Course Overview
Recent years have seen significant volatility in capital markets, with active managers frequently adjusting between risk-on and risk-off positions. As markets continue to evolve, understanding fundamental investment principles is essential. This practical course explores the investment process, risk and return dynamics, and strategies to enhance portfolio performance. Differences between asset managers and institutional fund managers are also examined.

Key Features
Participants will gain skills in:

• Developing analytical skills for informed investment decisions
• Applying investment analysis techniques
• Selecting appropriate investment vehicles
• Interpreting market indicators
• Evaluating financial analysts’ recommendations

Learning Objectives
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Differentiate portfolio management from other management types
• Align projects and investments with corporate strategic goals
• Apply project prioritization in complex organizations
• Prioritize projects based on strategic value to maximize organizational benefits
• Optimize the execution of projects using available resources
• Ensure high-value projects are completed efficiently and in the correct order
• Focus management attention on bottlenecks affecting project delivery
• Evaluate portfolio management effectiveness within the Project Management Office (PMO)
• Assess the benefits of portfolio management in organizational success
• Prepare professional project portfolio documentation
• Select tools and methodologies for balancing and optimizing a project portfolio

Target Audience
This course is ideal for:

• Program, product, and portfolio managers
• Senior executives responsible for organizational policies
• Managers involved in strategic recommendations or policy formulation
• PMO staff and members of project or program offices
• Operational managers and project team members
• Clients and stakeholders involved in portfolio management

Training Methodology

• Combines theoretical concepts with practical, hands-on exercises
• Interactive lectures, presentations, workshops, seminars, and group activities
• Pre- and post-course assessments to measure knowledge acquisition, skills, and effectiveness

Course Contents

Module 1 – Stock Market Analysis

• Key Topics:
  • Definition and types of stocks
  • Risk-free rate of return and yield curve
  • Stock price movements
  • Business cycles, bull and bear markets
  • Value investing principles (Warren Buffett)

Module 2 – Portfolio Management Overview

• Key Topics:
  • Definition of project portfolio and portfolio management
  • Governance concepts
  • Importance of portfolio management
  • Resource management

Module 3 – Portfolio Management Elements

• Key Topics:
  • Access to resources
  • Prioritizing portfolio components
  • Balancing project portfolios
  • Delivering effective investment oversight

Module 4 – Initiating Project Portfolio Management

• Key Topics:
  • Objectives of portfolio documentation
  • Quantitative metrics
  • Portfolio reporting
  • Risk analysis and management
  • Capturing and utilizing investment data

Module 5 – Managing the Project Portfolio

• Key Topics:
  • Reviewing portfolio performance
  • Annual portfolio evaluations
  • Success factors in portfolio management
  • Challenges and limitations
  • Portfolio requirements

Module 6 – Active Portfolio Management

• Key Topics:
  • Risk assessment
  • Forecasting and analysis
  • Portfolio structuring
  • Transaction costs, revenue considerations, and trade-offs
  • Performance evaluation

Module 7 – Investment Management Process

• Key Topics:
  • Differences between investing and financing
  • Direct vs. indirect investments
  • Investment environment and financial markets
  • Investment management process

Module 8 – Quantitative Investment Assessment

• Key Topics:
  • Return on investment and expected returns
  • Investment risk, variance, and standard deviation
  • Risk-return relationship
  • Covariance and coefficient of determination
  • Stock returns vs. market portfolio performance

Module 9 – Portfolio Management and Performance Evaluation

• Key Topics:
  • Active vs. passive portfolio management
  • Strategic vs. tactical asset allocation
  • Portfolio adjustment and management
  • Portfolio performance metrics