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Alternative Investments
Investment portfolio chart on a laptop

Alternative Investments

Grow the Value of Investment Portfolios with Alternative Investments

Alternative Investments will equip you with the skills, confidence, and strategies to assess potential investment opportunities in private equity, hedge funds, and real estate, and enable you to leverage them to maximize value and diversify portfolios.

Apply Now

What You'll Learn

Play an Introduction to Alternative Investments video
Play an Introduction to Alternative Investments video
Go to Course Syllabus
  • Speak the language of alternative investments so that you can better communicate and collaborate with your colleagues and customers
  • Evaluate alternative investments—including private equity, private debt, hedge funds, and real estate—and identify their defining elements, such as size, risk, and liquidity
  • Develop the confidence and ability to assess potential investment opportunities and maximize the value of investment portfolios
  • Gain the skills and strategies to choose the right alternatives manager or become that future manager yourself

About the Professors

Professor Victoria Ivashina - Alternative Investments

Victoria Ivashina is the Lovett-Learned Chaired Professor of Finance at Harvard Business School and the faculty chair of the Global Initiative for the Middle East and North Africa region. She is also a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, a Research Fellow at the Center for Economic Policy Research, a Visiting Scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and the European Central Bank, and an Associate Editor of the Journal of Financial Economics and the Journal of Financial Intermediation.

Professor Randolph Cohen - Alternative Investments

Randolph Cohen is a Senior Lecturer in the Finance Unit at Harvard Business School. His research focuses on the interface between institutional investors’ actions and price levels in the stock market. Cohen has helped start and grow a number of investment management firms, and served as a consultant to many others.



Professor Arthur Segel - Alternative Investments

Arthur Segel is a Baker Foundation Professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School. Segel was a founder of TA Realty, a real estate advisory, investment, and development firm, and co-founded The Tobin Project, a nonprofit that was awarded in 2012 the MacArthur Genius Award for an Organization for its work on inequality. Segel has been named one of the 30 most influential players in real estate in the world by Private Equity Real Estate.

Who Will Benefit

Briefcase

Early-Career Financial Services Professionals

Gain a competitive edge by developing actionable skills in the alternative investments field you can leverage to advance your career.

Bar Chart

Aspiring Finance or Investment Professionals

Jumpstart your career by gaining the skills and knowledge to join one of the fastest-growing fields in finance.

Group of people

Non-Finance Professionals

Learn to speak the language of alternative investments to better serve your financial services clients’ needs and become a more effective attorney, CPA, or overall colleague.

Please Note: Participants should have completed an undergraduate-level introductory finance course or equivalent at some point during their education and possess a basic understanding of capital markets, portfolio theory, and risk and return.

Program Structure

Alternative Investments consists of approximately 35 hours of material delivered over a five-week period. You can complete the coursework on your own time while meeting regular deadlines.

Interested in using this course for CFA Institute credit? CFA Institute (including the Chartered Financial Analyst and Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement programs) allows its members the ability to self-determine and self-report continuing education credits earned from external sources. CFA Institute members are encouraged to self-document such credits in their online Professional Learning tracker.

June 2021
  • Length: 5 Weeks
  • Program Dates: 6/9/21 – 7/14/21
  • Cost: $1,600
  • Application Deadline: May 31
  • Detailed Calendar
  • Course Platform
  • Certificate Program
Apply Now
August 2021
  • Length: 5 Weeks
  • Program Dates: 8/11/21 – 9/15/21
  • Cost: $1,600
  • Application Deadline: August 2
  • Course Platform
  • Certificate Program
Apply Now

Syllabus

Alternative Investments will equip you with the skills, confidence, and strategies to assess potential investment opportunities in private equity, private debt, hedge funds, and real estate. You will learn how to speak the language of alternative investments, evaluate types of alternative investments and their defining qualities, and develop the confidence and ability to assess potential investment opportunities and maximize the value of your portfolio.

Learning requirements: In order to earn a Certificate of Completion, participants must thoughtfully complete all 5 modules by stated deadlines.

