In light of recent market developments, the area of custody has become more important and more visible than ever before. The increased focus on custody is likely to result in major changes to EU regulations and, subsequently, market practice. By focusing on custody operations for securities and investment funds in Europe, this course provides participants with an in-depth understanding of custody from both an operational and a regulatory perspective.

Both the primary and secondary markets for debt instruments are extremely important components of financial markets. This course is designed to give participants a good understanding of debt instruments, their characteristics and the markets in which they are issued, traded and settled.

Fund accounting is an essential activity in the fund industry, since it is the process through which the net asset value (NAV) of a fund is calculated. But fund accounting can be very complex, depending on the type of fund and how it approaches fund accounting. This course describes the fundamental concepts and methods of fund accounting and provides participants with the knowledge and skills that are needed to become a fund accountant. The course is very practical and includes numerous exercises.

The financial markets of the world are vast and extremely complex. Yet each market has its unique characteristics, often making it difficult to understand. This course provides participants with a good understanding of different financial markets in terms of market characteristics, financial instruments, market activities and players.

Modern banking covers a wide range of services, which extend from traditional lending to the innovative development of new financial products. Understanding the different areas in banking is challenging even for the most experienced bankers. This course provides participants with an introduction into the diverse activities of banks. The course is well-suited for people who are beginning a career in banking or bankers who would like to have an overview of banking.

With more than 55 trillion dollars in assets, the investment fund market is one of the world's largest and fastest growing financial markets. Despite the size and importance of investment fund markets, the intricacies of their operations are not well known. This course provides a detailed introduction into investment funds by describing their diverse characteristics, operating procedures, players and markets.

The importance of operational risk management can hardly be overstated. Cases of mismanaging operational risk and the dire consequences from doing so have become all too famous through the financial press. This course provides participants with a solid understanding of operational risk and how to manage it.

Many of the most important opportunities in business life require the ability to give effective, persuasive presentations. Even for the most naturally gifted speakers, the techniques involved in structuring and delivering a winning presentation are challenging. This course is designed to help participants become competent speakers, so that they can achieve their business goals and personal objectives.

The first day of the course focuses on the skills required to produce great presentations. The second day provides participants with the opportunity to practice their skills and assess their performance using videotaping.

Professional project management is a management technique that must be studied and applied, if a high probability of success is to be achieved in the complex business world. Professional projects normally involve numerous people at different levels and across many disciplines - senior management, sponsors, contractors, functional groups, IT - most often in a virtual environment, in which the project manager does not have hierarchical control of the team members. Whatever the nature of the project, a successful project manager needs to understand the structure and stages of a project and have excellent people management skills.

The objective of this course is to enable participants to understand the nature of projects and the factors that are critical to their success. It will also provide the structure, tools and skills needed to understand and implement the best practice for project management.

The ever-increasing complexity of modern business and technology challenges the effectiveness of teams. To deal with this situation, a team must have a strong leader. While some people are born leaders, most need to develop the skills required to create vision, communicate it to others and motivate a team. This is particularly important during periods of rapid change or growth, in which a team relies on the support and direction given by its leader.

The objective of this course is to improve the leadership skills of people, who do not have a lot of management experience or who may be good managers, but need to improve as leaders. The course makes use of role plays and exercises to help participants understand how they can become better leaders.