First and foremost, this is not an
advertorial nor am I representing the institute that offered this specialist
diploma. I am writing this since I had graduated from this course and would
like to share my experiences with you. I felt this course is suitable in
understanding how the financial markets, the fund industry and their related
functions work.
Overview Of The Course
This one-year program is offered on a part
time basis by Nanyang Polytechnic. There are a total of six modules, three each
in one semester. The first semester covers the fund management aspect and the
second one covers the fund administration part. Being an academic course, there
are tests and examinations, and each successful semester would give you a
post-diploma certificate, and the completion of the entire course would grant
you the specialist diploma.
Most of the lecturers who taught us had a
day job in the industry, meaning their teaching stint was on a part-time basis,
which was good as they could relate their real life experiences from the topics
in the modules.
I shall not describe each module in detail
(you could read up more about it in the link below under Reference).
My Eye Openers From The Course
There were a few “A-Ha!” moments for me
during the course. One of which was the calculation of a fund’s net asset value
(or NAV) and the accompanying fund management fees. Being an “outsider” of the
industry, this gave me an eye opener. Another was the securities settlement
process, which gave me a “behind the scenes” peek on what transpired between
the filling of an order to the actual delivery of the securities from one party
to another.
Bedokian’s Take
If you are well-versed in some of the
modules described above, I would say this is a walk in the park for you.
Although it is basic, you could develop further on the topics taught and
discussed, and this in turn could lead to another set of knowledge and
opportunities in your investment and trading journey (I am a proponent of continuous learning). However, before you go
into it, I would recommend you to start familiarising and understanding some
financial terms and jargons from online resources (e.g. Investopedia).
Besides the academic part, you could take
this chance to network with your lecturers and classmates as well. For my
cohort, about 70% of us are in the accounting/banking/financial/fund
industries, with the remaining 30% (like myself) coming in just to learn more.
Disclaimer
The course details may have changed since
my last attendance, so there could be some differences in my post above. You
are encouraged to contact the institute directly and/or attend their preview
talks, which are typically held near the end of the year, to find out more.
Special thanks to my ex-classmate ‘M’ who
provided additional material.
Reference
Hi Bedokian,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. Now I'm tempted to sign up for the course. :D
Is 'M' a fellow financial blogger?
Hi Unintelligent Nerd,
DeleteWelcome. Understand that you are also a proponent of continuous learning? ;)
Nope, 'M' is not a financial blogger.
Cheers!
what jobs are related to this course?
ReplyDeleteHi anon,
DeleteThis course is suitable for those who are in the fund management and administration sector. As a specialist diploma, it is designed to develop specialisations and deepen their existing knowledge (source: https://www.nyp.edu.sg/admissions/lifelong-learners/useful-info/revised-post-dip-framework.html). A majority of students in my cohort are from the financial/fund industry, and they took it up to enhance their knowledge of their sector.
Hope this answers your question.
Cheers!
Hi bedokian,
ReplyDeleteWould like to find out how the course is being delivered and assessed.
Will there be individual or group assignments and will there be any presentations?
How many students are there per class?
Are there any past year papers to study for the exams or tests?
And lastly, the difficulty of the course.
Sorry for the trouble but the course consultant seems to give me very generic answers.
Thanks!
Hi ^oo^,
DeleteApologies for the late reply.
My cohort was made up of about 25 people, with 70% of them from the financial sector. The others were made up of people who wanted to gain some additional knowledge on investing or for lifelong learning. After 1 semester, there were some drop-outs, but our size remained close to 20 or so.
Coursework wise, for my batch, each module was consisted of 1 test and 1 exam (weightage of 30-70 if I remember correctly). For one module (the risk compliance one), instead of an exam, it was a written report assignment. There were no presentations or group work.
Difficulty wise, it depends on the module. One of the toughest was the module involving quantitative finance, which had some failures for my batch and students from the previous batch repeating it in our class.
Since graduating from the course, I noticed that there are some differences in the course structure now; previously it was 6 modules over 2 semesters (3 each), but now it is 8 modules (4 per semester).
As I had done the course a few years ago, there might be some changes to what I had described above, so do take note.
All the best!
Bedokian