15.467  Asset Management, Lifecycle Investing and Retirement Finance

Final exam on Tuesday, May 17 from 1:30-4:30pm in E62-276.  Comments: no 'cheat sheets' or other materials will be allowed in the exam; any complex formulas that are needed will be given in the exam.  You may bring a calculator to the exam, but no other electronics (no laptops or tablets or phones) are allowed to be used.  Calculators will be available to borrow.  The Code of Conduct for MIT Sloan is expected to be met.

Christina Qi, SB ‘13, co-founder of Domeyard LP, a high-frequency trading firm based in Boston, will be the guest lecturer in 15.467 Class 24 tomorrow, our last class.  Domeyard is approaching its 3^rd anniversary in 2016.  Please be on time to hear Ms. Qi’s presentation.  The reading material is up on Stellar now. 

In Class #22, Bryan Durkin asked you if you were familiar with pit trading of futures contracts with open-outcry and hand signals to show bids and offers and to consummate trades. From the responses, it appeared that few if any in the class had seen it.  The Public Television NOVA video (see link below) on the Black-Scholes option model and LTCM has several extensive scenes showing pit trading of options and futures which are quite “colorful”, along with a commentary by a floor trader describing what is happening. You might want to watch that part of the video as an easy and relatively painless way to experience pit trading including the hand signals, so that if you are ever asked again whether you know what it is, you can say “Yes.”

Also in that video there is an interview with Leo Melamed who was the Chairman of the CME and who introduced Eurodollar futures, currency futures, S&P 500 futures and pushed to create electronic trading.

http://mitsloan.mediasite.com/mediasite/Play/2ab3a41fed334a61a92f05d08768f6d91d

Please bring Class 21 notes to Class 23 on Monday

Dear Students:

Would you please take a moment now to go to: http://web.mit.edu/subjectevaluation/ and fill out an evaluation for this class?  You may not realize how much your feedback helps me improve the class for the future.  I rely on you for input and I appreciate that you take the time to fill out the online evaluation.

Thank you,

Robert C. Merton