The course seeks to place money and finance in its historical context, showing its significant and often pivotal role in human progress and is a backstory for much of the human saga. From this vantage point, we will examine innovation and crisis in banks and banking, the bond markets, the equity markets, insurance, real estate, and cross-border trade & monetary flows. Our investigation will reach into numerous present day and historical financial events and circumstances, including the collapse of countries, scandals at companies like Enron and Lehman Brothers, and the impact of individuals going “off the rails” like Bernie Madoff or Martin Shkreli. These are scandals, upheavals, and crises.

This course provides an introduction to the digital economy and the intersection of finance and technology (FinTech).  Items to be covered include: blockchain, cryptocurrencies (e.g. Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc.), their evolution, applications and the future of such technology.  Further topics include: smart contracts, digital property rights, robo-advising, Web3 (the decentralized internet), algorithmic/high frequency trading and the role of artificial intelligence in capital markets, today and into the future.  The course will also analyze such topics and technologies from a long-term investment perspective, with an eye towards the implications for the finance industry and overall macroeconomic consequences.  Other topics may be covered as well.