Trainer – Objectives & Technicalities – What Is In It For You?

The Competence Trainer allows professionals to master various aspects and elements relating to wholesale markets and trading. One will master concepts, processes and terminology.

The aim of the Competence Trainer is manifold. It includes to familiarise with order submission, order matching, price formation, market analysis and price forecasting, trading strategies, trading technicalities, position management, clearing, settlement, margining, transaction cost, order types, risk management, value at risk, the Greek variables, and many more topics and themes.

The bundle of trading simulations includes the following learning objectives:

  • Master basic processes & concepts – Incl. related terminology
    • The trading environment
    • The trade process & the contract lifecycle
    • Straight through processing (of orders and deals)
    • The decision-making process, psychology of markets and handling emotions
  • Become an expert in trading
    • Transacting or deal-making (buying & selling)
    • Open a position & close a position
    • Order types, plus order submission, processing and matching
    • Hitting & lifting
    • Market making & market taking (the role of initiator versus aggressor)
  • Learn about position management
    • Long/short (master short selling)
    • Netting (multilateral)
  • Conquer types of product
    • Forwards, futures & options
    • Spreads (cross-commodity spreads, time spreads, location spreads)
  • Assure your expertise in pricing
    • Price formation, order book and bid & ask
    • Market liquidity
    • Price volatility
  • To familiarise with the look & feel of screen-based trading
    • What is shown on a screen? And which details matter most?
    • Analyse what bid or ask stands for
  • Master the working of an order book
    • To analyse the bid-ask spread
    • To observe market depth
    • Master OTC trading and the usances in bilateral deal-making, including:
    • Master agreement, credit risk management (limits) & the role of inter-dealer brokers
  • Overcome exchange-trading
    • Clearing
    • (Cross-)margin
  • Learn about risk management
    • Value at risk (VaR)
    • Price correlation
    • Greek variables (Delta, Gamma, Vega, Theta, Rho)
  • Perform market analysis
    • Processing data &, news as well as price forecasting
    • Fundamental analysis, technical analysis, quantitative analysis, psychological analysis
  • Price chart analysis
    • Dynamic graphical representation of the price development
    • Charting: Support & resistance lines, as well as confirmation & reverse patterns
  • Forward curve analysis
    • Static graphical representation of prices of contracts with a different time-to-maturity
    • Contango & Backwardation
    • Cost of carry
  • Master FX trading
    • Exchange one currency position for another currency position, as you like
    • Monitor FX rate developments and the impact of it for deal-making
    • Provide price quotations & learn about FX exchange rates
    • Experience inter-bank transactions
  • Become an expert in timing
    • For any market participant, timing is essential; it will impact the financial performance.
  • Learn how to optimise the financial performance
    • Experience future cash flows are margins can be assured
  • Interpret result – Understand the financial statement
    • Take into account relevant aspects in order to qualify or to quantify the performance:
      • Direct transaction costs (fees), as well as indirect transaction costs (slippage)
      • Profit & loss (P/L), realised (after liquidation) & unrealised (open positions; M-to-M)
    • The process of (cash) collateralisation
      • Deposits (initial margin + variation margin)
    • Cash management
      • Finance liquidity & working capital
    • Identify transaction cost
      • Exchange fee & clearing fee
  • Learn about trading psychology (mental management)
    • Experience the gaming effect – Experience stress & adrenaline due to market dynamics
    • Experience a profit, but also a loss; hence, an a-symmetric mental experience
    • Experience the market going against your position
    • Perform multi-tasking