Harvard GSAS Business Club: Jargon Jungle - Overview of Financial Asset Classes & An Introduction to the Vocabulary of the Stock Market

Date: 

Monday, April 2, 2018, 6:00pm to 7:30pm

Location: 

Northwest Building B103 (Basement level), 52 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA

The financial industry is notorious for its own language, from commonplace stocks (“equities”) and bonds (“fixed income”) to the more esoteric vocabulary of options and risk management. This workshop will cover some of the basic terminology used in the stock market, including:

· “Assets” and “asset classes”

· Variations on “common stock”, including “options”, “futures”, and “shorting”

· Portfolio “risk” and “return” measures

· Trading terminology

Included in this workshop is a glossary of financial terms.

Alumna Instructor: Karen Hladik, Ph.D. ’84, Business Economics

Karen Hladik has had a long and successful career in the financial industry, focusing on quantitative modeling and portfolio analytics in equity markets. She was the global head of the Risk and Quantitative Services Group in Global Securities Services at Goldman Sachs & Co. in New York, working primarily with hedge fund clients in both the US and abroad. Prior to that, Karen also worked for many years as the senior manager in charge of McKinsey & Co.’s Microeconomics Practice and as an economic analyst in Exxon Corporation’s Corporate Planning Department. With this background, Karen has a unique perspective on how one can apply one’s Ph.D. in a variety of corporate, consulting, and financial positions. She is currently a member of the GSAS Alumni Association Council and a director of Harvard University’s Alumni Association.