Download Syllabus

Modules Case Studies Takeaways Key Exercises
Module 1: Private Equity
  • BC Partners Acquires Acuris
  • Learn what private equity is, sources of risk and value, and how it is funded
  • Analyze the different segments of private equity: growth equity, buyouts, and venture capital
  • Calculate the value of equity
  • Identify and rank private equity segments by their attributes and skills required
Module 2: Private Debt, Distress Investing, and Secondaries
  • Oaktree Capital Management Acquires Pierre Foods’s Debt
  • Blackstone’s GSO Capital Invests in Crosstex
  • Compare and contrast private equity and debt
  • Analyze investment strategies and sources of value
  • Identify skills needed for successful distress investing
  • Classify attributes of investment opportunities
  • Rank deals by their characteristics
Module 3: Hedge Funds
  • Activist Investing with The Children’s Investment Fund
  • Learn key elements of hedge funds, including fee structure and sources of risk and value
  • Understand types of arbitrage and strategies
  • Characterize core quantitative investing strategies
  • Calculate alpha and beta
  • Arbitrage trading simulation
Module 4: Real Estate
  • Real Estate Valuation with 625 Ground Lessor LLC
  • Learn how real estate differs from the rest of the alternatives space
  • Understand types of real estate investments
  • Compare and contrast secondaries and traditional private equity
  • Identify phases of the real estate market
  • Prepare for a real estate negotiation
  • Conduct valuation analysis
  • Classify real estate products based on their diversification potential
Module 5: Portfolio Construction
  • Challenges of Alternatives with PFA Pension Fund
  • Describe the “money journey” and the key players involved
  • Interpret metrics to analyze performance
  • Understand risk and complementarity in portfolios
  • Discuss trends in alternatives
  • Test knowledge of lockup period, liquidity frequency, and notice period
  • Practice analysis of key metrics
  • Rank investment risks

The HBS Online Advantage

Play an Introduction to the HBS Online Platform video
Play an Introduction to the HBS Online Platform video
  • World-class faculty
  • Edge-of-your-seat online learning
  • Global peer collaboration and networking
  • Real-world, case-based learning

Harvard Business School Online offers a unique and highly engaging way to learn vital business concepts. Immerse yourself in real challenges faced by a diverse group of finance experts, including: Rick Childs, Managing Member of 625 Ground Lessor LLC; Mike Even, former Global CIO for Citigroup Asset Management; Chris Hohn, Founder of the Children’s Investment Fund; Henrik Poulsen, Chief Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer of PFA Asset Management; Dwight Scott, President of GSO Capital; Nikos Stathopoulos, Partner at BC Partners and Member of the BC Partners Executive Committee; and Matt Wilson, Co-Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of Oaktree Capital Management. Step into their shoes and wrestle with the same issues they faced, while engaging with fellow learners from around the world.

Play Participants share their experiences video
Play Participants share their experiences video

Stories from Our Learners

  • HBS Online was an invaluable and essential education. The information provided, the quality of the presentation, and the high-level engagement among students surpassed my expectations.
    Rick Corbett,
    Harvard Law School '15
  • The platform was engaging, innovative, and allowed me to interact with the material in a way I never expected from an online course.
    Bethany Larson,
    HBS Online Participant
  • A few weeks into the course, accounting terminology came alive as I realized why accounting is the language of business. I can now talk confidently with clients and understand the business aspect of their problems.
    Gaurang Manjrekar,
    Technology Consultant


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Sign up to receive additional information about this course. Find out what other learners are doing with the skills they gained, and evaluate if this course is the right fit for you.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to log in at a set time? How does the grading process work? At this point, you probably have a few questions, and we’ve got answers.

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Application

Enrollment Eligibility

Our easy online application is free, and no special documentation is required. All applicants must be at least 18 years of age, proficient in English, and committed to learning and engaging with fellow participants throughout the course. We confirm enrollment eligibility within one week of your application.

Apply Now

Apply Now


Alternative Investments Certificate
Earn Your Certificate

Enroll today in Harvard Business School Online's Alternative Investments course.

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All FAQs

Top FAQs

How are HBS Online courses delivered?

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We offer self-paced programs (with weekly deadlines) on the HBS Online course platform.

Our platform features short, highly produced videos of HBS faculty and guest business experts, interactive graphs and exercises, cold calls to keep you engaged, and opportunities to contribute to a vibrant online community.

Do I need to come to campus to participate in HBS Online programs?

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No, all of our programs are 100 percent online, and available to participants regardless of their location.

How do I enroll in a course?

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All programs require the completion of a brief application. The applications vary slightly from program to program, but all ask for some personal background information. You can apply for and enroll in programs here. If you are new to HBS Online, you will be required to set up an account before starting an application for the program of your choice.

Our easy online application is free, and no special documentation is required. All applicants must be at least 18 years of age, proficient in English, and committed to learning and engaging with fellow participants throughout the program.

After submitting your application, you should receive an email confirmation from hbsonlinesupport@hbs.edu. If you do not receive this email, please check your junk email folders and double-check your account to make sure the application was successfully submitted.

Updates to your application and enrollment status will be shown on your Dashboard. We confirm enrollment eligibility within one week of your application.

Does Harvard Business School Online offer an online MBA?

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No, Harvard Business School Online offers business certificate programs.

What are my payment options?

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We accept payments via credit card, Western Union, and (when available) bank loan. Some candidates may qualify for scholarships or financial aid, which will be credited against the Program Fee once eligibility is determined. Please refer to the Payment & Financial Aid page for further information.

In all cases, net Program Fees must be paid in full (in US Dollars) to complete registration.

 

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